VIDEOS-Megupload Coming Back & MegaBox is Growing
 

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 07:47 AM PDT

Kim Dotcom Teases Megabox, Reveals Exclusive Artists?

http://torrentfreak.com/images/megabox-exclusive.jpg



December last year Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom revealed his plan to put the “dinosaur record labels” out of business.


Not through piracy, but with the release of a revolutionary music platform called Megabox.


A month later, however, the Megabox domain was seized as part of the criminal case against Megaupload. While many thought this was the end of Dotcom’s ambitious plans, the Megaupload founder announced a few months later that Megabox is not dead yet.

On the contrary, Dotcom said that some of the world’s top artists have already signed up.


In recent months Dotcom has been working with a team of developers to get Megabox ready for a highly anticipated launch later this year. Today, Megaupload’s founder gave us a look behind the scenes of Megabox and revealed some rather interesting details.

Megabox is coming






Aside from providing a sneak peek at some of the Megabox features, the video also shows a few frames where it lists “Megabox exclusive artists.” The four artists that are displayed in this section are “The Black Keys,” “Rusko,” “Two Fingers” and “Will.i.am.”

While we can’t be sure that these are indeed artists that have partnered with Dotcom and Megabox, the choice to include these names seems far from random. Will.i.am previously worked on Megaupload’s Mega Song for example, and the other three artists are not really the most logical choice for dummy data.

TorrentFreak asked Kim Dotcom whether the exclusive artists in the video are indeed launch partners, but Dotcom said that he can’t share this information just yet. We’ll have to wait a few more weeks for official confirmation.

So why would artists join Megabox in the first place?

The goal of Megabox is to give the public access to free music and compensate artists through advertising revenue. Megaupload’s founder believes that this “free music” business model has the potential to decrease music piracy while giving artists proper compensation for their work.

This revenue comes from the Megakey application that users have to install. Megakey works like an ad blocker, but instead of blocking ads it replaces a small percentage with Mega’s own ads. Those who prefer not to install the app have the option to buy the music instead.

“Music will be free for users who install the Megakey App. Anyone who does not like the App can just purchase the music,” Dotcom told TorrentFreak previously.

Most of the revenue generated will go directly to the artists with Megabox keeping a small share. This fraction pales in comparison to the amounts held back by the major labels.

“These new solutions will allow content creators to keep 90% of all earnings and generate significant income from the untapped market of free downloads,” Dotcom said.

In the weeks to come Kim Dotcom and his team are hoping to get Megabox ready for a public release, with or without “The Black Keys,” “Rusko,” “Two Fingers” and “Will.i.am” as exclusive artists.

In addition, Megaupload is also expected to return before the end of 2012.

Megabox Promo

Re: VIDEOS-Megupload Coming Back & MegaBox is Growing
 

Megaupload Readies for Comeback, Code 90% Done


With 50 million visitors per day at its peak, Megaupload was one of the largest websites on the Internet.

This quickly changed January this year when the U.S. Government took down the file-hosting service and had several key employees arrested including founder Kim Dotcom.

Abruptly, the focus of Megaupload’s team shifted from serving customers to defending itself in a high-profile criminal prosecution. While the criminal case is moving ahead very slowly, Megaupload’s founder does have some progress to report on another front.

Dotcom previously announced that he planned to bring Megaupload back to life, and new information suggests that this may happen rather quickly. In an update this weekend he tweets that most of the work on the second incarnation of the site is already done.

“Quick update on the new Mega: Code 90% done. Servers on the way. Lawyers, partners and investors are ready,” Dotcom teases.

“Be patient it’s coming,” he adds.

From the brief progress update it’s clear that the site is on schedule for launch later this year. In addition, it’s interesting to note that despite the ongoing criminal case, partners and investors are happy to be involved.

In recent weeks Dotcom has delivered several hints about the new Megaupload, which he says will be bigger and better than the file-hosting service that was taken down.

“We are building a massive global network. All non-US hosters will be able to connect servers & bandwidth,” he explained earlier.

According to Dotcom we can expect a Megaupload with an even greater range of applications than just file-sharing. While developers of file managers are being encouraged to get in touch for early API access, Dotcom is also calling out to those involved in email and fax tools, VOIP and video apps.

It’s clear that Dotcom doesn’t have the slightest urge to throw in the towel.

“They abused the wrong guy. I am going to turn this world upside down. Power to the people. Bye bye Echelon. Hello Freedom,” Dotcom added.

It will be at least a few more weeks before the new Megaupload appears online, but there are exciting times ahead. MEGA exciting.