Finally, Someone Is Getting It Right

When the whole Napster thing blew up about five years ago, I made the point several times in forums and in emails to record labels that there was a whole universe of music that could be made available for sale through a download medium that might otherwise never see the light of day. Having used Napster, and then the wonderful Audiogalaxy, primarily to locate out of print and commercially unavailable records from the early to mid eighties, I couldn't see why Sire, or Warners, or whoever, couldn't make recordings available legitimately for download at a fraction of the cost of pressing and printing reissued albums that may or may not sell.

Now, finally, thanks to the increasing popularity of downloading, it's possible to find some digital nuggets out there. I've been particularly impressed with Amazon's DRM free selections. Here's a few examples:

The Wild Swans - 1982
In Embrace - This Brilliant Evening
The Smiths - Work Is A Four Letter Word
Alphaville - The Voyager
Red Box - Lean On Me 2007
Sal Solo - Music + You
Nik Kershaw - Promises, Promises
The Lucy Show - New Message
Stephen Tin Tin Duffy - I Love You
Eyeless In Gaza - Voice From The Tracks
The Wolfgang Press - Sweatbox
Colourbox - The Official Colourbox World Cup Theme (12" Mix)
The Mekons - Fantastic Voyage

On the whole, I'd say things are looking bright for the future of legal downloading.