Back in April, I featured a web-only-release mp3 album called London Booted on the show. The album, which consisted of mash-up remixes of songs from London Calling by The Clash, and was notable because it encouraged anyone who wished to download it to first donate money to one of selection of charities (once you did this you could download the album for no additional cost.) The nominated charities included such worthy enterprises as War Child, which aids children who have become victims of war, UK Cancer Research, and Future Forests, a reforestation programme that gives you the chance to invest in a Joe Strummer memorial forest on the Isle of Skye. (More recently, a mash-up of Blur’s album Park Life called Parkspliced has been released online with the same donate-before-downloading approach to distribution.)
And what’s really great about this commendable use of the medium is that it isn’t limited to one-offs… The Global Music Project, which was set up by net label pioneer Peter Fosso (NetMusic.com), provides an ongoing supply of mp3s which artists furnish free of charge - so long as you donate to a recommended charity... Go there now, donate and download the songs, and - if you like what you hear - make sure you buy any future releases by the bands concerned.
Posted by Warren at August 4, 2004 08:27 PM | Net Labels