NoiseTrade is a global online audio and book direct-to-fan distribution platform. It is based in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

. It enables its users to upload original music and books and give away for free without

digital rights management Digital rights management (DRM) is the management of legal access to digital content. Various tools or technological protection measures (TPM) such as access control technologies can restrict the use of proprietary hardware and copyrighted works. ...

to anyone who provides at least an e-mail address and zip code. It was established by

Derek Webb Derek Walsh Webb (born May 27, 1974) is an American singer-songwriter who first entered the music industry as a member of the band Caedmon's Call, and later embarked on a successful solo career. As a member of the Houston, Texas-based Caedmon's C ...

and artists he knew after he became one of the first major label artist to give his digital album away. Over 80,000 free copies were downloaded.
"‘FREE DEREK WEBB’ CAMPAIGN CLOSES WITH OVER 80,000 DOWNLOADS OF MOCKINGBIRD CD."
' Press Release. Retrieved December 31, 2006. He used those mailing addresses to book shows. After attendance at his shows had increased dramatically he decided other artists could benefit from the same idea. He decided that the data would be more valuable than money made selling digital albums. Artists upload music with their free account, and then anyone can download ZIP files of mp3 and album art, only requiring an e-mail address and zip-code or country code for an opt-in newsletter from the artist. The media can be shared using various

social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...

or pay artists via a tip-jar. The site takes a 20% cut of the proceeds. It added features, many of which are common on other

music streaming A music streaming service is a type of streaming media service that focuses primarily on music, and sometimes other forms of digital audio content such as podcasts. These services are usually subscription-based services allowing users to stream d ...

and

music download A music download (commonly referred to as a digital download) is the digital transfer of music via the Internet into a device capable of decoding and playing it, such as a personal computer, portable media player, MP3 player or smartphone. Thi ...

websites, and supports books and other written media as well. Noisetrade was acquired by

PledgeMusic PledgeMusic was an online direct-to-fan music platform, launched in August 2009. It was started to facilitate musicians looking to pre-sell, market, and distribute projects; such as recordings and concerts. It bore similarities to other artist p ...

in 2016 and is currently owned by Paste Media Group.

References

External links

* Digital audio distributors Internet properties established in 2008 American music websites Companies based in Nashville, Tennessee {{music-website-stub