Dmusic gives unsigned artists a chance

WITH THE RIAA on the back of anyone using p2p clients, and other methods, to download music, it is becoming increasingly hard for music to be downloaded, with a constant threat of being sued. However, dmusic promises to change things for unsigned artists, giving them the opportunity to get demo material online in a new music community.

The premise, though, is nothing new. Mp3.com has been doing this thing for years, with both signed and unsigned artists being able to upload their music - now at a price, mind. So, what is special about dmusic.com? Unfortunately, as far as I can tell, not much. It's undoubtedly a good thing that unsigned artists are able to freely upload their music, but why do it here when mp3.com has been doing it better for years?

Also, dmusic.com definitely needs to sort out it's genre labels. In the folk you will find mediocre acoustic ballads, and in some cases bizarre funk/rock ("I'm Going To Stop You" by Frances Plante - Scott). Looking through the 'hardcore' section, you will find average bands which are in no way hardcore. There do seem to be some genuine artists on the site, mainly in the jazz, classical and 'hip hop' sections, but on the whole it gives me the impression that the majority of artists are bored people with a copy of Fruityloops or Cubase.

Of course, me being critical of the artists isn't really very relevant to the website. Within a few years, it's possible that there will be a thriving unsigned music community, but until then I'm afraid I'll be avoiding this one.

Edit: Apparently, drmusic.com is not a new site, and has quite a strong indie following.