Famous and obscure musicians benefit from free downloads

"Shot in the Back of the Head," the top-selling iTunes track off Moby's new, self-released album "Wait for Me," is also the song he released as a free download, which has been available for months and remains available as a free download.

In related news, Henrik sez, "Imagiro explains why they released their debut album What to Do and How to Do It (yes, the title is inspired by an old BoingBoing post) on a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA license and made it freely available at the same time as they market it through the ordinary channels of music distribution. They did this with the blessing of KODA, the Danish rights-holders society. It is available in mp3, ogg and flac formats, the latter of which via bittorrent."

First of all, releasing What to Do and How to Do It on a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA license is a very clear way of communicating to the users of the album what uses we think are fair. We love when people make remixes and mash-ups and thus combine old works to create new ones. By allowing non-commercial uses and derivatives everyone can use our music, e.g. as background for a Youtube-video or post remixes on a blog. However, if you want to use the music for a commercial or release the remix commercially, you'll have to ask us first and agree to a contract.
Free Download an iTunes Shot In The Arm For Moby

Why Creative Commons?

(Thank, CF and Henrik!)

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  1. @Godot now that’s a great idea, if you’re serious about allowing people to remix your music, you should definitely allow people to remix the music.

    On a related note, I’m already on my fourth listening to the Imagiro album, I’ve donated $2.95 AUD (the last remaining funds on my PayPal account) I love the album, but then again they are homeboys from Copenhagen! I just wished they would provide lyrics to their own songs, because it would help if anyone wants to remix the music or make a music video, I’m not very good at listening to the lyrics so the text would really help.

  2. you forgot to mention that “shot in the back of the head” was animated by David Lynch (who is now a parody of himself) which is the only reason i can see for it’s popularity. the video itself is boring and horribly animated and the song is your typical moby drivel. i love David Lynch and his work but this video is absolute crap.

  3. Having listened to it, I am not a fan of the Moby song at all. But I do appreciate him letting me download it with impunity.

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