From the Associated Press
September 3, 2008
New music site gives fans a cut of tune sales
By Rachel Metz
NEW YORK (AP) — Being a trendsetter can be pricey. As any fashionista or gadget hound knows, the latest frocks and tech toys don't pay for themselves. But a new Web site is trying to make it profitable for music lovers to stay ahead of the curve — by paying them when other people purchase MP3s they've bought.
Berkeley, Calif.-based Popcuts, which publicly launched its Web site in early August, charges users 99 cents per song. Thereafter, whenever someone else buys the same song, those who have already bought it get paid in credit that can be redeemed for more Popcuts music. The earlier you buy a song, the larger your cut of future sales.
And while credit is currently the payment option, the site's founders hope to eventually pay users in cash, too.
Hannes Hesse, 28, one of the company's three co-founders, said the idea came from a desire to better align the interests of artists who want to sell their music and fans who want to get it for free.
"We thought that by providing this extra incentive to buy a song legally, namely, owning a stake in that song, would make it more attractive to buy," Hesse said....
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