Magnatune founder John Buckman told technology law podcast OUT-LAW Radio that the company would soon release streaming products to earn revenue from the growing number of its customers who are streaming its music rather than downloading and owning it.
"What I'm finding is in an era now when we're all connected to the internet a lot, people don't really want to download music because then you have to manage it, you have to download it and make sure you don't lose it and if your computer blows up you have to go and re-download it," said Buckman. "What people want is access to music."
Magnatune currently allows anyone to listen to all of its music online, with announcements between tracks. Downloads or CDs are paid for.
Buckman said he had observed the shift in listening patterns over the past two years, during which time the number of listeners to Magnatune's online streaming service tripled to 45,000 a day, while its sales of CDs and downloaded albums halved.
He said he would soon launch streaming services for $10, $20 and $40 per month. In the most expensive package, users would be able to listen to any music, download any music and
"You simply don't have to think about buying any more, you just listen online and you give us a little bit of money and you can listen to everything as a stream," he said. "If you like something you can download it for free as well."
Buckman said that the $40 plan is "a little crazy". Under it, he said, a subscriber indicates what of the streamed music they like and Magnatune will post them 10 CDs every month from their list of favourites.
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