Marley, Sub Pop, And Hate Dept. Sound Alive On The Web

Yahoo! Music, Feb 25, 1999 4:00 pm PST
(2/25/99, 1 p.m. PST) - The battle over digital distribution of music on the Internet is shaping up to be one of the biggest stories of 1999. In the latest installment, MCY.com, a new digital delivery service whose website is not yet open to the public, has just announced its acquisition of the distribution rights to 220 early Bob Marley recordings. Meanwhile, the Seattle-based independent label Sub Pop--the onetime label home of Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney--is planning to release several tracks by artists on its current roster in the MP3 format. The tracks will be available for downloading from either the MP3.com or Sub Pop websites. Hollywood-based Restless Records is also hopping on the MP3 train to promote an upcoming release by Los Angeles industrial act Hate Dept.

Marley fans will no doubt be interested to learn that the songs soon to be heard on MCY.com date from the reggae legend's formative years in the early '60s. All 220 recordings are owned by the JAD label, which is headed by Marley's first manager, Danny Simms. Many of them have never been previously released, while others existed only in very limited vinyl editions. All will be remastered as part of a series called The Complete Wailers, complete with sleeve notes and rare photos.

As for Sub Pop's new additions to the growing list of free promotional MP3-encoded tracks, they will include Saint Etienne's "Sylvie," the Pernice Brothers' "Overcome By Happiness," the Murder City Devils' "I Want A Lot Now (So Come On)," and Combustible Edison's "Laura's Aura." The label plans to make more songs available through MP3 in the near future.

Meanwhile, beginning March 1, Hate Dept.'s "Release It" will be featured as a free download on MP3.com.

Features on Soundgarden, Mudhoney, and Saint Etienne are available now on LAUNCH.com.

-- Mac Randall, New York

Got news tips, comments, or questions? Send them to newstips@launch.com.

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