We've heard a lot about Kim Dotcom's Megabox in the past, even seeing a video teaser of some skinny jeans working on it back in September last year, but now apparently that name is dead. Following on from Dotcom's resignation as director of encrypted backup service MEGA, he's renamed his upcoming music platform Baboom.

This is just the latest refresh in a long running development. Dotcom's been hacking away to create an open platform for musicians to have control over their content and interact with fans for almost two years, placing the initial building blocks at the end of 2011.

Partly due to the US government holding the domain name Megabox.com and partly it seems to distance himself from the Mega brand, Dotcom has now confirmed to TorrentFreak that the new site will be called Baboom and will be found at Baboom.com.

“I am really excited about Baboom. I can’t wait for artists to see what I have created for them. Their entire career can be managed on Baboom. Artists never had more freedom, transparency and control,” he said.

We've also been given a sneak look at Baboom, with the caveat that some design elements may change in the future.

Artists shown at the moment are just placeholders, but Dotcom does purportedly have some big names on board. 

The idea behind the site is two fold. As well as providing managerial tools for artists and their staff, it also allows consumers to listen to music for free with no restrictions apart from a few adverts. Artists are then compensated for their music from advertising revenue. In Dotcom's eyes, this will reduce piracy, while at the same time making sure musicians feel like they're getting paid for their work. Of course though, in a fashion similar to Spotify, there will also be a paid for, ad-free version which is available for those that want it.

As it stands, there is no announced release date for Baboom, or at whether it will be affected by the outcome of Dotcom's impending extradition trial.

KitGuru Says: This doesn't sound wholly different from Spotify, apart from the fact that artists have more control over their music. However, if a platform like this was successful enough to garner large user numbers, it could really outmode a lot of services traditionally handled by record labels, making them even more redundant. Look out for some sort of legal action by the RIAA and BPI sooner rather than later. 

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