I can agree with what Kit said a couple of messages back, including patting these guys on the back for their willingness to try something new and take a risk. I think there are two parts here.

First is the "shareware," try before you buy and pay what you think it's worth idea. Not bad. It may or may not work, but it's something different and it's definitely worth giving it a shot.

Second is the "open source" type license, and this is where we get into some difficulties, at least for commercial music (meaning, music that the writer/artist may want to make additional monies off of). The open source license, to my mind, doesn't work here.

Which is not to say that it can't work in any situation. In the software world, open source is primarily a COLLABORATIVE tool. It's reason for being is mainly to allow people to share and improve code, while not infringing on everyone else's copyrights. You get the benefit of many, many developers, all improving the same code base.

You COULD do this with music, perhaps especially with electronic, experimental, and similar types of music. I take my synth, come up with a unique patch, and crank out a few minutes worth of music. You download it, add your own unique sound to it, and post that for the next person. Etc.

With a whole community doing this, the original piece would "branch" off into many different forms, depending on who added what to which piece at which point in time. A hundred different "end results" from perhaps just one original synth line.

Brian Eno would love it! :-)

I think in that sort of context, an "open source" type of license might work well. Heck, it might even be a lot of fun! And everybody would be able to use the works they create and contribute to.

I just don't think it will work too well in the Magnatunes context.

--- Ed

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