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Digital MegaUpload Timeline
Kim Dotcom promises Megabox coming this year
By CMU Editorial | Published on Tuesday 14 August 2012
MegaUpload founder Kim Dotcom has said that his much previously discussed new music service, Megabox, basically a direct-to-fan platform for artists, will hit the internet later this year, despite being temporarily derailed by the shutdown of the rest of the Mega empire by US officials in January on copyright infringement grounds. It seems that Megabox will let artists who so wish to give away tracks, earning off ads or other revenue-generating schemes that will appear alongside their giveaways. Dotcom says artists will be given over 90% of revenues linked to their music.
As previously reported, there was a conspiracy theory doing the rounds in the spring – possibly instigated by Dotcom himself – that the MegaUpload takedown occurred when it did because the old school music industry feared the awesome power of Megabox, so sure (apparently) were the majors that every single artist would jump ship as soon as the new service went live, and release all future music through this new system. Obviously that wouldn’t actually happen, even if Megabox was a brilliant bit of technology which, if the other Mega websites are anything to go by, it won’t be.
Writing for TorrentFreak last December, before the shutdown, Dotcom said: “UMG knows that we are going to compete with them via our own music venture called Megabox.com, a site that will soon allow artists to sell their creations direct to consumers and allowing artists to keep 90% of earnings. We have a solution called the Megakey that will allow artists to earn income from users who download music for free. Yes that’s right, we will pay artists even for free downloads. The Megakey business model has been tested with over a million users and it works. You can expect several Megabox announcements next year including exclusive deals with artists who are eager to depart from outdated business models”.
He added: “You need to understand that some labels are run by arrogant and outdated dinosaurs who have been in business for 1000 years.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. 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”.
And concluded: “Dinosaur labels don’t have the answers to today’s new realities. UMG chose to wilfully sabotage our campaign instead of analyzing the situation and seeing that the answers to all their problems are right in front of them”.
Anyway, back to now, and Dotcom tweeted yesterday: “I know what you are all waiting for. It’s coming. This year. Promise. Bigger. Better. Faster. 100% Safe and unstoppable”, adding several hours later: “Yes… Megabox is also coming this year”.
