Lil Wayne (http://www.Rapweekly.com/http://www.Rapweekly.com/www.lilwayne-online.com) will sell downloads of his highly anticipated Universal Motown release, Tha Carter III directly to fans via his website, social network pages and official blog using the Musicane widget -- a viral player with embedded commerce capability. Lil' Wayne's Musicane widget will be posted on all of his official sites offering fans a chance to buy the entire album and/or individual songs directly from his page. The player will also stream previews of the album, promotional interviews and, in the immediate future, merchandise and other products. The digital music downloads sold via Lil' Wayne's Musicane will be 320 kbps DRM-free MP3's, assuring that the music will be playable on a broad array of portable and home music players including Apple iPod's and iTunes.
"Lil Wayne is a natural fit to help further this movement not just because of his stature in the music world but more for his bold attitude toward change. He knows that the new model for the flow of music distribution is rooted in empowering the fans, not the traditional gate keepers that tend to slow everything down," says Musicane President and COO Vikramaditya Jain.
Musicane enables direct retail of digital and physical product through artist websites, as well as through embedded widgets that sit on users' personal websites, blogs and social networks. Billing, payment processing and delivery are also incorporated into the widget. Fans can post Lil Wayne Musicane widgets onto their own social media profiles, allowing them to share in the revenues generated through sales made from their widget. This 2-way relationship represents a fundamental shift in the traditional top-down approach that record labels have relied on in the past. Now fans and key "influencers" can virally participate in the launch of an artist's release and be rewarded for their efforts.
Lil Wayne will release Tha Carter III June 10th fresh off the success of the albums debut smash "Lollipop", which reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Tha Carter III, the last of his 'Carter Trilogy', has been called by XXL "The number one most anticipated album of the year." With production from Kanye West, Swizz Beatz and Alchemist among others as well as collaborations with Jay-Z, Busta Rhymes, Lil Mama, Ludacris, Fabolous, Juelz Santana and Robin Thicke The Carter III promises to be one of music's biggest releases.
Musicane, a media distribution and social shopping company founded by internet entrepreneurs Vikramaditya Jain and Sudhin Shahani. In September of 2006, Black Eyed Peas' frontman Will.i.am became a partner in the company.
Earlier this year, The Universal Music Group inked a deal granting Musicane a license to sell its entire catalogue in MP3 form via Musicane's network of websites, widgets and media players. To date, Musicane has generated over 50 million impressions and created incremental retail sales around album release campaigns of up to 55%. Recently, Musicane garnered attention for its distribution of Saul Williams' newest album The Rise and Fall of Niggy Tardust. Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor came out in support of the company's distribution services in an interview with New York Magazine.
See the Musicane widget on Lil Wayne's website http://www.Rapweekly.com/http://www.Rapweekly.com/www.lilwayne-online.com
