PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 2004, Stillwater, OK. Children’s musician Monty Harper
is a pioneer on the wide open frontier of the Internet. He was
one of the first in his genre to create a website. He was a co-founder
of the first Internet site devoted entirely to music for kids,
ChildrensMusic.org, which helped hundreds of independent children’s
musicians establish a presence online well before Amazon.com hit
the scene.
Now Monty Harper is the first children’s musician to release music
in a new digital format called “Weed” (specially encoded high
quality Windows media files which play only three times unless
purchased). So far Harper has released six “weedified” songs including
one brand new song available exclusively on Weed format at www.weedtunes.com
or www.teachingseed.com.
“The Internet is destined to connect musicians directly and profitably
to their fans in terms of music distribution,” says Harper. “Weed
may well turn out to be the break-away technology that accomplishes
this.”
Harper’s exclusive Weed release is “Loose Tooth,” his most popular
new song in recent live performances. “It’s funny and gross,”
says Harper, “so kids love it. Parents love it because it’s clever
and it reminds them quite vividly what it was like to have a loose
tooth.” As one mom put it, “I never heard a song that made me
giggle, cringe, and nearly pass out all at the same time before!”
“If I were to release ‘Loose Tooth’ traditionally as a track on
CD,” says Harper, “it would take me at least a couple of years
to make it available. But through Weed, it is available now!”
Digital downloading of music is of course nothing new, and with
the advent of Apple’s iTunes, it has become not only a popular
but also a legitimate way of acquiring new music. Yet from a musician’s
point of view, services like iTunes have their limitations.
Harper first signed on for digital distribution through CDBaby.com
in July of 2003. The deal will eventually place his music on several
major digital download services. But independent children’s music
has yet to make it through the pipes. “It’s frustrating that they’re
slow,” says Harper, “plus I was only allowed to submit existing
CDs. As an independent musician I have no access to distribute
a previously unreleased recording through the major download services.”
But the real difference with the Weed format is more fundamental,
says Harper. “The big commercial download sites are still based
on the old model of broadcast TV. One source serves millions of
customers. The beauty of Weed is that it takes advantage of the
very thing that makes the Internet great - its interconnectedness!
Since file sharing is highly encouraged, every customer can become
a distributor!”
Indeed, Weed, which is basically a way of connecting Microsoft’s
Windows Media Player with the electronic payment giant PayPal,
is set up so that customers can freely copy and share their files
while artists still get paid for their recordings.
Here’s how it works from a fan’s point of view. The download and
the first three plays of a Weed song file are free for the purpose
of evaluation. After three listens you are asked to pay. Prices
range from about $.50 to $4.00 per song. Once you pay for the
song you can play it all you want, or even burn it to CD.
New customers receive a complementary $5.00 credit to their account,
so the first few purchases are essentially free.
When you copy a Weed file for a friend it reverts to its unpaid
state, and after three free listens your friend will be asked
to pay. Behind the scenes, payments are distributed to provide
incentives for all involved. Half goes to the artist, fifteen
percent goes to Weed, and the rest is split among the last three
people who paid for and shared the file.
“For most people,” says Harper, “the financial incentive won’t
mean that much. But you can look at it as a bit of money to put
toward more weed files. Some fans will even be able to make a
profitable hobby out of buying and redistributing the files.”
Weed also offers a true business opportunity. Anybody willing
to learn how to convert and serve files can become an ICP, or
Independent Content Provider. ICPs are positioned at the more
lucrative top level of Weed distribution.
“I really believe that Weed or something like it represents the
future of music distribution,” says Harper. “There is no central
control, which makes some people nervous, but that really is where
this format derives its strength. The only downside to Weed right
now is that it’s currently available only for Windows, but they’re
working on supporting more platforms.”
Find out more about Harper and his music at www.montyharper.com.
Find out more about the Weed format at www.weedshare.com.
###
This page is part of MontyHarper.com