Megaupload founder and alleged piracy king Kim Dotcom announced on Twitter that his “disruptive” music service Megabox will launch later this year. Megabox will let artists to sell their music directly to consumers while allowing them to keep 90% of their earnings. The service employs what it calls the “Megakey,” which enables artist to make money even from users who download their music for free. Dotcom previously claimed the business model was a success and revealed that is has been tested on more than a million users so far, though he has not elaborated on exactly how the new system works.
“You need to understand that some labels are run by arrogant and outdated dinosaurs who have been in business for 1000 years. These guys think an iPad is a facial treatment, the Internet is the devil, and wired phones are still hip,” Dotcom previously argued. “They are in denial about the new realities and opportunities. They don’t understand that the rip-off days are over. Artists are more educated than ever about how they are getting ripped off and how the big labels only look after themselves.”
[Via ZDNet]
