, a new site that offers free music was launched today by Nobel Peace Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
The site from music entrepreneur Steven Nowack offers free legal music from artists such as Naomi Striemer, Idrissa Diop, Shawn King and Mario Winans…or to be precise, it only offers music from those artists so far.
And this is where we get to “The Day That Music Was Set Free™” (and yes, the phrase is trademarked). From the press release:
“Given the potential of this website to aggregate millions of users worldwide, no longer will artists have to break down the powerful barriers to accessing a global audience,” stated Nowack. “We believe that people everywhere crave the ability to discover and enjoy new superstar talent, and our platform gives the world unfettered access to do so.” As distinct from user-generated content platforms, WeLoveFreeMusic.com will also offer artists and songwriters the opportunity to collaborate with, and be produced by, world-class producers…From the early days of Napster to the present, web users have been weaned on free music, and neither the advent of pay services nor the litigious stance of the music industry has slowed this phenomenon. WeLoveFreeMusic is the first record company website to give away exclusive, professional (not user-generated) content, without the limitations of digital rights management (DRM) software or a demand for personal marketing information. Within several weeks, says founder Steven Nowack, the site plans to debut one free, fully produced song each day.
Archbishop Tutu, a well known advocate of free music sites (not) “found the idea of an online portal for free music “incredibly powerful,” benefiting both music fans and artists worldwide” apparently.
All the hype in the world doesn’t overcome the fact that the site has 4 artists, ones that aren’t very well known. If this is the day the music was set free, then maybe we should all head back to bed in boredom.
