It may be better known as the purveyor of grunge style and ethnic throws to Britain’s student population. But Oxfam is about to reach the cutting edge of digital technology by becoming the first charity to launch its own music download site with backing from Coldplay and George Michael. The charity, which is already strongly linked to music through the patronage of musicians such as Coldplay’s Chris Martin, has teamed up with download company OD2 to launch BigNoiseMusic.com.
OD2, the white-label download service co-founded by former Genesis frontman Peter Gabriel, will provide the technology and licensing for the service. Tracks will cost from 75p each, with 10p from every pound spent on the site going to Oxfam. If the service is a success it is likely to lead to other charities launching their own download services. OD2, which provides the technology that lies behind sites such as MyCokeMusic.com and those from Tiscali and MSN, has licensed a library of 300,000 tracks.
It recently announced that over 1 million legal downloads were sold in Europe in the first quarter of this year. That number is expected to rise sharply throughout 2004 with the launch of more new services. BigNoiseMusic.com will also feature exclusive tracks from the likes of Coldplay and George Michael, who said recently that in future he would release all of his music over the internet, in an effort to stand out from dozens of other download site. Read the rest here
