Freemix
| Public organisation | |
| Founded | 1994 |
| Headquarters | Tezira, Aðuna , |
Area served | Tyran |
| Services |
|
Number of employees | 10.000 (2018) |
| Divisions |
|
| Website | http://www.freemix.gls/ |
Freemix is a Gylian public organisation providing digital distribution for remixes. It is part of the publinet.
Freemix offers ad-free online distribution, streaming, and hosting of remixes. Artists can upload their works as stems and multitracks to allow for remixing and sampling. It is funded from taxation and subscriptions.
Users can stream content on demand and download it in several lossless formats.
Since its establishment, Freemix has had a significant impact and role in Gylian pop culture. It is the primary outlet for Gylias' remix culture.
History
Freemix was founded in 1994, as part of an effort to harness the increasingly popular internet for social and public service needs. It evolved out of the Proton Music project, designed to meet the needs of Gylias' remix culture.
The website launched on 1 September 1995, using the same open-source hosting and streaming software as Proton Music.
Freemix has been one of Gylias' most popular websites since its launch. It has experienced substantial user growth and has continued to expand functionality and services for users. Updates have included support for more formats, new user features, and compatibility with mobile operating systems.
The site serves as the main outlet for Gylian remix culture, superseding previous outlets such as fanzines. It hosts numerous musical works in stem format and remixes. It played a significant role in the renewed Gylian Invasion of the 1990s, becoming a key outlet for Gylian remixing and sampling to anyone with internet access.
The site had 20 million registered users as of December 2018.
Features
Users
Freemix users can access remixes and source files via their respective websites, and either stream them or download them. Listening and downloading is free, unlimited, and ad-free.
Notably, Freemix does not give users the option to purchase remixes or gift money directly to creators. This is due to the non-profit nature of Gylian remix culture and the taboo against making audiences pay for the same material twice.
Releases include cover art and liner notes in PDF format. Pages provide biographies for the creators or companies in question.
The Freemix catalogue can be searched using multiple criteria and embedded on other websites via unique URLs. Downloaded files lack any copy protection mechanisms, and are compatible with various media players. Skipping and scrubbing during streams are available to all users.
Users with accounts can additionally create playlists, follow other accounts, share, and upload their own works.
Artists
Artists and publishers with accounts can upload their works to Freemix, using various file formats. Music uploads are converted to OGG Vorbis or FLAC for streaming and download.
Artists can customise their pages, write their biography, or provide additional comments on their work. They can also access data regarding their web traffic, which is restricted to their accounts. A tool allows them to also access a database of music venues, cinemas, film festivals, or demoparties.
Artists can also upload the stems and multitrack files of their works to the site, to make it available for sampling and remixing.
Artists receive royalty payments for streaming through the Creative Rights Organisation, split equally between remix artists and original artists.
Copyright
Freemix functions in accordance with Gylian copyright law, and material released on it conforms to different public copyright licenses or is in the public domain. Public domain content still accords permanent moral rights to its creators.
Publinet connections
Works uploaded through Freemix are automatically connected to the rest of the publinet, which forms a unified database. A program automatically scans uploads and generates links to respective entries on the other websites.
Remixes are automatically linked to Proton entries, while usage of samples automatically creates Samplexicon entries.
Stems and multitracks are automatically linked to the original songs' Proton pages.
Music videos for remixes on NetStream automatically links to Freemix entries.
Funding
As a public organisation, Freemix is primarily funded from the federal government's budget, with contributions from regional and municipal governments. Users with accounts can also pay a subscription to support the site.
Ownership
Freemix is legally a public organisation, registered as a SP. The company is organised as a cooperative and governed by workers' self-management.
Its headquarters are in Tezira, Aðuna, forming an area known as the Ţiksagon.
Services
Freemix operates two websites for each of its services:
- Freemix — the main site, for remixes.
- Freetrax — the site for stems and multitrack files.
Geographic availability
Freemix is mainly available in Gylias, but can be accessed from anywhere in Tyran, as it does not use geo-blocking or regional lockout mechanisms.