Vast Active Library and Information Science blog. From a recent library science graduate in Wellington, New Zealand. A focus on reference and current awareness tools and issues, especially free, web-based resources.

 
This is a great story. Justafan.org is a site set up by fans of Wilco as a 'payback' to the band for making its new album available for download months before the official release date. The site enables fans to make donations to Doctors Without Borders, as "a symbolic downpayment...in advance of the album's release....as a measure of good faith....to show that there will always be an audience who will pay for good music".

The site notes that when Wilco's last album was made available online months before its commercial release, it ended up being their biggest-selling album yet, reaching #13 on Billboard.

So: Wilco gets their album out online, and it doesn't hurt their sales. The fans get to hear the songs in advance of the release date. Doctors Without Borders get some extra cash.

Sounds pretty good to me.

Off Metafilter

| posted by Simon at 9:58 am