NEW YORK, NY. (Top40 Charts/ SpiralFrog) - SpiralFrog, Inc., (www.spiralfrog.com) announced today the launch of its free ad-supported Web site, promising to change the way college students discover and download music.
SpiralFrog lets music enthusiasts feed their addiction to music with free, legal and unlimited downloading. The SpiralFrog site allows anyone to access and download files from a library of more than 800,000 songs and one of the largest music video catalogs on the Net, with new content being added every day. Music fans can view millions of artist bios, reviews, discographies and album art, among other rich content features. SpiralFrog also offers an application that lets users keep track of the hottest downloaded songs on their Facebook profile page.
For no cost, students can easily access music by major acts like Beck, The Killers, Maroon 5, Amy Winehouse, U2, Black-Eyed Peas, Gwen Stefani, Kanye West, Nine Inch Nails, All-American Rejects and 50 Cent, and also discover up-and-coming acts like The Hold Steady, Kaiser Chiefs, Colbie Caillat, M.I.A., Snow Patrol, Klaxons, Marie Digby, Shiny Toy Guns, Art Brut, Aesop Rock, Feist and Sufjan Stevens. SpiralFrog offers music in practically every genre, from rock, pop and hip-hop to jazz, world music, Latin and reggae. Registered users must only renew their free subscription every 30 days to keep downloading music, and every 60 days to keep listening to files. Audio and video files downloaded from SpiralFrog never expire.
Songs and videos downloaded on SpiralFrog will play on Windows PCs running XP and Vista. Users can download to their PCs and synchronize their music with up to two portable music players or music-enabled phones that support Windows Media DRM.
'College students demand fast access to music and they want it free, but they still want artists to be paid for their work and creativity,' said Joe Mohen, chairman and founder of SpiralFrog. 'SpiralFrog will let them download songs and video at no cost�other than their time and attention�while compensating music owners by sharing ad revenue.'
'Research has shown that music enthusiasts have traditionally gone to one site for discovery and another for downloading,' said Mel Schrieberg, chief executive officer of SpiralFrog. 'At SpiralFrog, users can search for new artists, learn about favorites, and download as many tracks as they want, with none of the problems that plague peer-to-peer sites, like viruses, mislabeled information, incomplete files, and inconsistent download times. Even better, students will not have to worry about getting any letters from the RIAA.'
The user experience on the SpiralFrog Web site is designed to be intuitive and simple, with a clean and uncluttered layout. Extensive search capabilities allow users to search by artist and by genre, letting them easily find both new artists and the music they love. Users also will have tools that allow them to share music discoveries and rich content with friends, and get dynamic search results based on the preferences and activities of others.
As part of the SpiralFrog experience, users will see relevant, targeted advertising that does not interfere with their enjoyment of music.
"College students understand that advertising pays for the music, but that doesn't mean the ads should interfere with the enjoyment of it," said George Hayes, SpiralFrog's senior vice president of marketing and sales. "SpiralFrog does not include ads in downloaded files. Rather, we integrate advertising into the experience, in a compelling and fun way. SpiralFrog is an attractive opportunity for marketers because we reach the highly-desirable college demographic when they are engaged in pursuing their passion for music."
The SpiralFrog model provides the quintessential alternative to piracy and illicit file-sharing. Despite efforts by the music industry and the availability of multiple digital music providers, it is estimated that just one in 40 downloads is paid for (source: BigChampagne). In contrast to file-sharing services, SpiralFrog offers free and legal music in a safe environment, with consistent quality and download time. SpiralFrog users are never at risk of downloading viruses and never have to worry about adware or spyware. On the business side, by sharing advertising revenues with artists, labels, publishers and performing rights organizations, SpiralFrog monetizes free music consumption.
