SpinRecords and Soundom Now Net Music Allies

SpinRecords and Soundom, two companies that distribute music on the Web, say they have a found a way to get their music into the hands of customers on the Internet, make sure the artists are fairly compensated, and turn a profit.
The companies said their alliance is a new model for online music distribution that resolves the problem that Napster created when it created a central server to offer copyrighted music for free.
Through the agreement, Soundom will digitally “thumbprint” the SpinRecords catalog. When listeners access SpinRecords.com through Soundom, the artists will now receive fees from Soundom.
“While we credit Napster with raising awareness and helping increase music sales, our view is that playing music without compensating the artists is wrong. Our solution goes several steps beyond what Napster tried to accomplish,” said William Yeager, CEO of Soundom.
SpinRecords.com, a record label and online music distributor, compensates artists through a subscription model that charges listeners $5 per month for unlimited downloads. The company shares up to 60% of its revenues with recording artists, according to a SpinRecords statement.
Soundom is designed to allow legal distribution of copyrighted music on the Internet. The company’s software identifies the music the user is listening to which allows Soundom to target advertising directly to the user.
For each song played, Soundom pays the listener a percentage of Soundom’s advertising revenue. The artist also receives a percentage of the company’s ad revenue.
Laura Dely