by , 11:00 AM EST, February 6th, 2004

"We are not evil."

That's Magnatune's slogan, and, if it does nothing else, it should make you pause and wonder just what do they mean by that?

To answer that, one needs only to visit Magnatune's Web site to see that it is a different kind of animal; as curious as Dr. Dolittle's Pushme-Pullyou, as practical as a good pair of boots, and as unique as a four-leaf clover.

Magnatune is a record label, but don't let that make you wince; as the company's motto says, they are not evil, and they mean it. Take a look in the 'Information' menu on the Magnatune site and browse the essay on why Magnatune owner John Buckman created the site, and check out his business model and other topics of interest. Once you're done reading, go check out some of the music.

Again, what you'll find is something completely different: The music is unique and high quality. The Magnatune business model is similar to shareware, and artists get 50% of the proceeds from each sale from the company's Web site. While its library of music is relatively small, it contains such a uniquely eclectic collection of albums and artists that nearly everyone is bound to find something he or she likes.

Which bring us to the other Magnatune difference: You can preview any song on the site that you want; the full song, not a 30 second clip. Also, Magnatune provides a genre-based stream that you can play in the background at no cost to you. Magnatune music is also portable player agnostic, music file are simple MP3s and can be played on your iPod as well as your friend's Rio; no Digital Rights Management (DRM). This contrasts with all of the mainstream music services such as the iTunes Music Store, Napster 2, and MusicMatch, which all include DRM controls that limit where you can play the songs you purchase.

See? Different.

The Grand Experiment

John Buckman sees no problem with giving his customers full, unfettered access to the music on his site.

"I am not willing to punish the 99% of our visitors with DRM in order to prevent the 1% from pirating," Mr. Buckman said, "Besides, it is trivially simple to bypass DRM -- on windows there are programs that record directly off the sound card -- I use them to record audio versions of protected live music DVDs I purchase. More importantly, pirates are unlikely to spend money buying our music anyhow, so it's not lost money, since they would never have been our client in the first place. Finally, audio CDs are easily ripped to MP3s and uploaded to Kazaa, so I see no great advantage to DRMing downloaded purchases when the major distribution channel for music (CDs) is so easily pirated."

Magnatune seems to be a grand experiment that at least one musician has tried before. Jade Leary, a musician whose works have been featured several times on Apple's QuickTime 6 MPEG-4 AAC audio gallery, had dabbled in music distribution. While Jade Leary ended his experiment when Apple introduced the iTunes Music Store, his interest in alternative download services that respects the musicians as well as the consumer hasn't waned.

"I sent my stuff over for them (Magnatune) to review," replied Jade Leary when TMO asked him what he thought of Magnatune. "That's how bullish I feel about this project. I think they've put together a great platform both technically and ideologically. The days of huge record companies sitting on mountains of cash while most of their artists are starving are numbered. This 50/50 relationship reflects today's reality. You don't need a cash advance to produce an album anymore. To a certain extent, you can even do your own promotion. The distribution model was the missing link in this evolution, but iTunes has paved the way and we're not going back. This is what technology has made possible and Magnatune acknowledges that fact; I believe it's the record company model of the new century."

Indeed, musicians are treated differently at Magnatune. Take a listen to one of Magnatune's Net radio streams; after every third song you'll hear one of the musicians in Magnatune's stables asking you to support them, the site, and the ideology behind Magnatune. How often do you hear an artist pitching the label he's under? Of course, there is some self interest involved -- the artists do get 50% of the take on each album of theirs Magnatune sells -- but there's something more. The artists, like Jade Leary, seem to believe in what John Buckman is trying to do. Which, again, makes Magnatune different.

One In A Sea Of Ones?

So, Magnatune has truly set itself apart. Does that make it a direct competitor with the other 'different' vendor of downloaded music, Apple's iTunes Music Store?

"iTunes and the other online stores respond to demand for music created in traditional means by the record labels, and sells to that demand," replied Mr. Buckman to the question. " Magnatune creates demand for music by offering background music for your life (listen while you continue working) -- we are in the business of creating interest in music, rather than selling singles to an existing audience."

"I should also say," he added, "that we focus on music genres that are popular but not available in stores and are buried in online stores. New Age and Classical for instance are hugely popular genres, with large fan bases, yet are invisible on the online services. Both are genres where the quality of commercial offerings varies widely and so consumers respond very positively to our approach of offering a complete, high quality listen of an album before purchase -- we've taken the risk of buyer's remorse out of the online experience."

If you build it...

Apparently, customers are responding to Magnatune; as of this writing, the site is averaging about 70 albums a day. For an effort that started in May, 2003, and whose only advertisement seems to be word of mouth, that's pretty good.

Still, as more companies dive into the music download service market, is Magnatune different enough to survive the coming shakeout? Mr. Buckman believes so.

"We are so completely different from the other services, for example in creating a very satisfying pre-purchase experience that requires very little time commitment from the shopper, that we have so far benefitted from the increased audience for online music that this trend has caused, picking up buyers who are disappointed with their experience on the other sites."

And Jade Leary sees Magnatune's as an entity outside, or parallel to services like iTMS. "When we talk about a crowded market," says Mr. Leary, "we're talking about stores, not digital labels. I know it's a natural reflex these days, but I can't compare this to iTunes. I love iTunes. I think it's the best service out there from both a usability and a DRM standpoint (I cringe every time I hear about a new WMA based service - I think they should call them disservices!)."

What's Ahead

What does the future look like for Magnatune? John Buckman would like to see his effort grow, of course.

"I have always been a fan of the small indie label with a strong sound identity. Think Blue Note records, or Windham Hill. Both have pioneered a sound and are loved by their fans for it," Mr. Buckman said. "Their brands are a stamp of quality and style which builds a permanent client base. My goal with Magnatune, 5 years from now, is to run a number of well known indie labels inside Magnatune. Today, we are well known in the music press for our world-influenced fusion and new age, as well as our renaissance classical music. In the future, I'd like to see our High Energy Punk Rock, Eletro-Pop and other genres build a strong identity and fan base well."

As the Net becomes populated with 'me too' download services hoping to nibble the crust from the iTunes Music Store pie, it is refreshing to find sites like Magnatune, who set themselves apart by offering something unique to its customers, and its clients. When the shakeout of download services happen, it'll be the sites that offer something unique that survives. Magnatune is different enough that it is almost assured to be one of the survivors, and that's a good thing.

Magnatune