Mp3 Dot Net Inc - Mp3.Net

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jamesatmp3
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Mp3 Dot Net Inc - Mp3.Net

Post by jamesatmp3 »

Hello Everyone,


My Name is James Tambas, Founding Producer of Mp3 Dot Net and I would like to introduce you to a project that may interest you. We are hoping to make MP3.Net more than just a Global music site. Our focus is social networks within creative communities, independent music, with a distinctively non corporate but commercial approach.

With over 400 Contributing Members from around the world (known as Mp3.Net Producers) having come together to build a first of a kind Transparent Social Network.

Below you will find document "What is Mp3.Net" explaining the project in brief.

The market for independent music online is growing rapidly. We feel that with our approach we can capture and retain a significant portion of that market.

At present the founders include Jeff Thomas, Paulo Andrade, Panos Kyriakakis, Henry O’Sullivan, Karena Andrusyshyn and my self. Growing all the time each of us brings a different array of experience and resources to the project.

We look forward to discussing this project with you in greater detail and hope that you would be willing to get involved.

Sincerely thanking you all in advance,

Mp3 Dot Net and I,
James Tambas



What is MP3.Net? The concept evolved from a simple enough beginning. Love of music and a growing dissatisfaction in what commercial music had to offer. At the core we wanted to build a different kind of music community. One where the artist had creative control over their music and the listener had the power to choose. Choice, freedom of expression, commerce and community interaction were the core tenants of what was to evolve. Drawing from our own experience, research, and areas of interest we conceived of a project that would encompass all these and would have the ability to evolve.

The online independent music community is teeming with many talented artists who spend their hard earned money to find an audience. There are many sites in this space and all have adhered to traditional commerce models and had failed to capitalize on the strengths of the internet: diversity, communication, and commerce.
The open source software community had taught us that the contribution of a diverse group can yield amazing results. Existing social networks had achieved a degree of the interactivity we are seeking but failed to offer both creative and commercial outlets for artists.

Changes in the way music is marketed, distributed and sold are forcing the music industry to adapt. Signed artists as well as independent artists are using social networks such as mySpace to promote themselves.
Our interest is to build social networks within creative communities; the goals being to seek out creative synergies and offer commercial solutions in both music and other creative areas. In simple English we want to offer a better social networking framework with a commercial solution built in.

How? This was the greatest question. How do we make profit possible but not the overriding focus on this undertaking? How do we not sell out? How do we allow our members and artists to have an equal voice and opportunity to profit from this network? The answer was simple, idealistic and perhaps a little crazy. We volunteer our time to build the network and then turn it over to the people who use it and contribute to it. We reduce the investment necessary to build the network to the bare minimum so that capital does not have to be reclaimed. Thus was born the concept of the producer.

Producers are possibly the most important part of the Network. Building this network wouldn’t be possible if without the collaborative efforts of the Producers who have contributed their valuable time and talent to the design, construction and maintenance of the network. In return producers are given the chance to earn money by sharing their talents and marketing their goods and services through the network.

When conceiving of the structure of the site that would accomplish this goal we took lessons from what has worked and what has not worked online. Some of our founding members had extensive experience with affiliate programs and ecommerce sites and the concept of revenue share programs was from day one an integral part of the site. From this evolved the revenue distribution model, RDM. Since the network was to be built on shared effort we believed that all who contribute, artists and producers alike, have the right to know where the money comes from and where the money goes at all times; transparency. Under the RDM, 60% of the proceeds from music sales go straight back to the artist. The remaining 40% is reinvested into the network or paid out in commissions in complete transparency according to the RDM.

When designing the structure of the network we also had to consider the nature of the creative individual, in particular musicians, and how they interact within offline creative communities. Musicians and other creative people have a tendency to collaborate with many different groups over the lifespan of their careers. In the music world this creative polygamy takes the form of artists working on solo projects, forming other bands, or experimenting with other forms of music. In most fields of endeavour people behave in pretty much the same manner and to that end we plan on introducing other grouping and networking functions at a later stage of development.

In order to accommodate this we decided to take a different approach from day one in how we structured the network by making the individual the nexus of all activity within the network. Member, artist, producer… it all begins and ends with the individual’s profile. They get from the network based on what they put into the network.

With a free membership to the network individuals can contribute as much or as little to the network as they wish. Through contribution they can earn the right to become producers. Members are free to post feedback, rate just about anything, register bands/artists, or as a producer offer services to the network.

Artist profiles are all generated and linked to member profiles allowing the individual musician to put forth the full range of his expression. This also allows for the artist’s profile to evolve naturally over time as they change bands, write music performed by others, or delve into other forms of expression. Artist’s are given a chance to find their own voice and publish in their own time without the influence of a label and receive direct feedback from the members of the site and choose for themselves how they are represented and marketed. This more natural approach in allowing the artist to find a voice may eventually lead to a better, truer voice. MP3.Net can not only be a promotional vehicle for these artists but a support system as well. For the audience it is an opportunity to find new, fresh music that may resonate better with them.

The website model for the independent artist represents two primary challenges: the expense of construction and the expense of marketing. Many well known artists and independent artists get lost in the clutter of the internet.

The early promise of the internet as a place of individual expression has been taxed under the sheer volume of content and the commercialization of the major portals. For the last several years the tail has been wagging the dog of our culture. With the aid of cool hunters new trends been packaged and sold before they have a chance to evolve.

With social networks and indie music sites being bought up or started by the larger internet companies this may be one of the last chances for a truly independent music network to be born free of commercial influence. To create an environment that will allow music to be distributed free of spin that will allow the audience to determine what is worthwhile.

At the core of all things in MP3.Net is individual. The most important element of the success of this network is the users. The producers underpin it, they are the foundations. The artists feed it with content and more importantly purpose, but the users drive it. This seemingly conflicting philosophy of individual determinism through collective action is at the core of MP3.Net.
Last edited by jamesatmp3 on Wed Oct 04, 2006 12:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.
timvw
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Post by timvw »

As long as the xhtml on that site is invalid it's useless... (Eg: with firefox the links don't work... )
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AKA Panama Jack
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Post by AKA Panama Jack »

timvw wrote:As long as the xhtml on that site is invalid it's useless... (Eg: with firefox the links don't work... )
The links do work. :) The only items on the dropdown menu that has a link to it is the "Search mp3.net". All of the others are just placeholders.

It pays to examine the site source. ;)
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a94060
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Post by a94060 »

i have joined the project. it plans to go live in around 3 months and is currently being coded.
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onion2k
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Post by onion2k »

Existing social networks had achieved a degree of the interactivity we are seeking but failed to offer both creative and commercial outlets for artists.
Woah there.. MySpace, MP3.com, Bebo, etc all offer space for artists to upload pretty much anything they want, and they're all beginning to offer commercial opportunities (paid downloads, albums, etc). I would strongly caution you that if you're entering into this project under the misapprehension that you're going to be the first you probably need to have a rethink.

That's not to say there isn't an opportunity to be had. There is. You just need to be realistic about it.
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a94060
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Post by a94060 »

i can promise you,that i just joined the project like 3 days ago and already i feel like im in a family. it is really a good project, there is no money being asked from you,all we ask is to contribute somehow to help.
d3ad1ysp0rk
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Post by d3ad1ysp0rk »

a94060 wrote:i can promise you,that i just joined the project like 3 days ago and already i feel like im in a family. it is really a good project, there is no money being asked from you,all we ask is to contribute somehow to help.
Uhh.. I'd hope they wouldn't ask for money, I mean, you're doing the work.
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a94060
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Post by a94060 »

all right,i dont want to obsfucate the original meaning.
matthijs
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Post by matthijs »

To be honest: can someone explain me what this is about?

First: the original post in this thread. Compared to that, Hockey's posts are short, concise and to the point (no offense Hockey, just kiddin with you). I have some patience and a university degree but I really have no clue what the main point is.

Second: the website. Again a long story. But I didn't botter to read it. Also, the date above the piece of text says 09/13/2004?

And why is the navigation not working?

Or did I just waist another 5 mins of my live on a spam message? [edit: apparently not]
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a94060
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Post by a94060 »

if you would like to join the project,you can pm me. I can give more more details for the project.
matthijs
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Post by matthijs »

matthijs wrote:I really have no clue what the main point is
a94060 wrote:if you would like to join the project,you can pm me. I can give more more details for the project
I'd prefer not to get any more details. I'm just curious about the - main - point.

Look, I'm just trying to help you guys by asking a simple question. Because the thing is with a community-based kind of service/project: if 800 words aren't enough to explain what you do then you should really reconsider either your product/service or the way you bring it to the man. Otherwise you'll have a hard time growing and getting success. (in my humble opinion..)

How would it be if I didn't know about, say Flickr, came across the homepage but had to read 3 pages of explanation to tell me what Flickr is about? How big would the chance of me signing up be?
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daedalus__
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Post by daedalus__ »

I failed to see what the point of this project is, as well.
JT
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Post by JT »

Hi… my name is Jeff and I am the project designer for MP3.Net. I have read your questions and they are common enough among the people we encounter.

Do we think we are going to be first? Not a chance. There are a lot of well funded projects out there. There are also many other sites that promote independent music. We are very realistic about what we are doing and why we are doing.

James, myself and many others involved in the project have significant experience in building ecommerce sites and it could be argued that it would be easier for us to do it within a traditional business framework, but that is not what we have decided to do.

What we are doing is simple enough but has a lot of parts to it. Within the framework of a social network structure we are pulling together a community of sorts. Music is the center-point of the community but like all communities you need others to maintain it. In our case that includes programmers, web designers, marketing people, and many others. To that end we wanted to follow open source models and see of they applied to areas outside software development. They do. However, to accommodate this project had to become more than a music site.

Promoting independent artists is something I believe in very strongly, but the venues for promotion out there seem to take a piecemeal approach to promoting these artists and don’t offer a cohesive platform for them. That being said any business requires more than just the people who produce the product. Musicians need access to programmers, designers, marketing people, and many others. To that end we have planned to accommodate them within the project as well.

The project is not for everyone… each of us involved derives our own benefit from it in our own way.

I can only speak to my own motives which are simple enough… I am not exactly thrilled with the state of commercial music, I think there is a lot of untapped talent out there both in and out of music, and I like designing projects and building stuff.
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