Heart Embraces File Sharing

Have record companies suddenly changed their minds about file sharing?

A press release from file sharing software company RazorPop and record label Sovereign Artists yesterday trumpeted the release of Heart's New CD "Jupiter's Darling" over the TrustyFiles P2P file sharing network as the "first time a major artist has ever released music from a CD to file sharers".

The release quotes RazorPop CEO Marc Freedman as saying: "When a legendary band like Heart embraces file sharing, you know it's become mainstream. Don't be misled by the entertainment terror campaigns designed to instill fear and stunt innovation. The real focus should be on the artists and making music. A wide majority of musicians support P2P file sharing. There's been an explosion in its use by independent artists."

So does it mean that big artists and major labels are just going to throw their music out to the unpaying, unwashed masses? Er, no. The press release says the "files are in Windows Media Player format and can be played on most major media player software and portable music player devices." So far, so good. But while the files look like they're in the WM format, they are actually what are called Weed files, which as the press release explains, "provide 5 free Heart songs for new users". So what does that mean, exactly?

A press release from WeedFiles last month explains what actually happens. While Weed files can be freely shared, each user is given three free plays, and then invited to buy the file. If they do, they can then freely share that file with others, each of whom are given three more plays. If they then buy the song, the original buyer will get a 20% commission.

Actually, this is a good idea and it deserves a try. Not least, the original artist makes 50% from the sale of each song, which is a significant step up for most artists. And it turns out that other networks are also releasing the Heart material at the same time, according to p2pnet. It's just a shame that the original press release is misleading.