Notorious Internet entrepreneur and hacker, Kim Dotcom, has launched a new music streaming website called Baboom.
The Megaupload founder developed the service to be available in late 2014, but it launched in preview mode today to release his first album.
Baboom aims to let artists sell music directly to their fans, keeping 90% of the profits. It will also allow artists to make money even if they offer their music for free by launching a plugin that replaces normal adverts with ads delivered from its own ad network. Each time a user views an ad, they will be paid a small amount of money that they can use to buy music.
Baboom currently features an animated background with a transparent banner running down the centre of the homepage with the Baboom logo and the headline: "Can’t wait to see what we’re all about? Check the first album ever released on Baboom". There is a link to Good Times, the first album by Kim Dotcom. The site also invites potential users to subscribe to the website for an early access invitation.
In an interview with Wired, Dotcom said he would be launching his own electronic dance album to "understand what an artist goes through to make a record". He describes Baboom as "an iTunes-Spotify hybrid competitor which allows artists to sell direct to their fanbase and keep 90 percent of sales."
According to Dotcom on Twitter, the album had almost 80,000 plays in its first hour online.
