The DeliverASong.com Concept
In 2005, I wanted to send a song (Come Undone by Duran Duran) to a young lady friend, because I thought that the poetry in that song might have a special meaning to her. I went online to all of the major digitial music vendors, but none of them let me simply send that song to her online as a gift. I wound up buying a CD at BestBuy and mailing it to her.
At that time (and still largely today), the music industry was aggressively clamping down on peer-to-peer networks and other ways that people were using to acquire music without paying for it. I believe that was just one of the factors that caused online vendors to shy away from letting buyers send digital music as gifts over the Internet.
However, I figured that there must be an opportunity for a legitimate, totally legal way for purchasers to buy and send music over the Internet. I told my concept to a friend, fellow techie and music lover, and we further refined and clarified that idea. We then submitted a provisional patent application for our new method, and later submitted a more detailed (non-provisional) application. Our method is now "patent pending."
Our approach is fundamentally different than that used by virtually all "traditional" sellers of digital music, which require the buyer to agree to a set of terms and conditions -- an online contract -- that almost always restricts the buyer from sending or sharing those songs with others. In our approach, we separate the buyer of the music from the recipient/user of that music. Only the recipient (and ultimate user) has to agree with the contract, which stipulates that this music is for the recipient's personal use only, and is not to be sent to or shared with others.
The majority of the revenue (about two-thirds) from the sale of songs on deliverasong.com goes to the artists. The remainder pays for our expenses to develop, support, and grow this site, and to locate really good emerging (or re-emerging) artists and their music. By paying for this music, you'll be supporting the local artist community and ensuring a steady flow of innovative new music that will inspire you, energize you, make you laugh, or make you cry.
Welcome to DeliverASong.com!
Jerry Werner
Founder
Virtual Music, Inc.
Buda, TX
