Indie911 is offering a DRM-free version of the the indie film "Before The Music Dies" via it's Hoooka viral download widget. While the film continues to screen widely through its innovative grassroots release,
this is the first time that the documentary will be available for sale in a digital version. (We'll be posting the widget later today.)
Through a partnership with the film’s distributor B-Side Entertainment fans have two options for
purchasing the music documentary. $9.99 buys a high-resolution MPEG file suitable for burning to a DVD or full-screen playback. For $3.99, a small-format MPEG file can be downloaded for playback portable video players. Hoooka’s viral marketing and sales model allows users who feature the
customized hoooka players on their blog, website or MySpace page earn 10% of the profits when other online fans purchase the film.
"Before The Music Dies" looks at today’s popular music industry and has built a cult following as “the most important film a music fan will ever see” (XM Radio). Filmmakers Andrew Shapter and Joel Rasmussen walked away from traditional Hollywood distribution to partner with B-Side Entertainment, so that they could bring the film directly to music fans. Since its grassroots release in November 2006, the film has screened nearly 200 times in over 100 markets.
