Earache signs deal for album giveaway with… Rapidshare!
Friday, October 23rd, 2009
Rapidshare? Is that the same Rapidshare that’s one of the biggest venues for online music piracy? Absolutely. Label Earache Records has cut a deal to make the new album by thrash metal band Gama Bomb available through the site on 5 November, three months before the release of a CD version with extra tracks.
“The idea is for the greater good, to give fans a taste of Gama Bomb for free, legally,” says Earache MD Digby Pearson. “Actually, the cost saving of distribution through the internet is a big incentive for us. Piracy is not a problem, because if a fan passes on the download link it can also be seen as free promotion for the band.”
It’s not the first example of music being legitimately distributed using a service more often associated with piracy (it’s important to be accurate here: Rapidshare itself is not an illegal service). But it’s one of the more high-profile examples of a label doing it.
Not heard Gama Bomb? Be our guest:
