Anna Tack
Nothing is for free, or so the trusim goes. But in these days of high-tech toys like music samplers and computer scanners seamlessly colonising everyone else’s ideas through a superimposition here or a misrepresentation there, the question of who owns what has assumed paramount importance worldwide.
And on the cyber highway the issue of copyright, trademarks and other members of the pantheon comprising intellectual property have become particularly befuddling given the fact that on the Internet information is supposedly for free.
And now, South African-born, American-based independent music producer and self- confessed cyber-junkie Anthony Stonefield has developed a way of circumventing conventional commercial music distribution and sales channels. Through his company, Global Music Outlet, he has obtained the first licence to use a new music compression technology which squishes sound files to 4,5% of their normal size with no perceptible loss in quality. Net browsers can enjoy free sound samples on the Global Music site before paying just 99c to download the song of their choice, with the benefit of replaying it whenever they choose.
Record companies and CD manufacturers must be seething at the prospect of having their coventional channels of distribution short- circuited. But the musicians don’t mind. Usually they have to pay for the privilege of getting their sounds heard on cyberspace.
But Global Music pays royalties to their on-site musicians and their product has built-in copyright protection. Stonefield also offers a platform for musicians with less commercial sounds for finding new audiences without being forced to sell their souls to greedy music moguls.