Kim Dotcom Previews Megabox Music Service [VIDEO]

Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom posted two videos on YouTube today indicating that his Megabox project is nearing completion. One of the videos offers a behind-the-scenes look at seemingly large development team working on Megabox, while also teasing at a number of features and functions including artist lists and the ability for both users and artists to upload their music to the service.

Dotcom first revealed Megabox back in December of 2011, just before his criminal proceeding became known by the public. He introduced Megabox as “a site that will soon allow artists to sell their creations direct to consumers and allowing artists to keep 90% of earnings.” He also explained that artists should “rejoice” that his service aims to shift the balance of power from corporations to the artists who produce the content itself.

“Code 90% done, servers on the way, lawyers, partners & investors ready. Be patient. It's coming,” Dotcom said recently from his Twitter account.

The Megaupload founder's goal with Megabox is to grant consumers with public access to free music while compensating content creators through the site’s advertising revenue. That revenue will be coming from the “Megakey” application that users must install, which works similarly to an ad blocker, but rather than blocking ads, it will replace a small percentage of them with Mega’s own ads. Users who would rather not have the Megakey app installed have the option to purchase the music instead.

Ninety percent of the revenue generated from Megabox will go directly to artists, while Megabox will keep the remaining ten percent. Dotcom believes that his “free music” business model has the potential to reduce the amount of piracy, while giving artists fair compensation for their created works.

During one of the videos, Dotcom reveals that both artists and music consumers will have the ability to create separate profiles and upload as much music as they'd like.  Also, a few frames showed a listing of “Megabox Exclusive Artists” and had displayed four popular artists: The Black Keys, Rusko, Two Fingers and will.i.am.

While it remains unconfirmed whether or not these artists are actually on board for the Megabox launch, a lot of anticipation continues to build as the service is set to debut publically in a matter of weeks. 

Watch the behind-the-scenes trailer:

And the Megabox promo video:

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Hisham Dahud is a Senior Analyst for Hypebot.com. Additionally, he is the head of Business Development for Fame House and an independent musician. Follow him on Twitter: @HishamDahud