"We're a record label. But we aren't evil."
John Buckman created Magnatune after seeing his wife enter into a disastrous seven-year contract with a mainstream label.
Central to his vision is his belief that people are inherently honest, and will pay for reasonably-priced goods without coercion, and that allowing people to listen freely is a key part of the selling process.
Buckman explains how his wife's venture into the music business revealed its shortcomings:
"The record label that signed her wasn't evil: they were one of the good guys, and gave her a 70/30 split of the profits (of which there were few). The label got screwed at every turn: distributors refused to carry their CDs unless they spent thousands on useless print ads, record stores demanded graft in order to stock the albums, and in general, all forces colluded to prevent this small, progressive label from succeeding."
Despite minuscule returns, he adds, she lost all rights to her music for seven years.
Magnatune promotes "Open Music" based on a Creative Commons License. The principle is likened to Open Source software, and aims to make the copyright simple and clear. The MP3-player versions of the music are free for non-commercial use.
Commercial pressures force radio DJs to play "safe" but potentially bland music. Shop-bought CDs cost too much and can quickly go out of print, while conventional online sales net very small margins for the performers. The Open Music model of distribution has no such restraints, allowing greater freedom choice for buyers, and freedom of expression for artists.
If you like the music, then you are encouraged to pay a modest price for a CD-quality download. Or pay a little more to have a CD delivered. It's the shareware model of software sales, applied to music. What's more, the performers get a fair cut.
The purchaser decides exactly how much to pay for a high-quality download, above or below a suggested figure. Statistics show the average figure paid, which serves as guide to an album's popularity. Interestingly, the best-sellers achieve substantially more than the suggested price.
"This is very exciting news about Magnatune. This is precisely the kind of innovation that will solve the current crisis with music," comments Lawrence Lessig, founder and chairman of the Creative Commons.
"We currently have 173 artists, 322 albums, and 4151 songs on the label" Buckman said in a recent press release. "And we are adding more all the time."
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