Tribe of Noise to offer lawful alternative for free music downloads and more

This week, a new music platform will open and storm the Bastille of the music industry. Tribe of Noise is expected to kick up quite some dust by offering a lawful alternative for free music downloads.

Last year's artists like Moby, Nine Inch Nails and Radio Head made the first moves towards an alternative form of music distribution. But Tribe of Noise takes it one step further. At Tribe of Noise, composers upload their music under a Creative Commons license that allows fans and professionals to download, distribute and build upon it.

"While the traditional music industry is still in the repressive mode by introducing digital rights management and sending out the watch dogs, we rather think in solutions for like-minded spirits," says Sandra Brandenburg, co-founder of Tribe of Noise. "It was not difficult to find independent artists who believe in sharing their music, and who actually encourage fans and professionals to freely distribute and build upon their work.

"I would like to praise these bands; they showed courage and enlightenment about the direction we're heading. All the music on our platform is authorized and free for fans, but it can also be used for commercial purposes - as long as the artist is attributed and derived work is published under the same license."

In 2007, there was an increase in the volume of music acquired for nothing, and a sharp decline in the total amount paid out for music, according to NPD's US annual survey of Internet users. Although more people paid for digital downloads (that market grew from 7% to 10%), it was not enough to cover the fall in CD sales, down from 41% to 32%. With the music industry being in a downward spiral but still gaining massive revenues, it has not been able to make the big leap forward.

"Although we all sing LALA, we don't actually live in LALA-land. The music industry and especially musicians are struggling. But we take the Darwinist approach: adapt and you will survive. So instead of resisting change and becoming extinct you want to embrace change. People are going to share music, so give them something to share. Simultaneously you build an inner circle of fans, who are more than willing to see you perform or buy your stuff," stated Chief of Noise Hessel van Oorschot.

"If you're currently making a couple of billion the old-fashioned way, you might sweat a little during your shareholders' meeting while explaining this loss of market share. But it still boils down to a lot of money, so you're not really motivated to radically change your business. If you're a newcomer like Tribe of Noise, the only way is up, and that's very inspiring," concludes van Oorschot.

Date & place: July 15th, 2008, Amsterdam, The Netherlands By Tribe of Noise

Tribe of Noise is a music community that connects artists, fans and professionals. http://www.tribeofnoise.com