Muzit: an alternative approach to music piracy
Summary
We’ve watched the entertainment industry engage in a futile exercise, to try to find some college student and fine them for thousands of dollars (for downloading music without paying for it)…These are your fans. The people we represent are copyright owners who choose not to alienate their fans.” Most artists, if given the choice, probably wouldn’t want to sue their fans but would rather reach out to them and find other ways to win back some of the revenue lost through songs, Funderburk explains. Muzit might only be six months old—he jokes about the company being the type of overnight success that only took years to achieve—but Funderburk says his office was flooded with calls and interest from “music labels, music publishers, attorneys, lots of indie bands, especially lots of EDM bands contacted us to sign up for service.” EDM musicians in particular embrace the idea of sharing, but that doesn’t get them email addresses or bring in any cash. Fans might be skeptical or turned off by an email that “automagically” shows up in their inbox after downloading a song without paying for it, but Funderburk is confident more will be interested in and curious about engaging with their favorite artists. You’ll be really jealous when your friends who got the invitation got free tickets and you didn’t.” Fans who receive emails from the artists who work with Muzit are the ones who choose to opt in, something Funderburk says separates what his company does from what U2 did with its album released via iTunes.