Three Niche Sites Swim Upstream Against The iTunes Tsunami
Three online stores that are fighting the iTunes tsunami and hoping for long lives by finding their own niches and serving them well, according to an article in the Village Voice.
– TightTunes which allows bands to create their own MySpace like communities including blogs, photos. One twist is the TightTunes allows bands to sell downloads and doesn’t take a cut of the action. They make their money with ads. Mostly hip-hop and dance.
– Insound who gives away mp3’s in part to encourage people to buy physical CD’s from them. Mostly indie rock.
– DanceTracks a digital download and online CD store that is the brainchild of a NYC record store owner who has made deals with obscure but sought after dance labels from around the globe. While his market is just dance Stefan Prescott’s vision may have the most traction:
"I think the best way would be to package content, selection, and special offers into a unique subscription service," says Wishnow. "That said, we’re gonna start selling digital albums (not singles) this year, because we think that’s the format that still prevails in the indie world. Simultaneously, we’re gonna work on a new type of subscription that might include digital downloads, CDs, LPs, and other music-related products."
Read the full Village Voice article here.
How do you feel emusic fits in here? Their model is great, non-DRM .mp3’s with a reasonable subscription agreement? They’re one of my main sources for indie music becuase ultimately the price is so reasonable per track.
Emusic doesnt really fit into this model since they operate through music catalogues which already implies music is not being purchased directly from the artists