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The charitable (RED) initiative will soon include music downloads, part of an expanding relief effort for Africa. The new (RED)Wire, currently pre-launch, will focus on batches of curated downloads, delivered periodically to monthly subscribers. According to pre-release details shared with Digital Music News, the subscription revenues will be used to pay for various life-saving medications, a structure that coincides with the broader, (RED) charter.
Heading the Wire effort will be Don MacKinnon, founder of innovative retailer Hear Music. The company was acquired by Starbucks, though MacKinnon left the coffee giant in 2006. MacKinnon has tapped Dave Jaworski of PassAlong Networks to help power the new project.
The broader, Bono-inspired (RED) initiative diverts a portion of consumer purchases towards disease relief efforts in Africa, specifically those tied to AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. The high-profile, celebrity-infused concept already involves companies like Apple, Microsoft, American Express, Converse, Motorola, Armani, Hallmark, and Dell. In the case of Apple, the most conspicuous involvement comes from a red-soaked iPod nano and shuffle, though it remains unclear what percentage of those purchases go to (RED). Others are also dialed into the red color theme, and the mix of products includes a red Amex card and a red RAZR from Motorola.
(RED)Wire will also carry red branding, though the action is happening online. According to information shared by Jaworski, the subscription packages will cost $5 per month, of which $2.50 will be directed towards relief efforts. The collection will include an exclusive track from a featured artist, an emerging artist "that (RED) and Bono think you should know," and a non-music "Cracker Jack surprise," a wildcard that can include a comedy bit, short film, or wallpaper. The package will also include an update on African relief efforts.
The critical question is whether music fans will bite, especially those disinterested in paid downloads or lukewarm on charitable causes. But during a discussion at Digital Music Forum West in Los Angeles last week, MacKinnon pointed to a concept designed to reinvigorate music discovery and reawaken appetites. "The idea of (RED) is not to create a one-off," MacKinnon explained, while pointing to a typical iPod owner struggling with a stale collection. "These people really just want a bite-sized feed of great music, pushed to them from artists they know and artists they get to discover from someone they trust. This is not thirty songs on a sampler, but a very hand-picked, exclusive piece of music coming to them in a push."
Those contents will be entirely DRM-free, and delivered within a package built using Adobe Flex and Adobe AIR. That enclosure both delivers and plays content, though users can easily port their MP3s into other players and devices.
Jaworski stopped short of naming marquee artists, though Radiohead is rumored to be an early participant. MacKinnon and Jaworski are also likely to spread their message with simple mathematics. "It really is an incredible value," Jaworski shared. "You and four friends equals one life saved," the executive calculated based on the estimated cost of medication.
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