The New York Post is reporting that Downtown Records and Internet entrepreneur Peter Rojas plan to launch an online-only record label that will offer its music for free and generate revenue only through advertising and sponsorships.
One source familiar with the project described it as a “curated YouTube or MySpace for music with an editorially driven filter.”
This source said RCRD LBL would feature a central destination site from which content for various genres of music from rock to electronica to urban can be accessed by consumers and branded or sponsored by advertisers.
“There’s an urgency in the industry to find new ways to monetize content,” said one source familiar with the project, “and the economics of the Internet facilitate this model because it allows for a leaner organization while letting fans dictate the process.”
Downtown Records has Cold War Kids, Gnarls Barkley, Wax on Radio, Art Brut and others in their stable of artists.