Local music burnable (rippable and downloadable) at the Library

Okay this is cool ...

There was a little snippet in Business 2.0 this month (from Hits & Misses, p 140, April 2006 -- sorry, couldn't find it online) ... It mentioned how Umpqua Bank based out of Oregon has set up kiosks inside about a third of the bank’s nearly 100 branches that allow customers to listen to the music of local bands and burn their own CDs for $8 or for free if they open a new account (you know, instead of a toaster or a coffee pot or a clock). They’re calling it the Discover Local Music Project, and apparently it’s a success ... the bank’s had a 20% increase in deposits and 48% increase in profits since the year before ...

To me this is a natural for us, and by “us” I mean libraries ... a kiosk or workstation or central server from which local music can be burned or ripped or downloaded or whatever is next ... I was never in a band, but the guys I knew who were local bands wanted exposure ... they never believed that they would make huge bucks on locally produced CDs ... they usually use them as cheapish marketing tools that will get them into the ears of more folks on the chance that one of those people will be someone who will break it open for them and make them famous.

Anyhow ... in the interest of locally relevant content and making it available and accessible to our patrons while also promoting locally creators of content ... this to me is a great idea and one that we can easily do ... you know, if we can manage the rights issues ... heh-heh-heh ...