October 7, 2006

Industry Watchdog: Insound, Alien8 Recordings

>> Wow, Insound is going to start selling full album downloads this month. Is that going to be sales of an entire album as a single file? We doubt it -- music fans aren't used to consuming music that way any more, for the most part. So it is likely Insound's Save The Album promotion is just that, a promotion that romantically looks back at the time when we all listened to complete records over and over again. Even so, we think the promotion does a good job of distinguishing their offering. Does AmpCamp sell downloads? We just took our first trip over there and it doesn't look like they do. So we guess EMusic is going to be the primary competition here. A race we'll enjoy watching, although we're devoted to EMusic and are unlikely to budge.

>> Alien8 Recordings has launched its own digital music storefront through which it is selling DRM-free, high bit-rate MP3s of albums and single tracks. You can transact business via Paypal and files are delivered as .Zips. Alien8's roster includes electronic music luminaries Tim Hecker and Shalabi Effect, guitarist Harris Newman and dance-punkers Kiss Me Deadly.

(+ del.icio.us)

No comments: