(ENTER SITE)      What are WEED files?      (ENTER SITE)

WEED files are downloadable WMA (Windows Media) music files which have been encoded with a special digital-rights-management thingie. (We say they're "weedified".) To play 'em, you need Windows Media Player 8 or 9, and a Windows PC. You can play the file 3 times on your PC, and then you are asked to buy it, or the file is "locked" until you do. (One catch: it's Windows-only for now.)

The kicker: when you buy it, the artist gets 50%, WEED gets 15%, and whoever you bought it from gets 20%... and whoever THAT person bought it from gets 10%, and whoever s/he bought it from gets 5%. Then, that copy of the file is registered to your name. Now you can turn around and sell it to anyone else from your own website... you get 20% of each sale, Weed gets 15%, and the artist still gets their 50%. The person you bought it from now gets only 10%... ETC. You can sell it to as many people as you want, and you get 20% each time. When each of those people sell it, they get the 20%, and you get 10%... and so on, with the artist still getting 50% every time. This is oversimplified, but captures the essence. Go to weedshare.com for more info.

To purchase a file, you will be prompted (after 3 plays) to download a tiny app known as the Weed Media Activator from the Weed website. This allows you to open a "weed account". As a starting gift, Weed gives you five dollars in your account. After that, you'll need to use PayPal to put money into your Weed account and start buying and selling files.

Crazy, right? Here's what makes it work: To make sure illegal material is kept off the system and the right people are paid, Weed depends on certain trustworthy and technically savvy people to act as intermediaries between artists and the Weed system. These carefully chosen people, known as Weed ICPs (Independent Content Producers), are responsible for getting rights clearances ON PAPER from the artists before their songs can be Weedified, getting info on who gets paid, setting up artist accounts on the weed system which track their sales, and getting their WMA files "weedified". Some ICPs (such as myself) may also offer negotiable web-mastering and audio encoding services upon request, as well as top-level distribution/download sites (like this one) which will be co-promoted by the Weed company itself.

You can expect me to make this site an indispensible top-level source for cutting edge loud indy rock, including various of my friends and studio clients, just for starters. For a stylistic guideline, see my Production Discography. As the site grows, I will diversify the styles available... but for now, it's mostly Rock. All of the downloads are 100% legal, and there are signed documents authorizing every single one. Buy WEED files and support the artists directly! Check back here often for new music, and don't forget to share! It's actually OK to spread these around... in fact, they built an INCENTIVE for it into the system!

Read more about weed: Weedshare.com
Read Craig Anderton's article in EQ
Read about Weed at DownhillBattle.org