Independent Radio Station, SongPlanet.com Bucks The Trend

Independent Radio Station, SongPlanet.com Bucks The Trend

Url: http://www.songplanet.com

With artists as famous as Prince and companies as large as Universal Music giving away their music, what would possess SongPlanet.com, a small Independent music site, to take the exact opposite approach and start requiring artists on their site to make their songs available for sale?

"We believe that great Independent music should be valued, both by the listeners and the artists themselves," says SongPlanet.com's founder and CEO, Christian McCarty. "If an artist doesn't think his or her work is worth a dollar, there is something really wrong with the music industry."

Last month, SongPlanet.com changed its policy for free artist pages and now requires the artists to make their songs available for digital download sales on the site.

"SongPlanet has always been different from the other music sites," explains McCarty. "We work collaboratively with the artists, and the focus has always been on creating a place where listeners could easily find exceptional Indie music for personal enjoyment or for business uses."

"The real difference," says McCarty, "is SongPlanet Radio, which has been on the air since 2003. We produce a radio stream with the music selected by our DJs, and our charts are based on those DJ plays. We're not a vanity site-the charts can't be gamed by the artists and their friends."

While many online radio stations have threatened to shut down over the pending increases in royalties, the legislation is not a concern to McCarty. "The change in royalties doesn't affect us," says McCarty. "We collaborate with the Indie artists by providing infrastructure and support to get their music heard, and they provide us royalty-free licenses. If any listeners are losing their favorite stations, we invite them to check us out."

A visitor to SongPlanet.com will quickly see differences from other music sites. There is no blatant third-party advertising, and even SongPlanet's own for-sale goods and services are downplayed. "I've never been accused of being an astute businessman," laughs McCarty. "I got into this because I have a passion for Independent music, and wanted to make a difference. If we ever make any money doing this, it will be because the artists are also making money. That's how it should be."

When asked how he'll know if his off-beat strategy is a success, McCarty said "When I have to hire someone to write all the royalty checks, I'll know we have accomplished our goals."