Thanks Roger, it was nice of you to say that. Not necessary at all, but I appreciate it.
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So, I'm sure kirk and I could easily turn this thread into mutual self-promotion...
But we both really are interested in opinions and feedback from everyone regarding kirk's original questions. Where's our prog community at with online distribution of music?
I agree with kirk that the net is a new frontier for music, absolutely. It feels like slow-going sometimes, but it really has come a long way in a few years. I can only imagine it continuing as the line between computers and stereos begin to blur, and as broadband access becomes more common. MP3 files leave a lot to be desired IMO, but Windows Media files at the same size and bit rate sound a lot better, so I know there will be new developments to bring higher fidelity with smaller file sizes and lower bandwidth.
Anyway, I'd like to throw something out for folks to check out.
"Weed" is a new scheme for sharing music files without depriving income from the artists. It's an interesting concept: to encourage respect of artists' rights and at the same time encourage legitimate sharing, it makes it possible for you to make money from music you share with others, if they end up buying it.
Right now, if you download the Weed software
they give you $5 credit to start buying music with (weed files typically cost around a buck).
The software is
not required to listen to the weed files (they are Windows Media files and can be listened to 3 times for free), it's only required to buy the files or to benefit from sharing them with others. And it's a tiny download.
It's in it's very early "preview" stages right now, so there's not a huge amount of music available yet. Some of you might like the Norwegian band "Gazpacho", they've got some prog flavors, comparisons have been made to Radiohead, Sigur Ros, Pink Floyd, and they cite Marillion and Kate Bush as a couple influences. They've opened for Marillion. Just an example. And then there's my stuff, of course
(I can't imagine a better way to spend your $5 credit! visit the "weedtunes" and "You and Me" links in my sig below)
You can find out more about Weed here:
www.weedshare.com