Hold Up! Was Megaupload Targeted Because Of Plans To Reform Music Biz? (DETAILS)

Reports have been saturating the web this week about file sharing site Megaupload and owner Kim Dotcom's demise, but could the bust have been tied to Megaupload's future and not their past?

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According to TechCrunch.com, a new theory surfaced yesterday that indicates that Megaupload's mega crack down may have less to do with piracy, and more to do with mega plans for reformation of the music industry.

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As reported by TechCrunch.com:

This theory stems from a 2011 article detailing Megaupload’s upcoming Megabox music store and DIY artist distribution service that would have completely disrupted the music industry.

TorrentFreak first reported about the service in early December 2011.

Dotcom described Megabox as Megaupload’s iTunes competitor, which would even eventually offer free premium movies via Megamovie, a site set to launch in 2012. This service would take Megaupload from being just a digital locker site to a full-fledged player in the digital content game.

The kicker was Megabox would cater to unsigned artists and allow anyone to sell their creations while allowing the artist to retain 90% of the earnings. Or, artists could even giveaway their songs and would be paid through a service called Megakey. “Yes that’s right, we will pay artists even for free downloads. The Megakey business model has been tested with over a million users and it works,” Kim Dotcom told TorrentFreak in December. Megabox was planning on bypassing the labels, RIAA, and the entire music establishment.

Whoa! That sounds like it would have been a sweet deal for the artists, but definitely an entire reformation of the music business.

The Megabox music model was supposed to drop this year, but with Kim Dotcom and a slew of his employees facing charges including racketeering, money laundering, and various counts of piracy, it's clear that we won't be seeing this technology any time soon.

SOURCE: TechCrunch.com