DISTRO.fm Goes Open Source
Progress in Progress
Here at DISTRO.fm, we’ve been working to build a nonprofit alternative to the big digital music distribution sites. Our mission is to make it simple and profitable for artists to distribute their music online.
In furtherance of this mission, we rely on contributions (tax deductible donations) from various outside companies / brands to support the site, thus ensuring that the money that is being exchanged for music is going directly to the artist. We have been unsuccessful in our hunt for an ambitious brand willing to be our ‘Marquee Launch Sponsor.’
We’ve decided to try an experiment: WE WANT TO GO OPEN SOURCE. We’re going to need a lot of help to make this a reality, but our objective remains the same: too much of the money being exchanged in the digital music marketplace is being lost to third party intermediaries. Let’s bring that power back to the artists creating the music.
HERE’S HOW YOU CAN HELP:
- Obviously, we need coders to build the site. (The server runs on Node.js. The front end is a single web page which talks to the backend with a JSON API.)
- We can also use help with project management. Transitioning to an open-source platform is a bit daunting, and we would love to hear from people who have done this in the past.
- We want the site to have unparalleled user experience. Please get in touch if you have experience with UX / UI.
- We still have our ears open for a brand partner that would be willing to make a tax deductible donation to offset our operating costs for launch and the first year after launch. (Marquee Launch Sponsor.)
If you have a desire to help on this project, please drop me a line: kyle@distro.fm.
Best,
Kyle Marler
