Rough times in digital music these days, as you all know if you've read a paper in the past six months. EMusic is about to be bitch-slapped off the Nasdaq, Napster's about to be shut down tomorrow, MP3.com's stock is going down like a $2 whore ... and those are the successful companies!

Most digital music sites depend on ads to pay the hosting bills - and we're one of them. With ads falling from a $10 CPM average six months ago to a very sad $0.75 CPM today, we're starting to wonder why we have ads at all!

But the hosting bill does need to be paid: [enter stage] pop-ads!

Ahh the joy of the $5 CPM; the annoying spawn of a browser window, the quick click on the "X" (there should be "close the pop-up window Olympics", I'd bring back mad golds) ... the disgusted look on the face of the visitor... how could you dmusic?!? How could you go through with the ultimate betrayal!!

Ladies, the market makes a man do horrible things. So here's what I want to discuss with those who care enough to comment, what road should we take?

(A) Bombard the llama anonymous/un-registered users with them, while registered/logged-in users never even get a whiff of their stink.


(B) Same as above, only the pop-ups don't appear on the main page even for anonymous users.. only on sub-pages.


(C) Set-Up a PayPal account where users who truly love DMusic subscribe and pay $X per month, gaining access to special areas and special priviledges, in exchange for removing the Pop-Ups all together. (Assuming enough people do it)


Honestly I can't think of other solutions, but we can discuss those as well. We want to make you happy and work as hard as we can for ya, but cash flow is an issue with everyone these days. I personally hope you understand, because it *pains* *us* to put these frickin' pop-ups on the site, we just don't have many (3) options right now. So which is it? (A) (B) or (C)?

I say keep the pop-ups only if they generate revenue for the site, but if you hardly get anything from pop-ups and banner ads then I would suggest looking for other ways to find revenue; rather than subjecting frequent visitors to annoying pop-ups every visit. Most visitors that have websites probably have experienced problems with their banners not bringing them the revenue such services promote, but DMusic.com is different, as it gets many many more impressions/unique hits than the normal personal site. Just a few things to consider before everyone starts whining. I for one can't stand pop-ups, but think of it for the betterment of the site and the future existance of DMusic.com

**Attila hops off his soapbox**

well you'd think frequent visitors *woudln't* be bothered.. because you don't get pop-ups when you're logged-in... only when you're anon or not registered.

But I know what you're sayin'.. thanks for the feedback.

** Spyed awaits true lashings from other users **

I left out one main point. I'd have to select choice "A" as it will convince the anonymous and infrequent visitors to register accounds and daily/hourly/minutely dedicated visitors are safe from the torture that is Pop-ups. Hehe

I think a PayPal account should be setup to accept donations from those users who have the means to donate, but should not be required from all. As we come from many different backgrounds and have unique situations. Let me know what you think of my ideas.

I do realize that digital music sites are being beaten down in the market...hell, the entire tech. sector is taking a beating. If the popups generate sufficient revenue to help keep this site alive, then pop, pop, pop away! As long as it's for the betterment of this site, I'm all for it.

-Frawg-

I think DM should go non profit lol.

Seriously cry me a river you poor millionaire. Ask Ovitz for more.

Nah. its sad times. Micropayments are going to be the only good solution and people are going to hate those more than ads. As long as Spyed doesn't have to work at Wendys.

`k

I pick choice B.

hopefully the unregistered ppl will register.

and i would suggest that you stay away from paypal.

http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2001/02/23/pay_pal/index.html

quite a few ppl have complained about them.

you're jealous.

i agree with you attila, that dmusic should keep the popups only if they are actually making money. but if they arent, then dump the pop ups.

[doobybrain]

just a thought...

since dmusic's news is posted on scour.com's front page, we should ask and see if they'd be willing to support us since they are coming back up pretty soon. just a thought .

i say if we HAVE to have popups, we should try to limit the amount of times it pops up again after we close it to, lets say...ZERO times. personally, popup ads are only annoying to me if you try to close it and another one just pops stright up again.

i think the paypal is probably the best choice, but for some people (like me), they wont be able to pay...although they'd probably love to support the site.

[doobybrain]

werd up!

[doobybrain]

I was wondering last week what all the pop-up ads were from..thought I had some kind of service installed that always brought them up hehe.

Whatever you have to do to keep the site running fluently, then do it. I know you'll get many complaints, but do whatever helps.

ya that's kinda the bottom line here.whatever keeps the boat afloat...ya know?

I like option (D):

Spyed starts robbing liqour stores. I mean you live in LA, a liqour store robbery should be second nature to you.

And here I was thinking you were an avid and proud "dooby" smoker

-Frawg-

Hell yeah

I wish I could get hired at Wendys

avid and proud? haha, nope!

[doobybrain]

I'm blanking... what is CPM? Clicks per month?

One thing we can all do, and the staff can't really say this, is to click the banner at the top once for every day you visit.

with a little planning, angelo and i could pull it off, seriously... hehe

-rZ

The pop-ups I can handle. But when I close them, I want them to stay closed for the duration that I am on the site. I'm not sure if it is just me, but they seem to keep reappearing when I switch screens. I hate them, but if it pays the bills then have at it.

can't.. leave.. message

pop ups ..drownding me

arghhhhhh

gurgle...

They average a $5 CPM. Which is pretty unbeatable these days.

Yah we'd never force registration...

well.. a paypal equiv. anyway. but thanks for the 411

we have lots and lots of visitors, that's not the problem.

problem is, CPM rates are down to $0.35 and shit, which means that if you get (say) 100,000 page views a day you make $35.. or $1,500 a month... which doesn't even cover the hosting of a site that size. (granted we get more than 100,000 page views a day)

Hey,

I like your site but ain't payback a bitch!! Music should be free Simon? I guess your site should be free too. You can't charge for freely distributable info.

Ok, point aside, I know you can't do work for 100%, so stop saying music is supposed to be 100% free. Just like you have to pay hosting and bandwidth, artists have to cover costs and earn a living. By this I'm in no way implying that CD's should sell for $16, they shouldn't, but it also can't be given away.

true dat!

I was thinking they where from a porno site I visit regularly. Pop-up windows sux! Banners are ok.

be naked

HEY everyone, look on the internet for a popup killer program for the internet browser you use!!!!

They work well, I didn't even notice that u guys had pop ups

Shouldn't you have enough visits to go with doubleclick or one of the other BIG companies? Doesn't they pay decent rates still?

Ok, this guy's just a freakin' moron...

[considering time I wasted reading his misinformed words and then replying to them]

Brian
http://www.screwmetallica.org

I say that if you need the popups, do it! I like the site. Besides, the ad blocker I have, works like a charm!! hehehe

Pop Ups, even for registered users are okay, as long as once you shut them, they stay shut........the money will only better the site...

I hate it when i'm trying to message someone, and a Popup comes up.....

Check out exitfuel.com, quite annoying but the popup appears when the visitors leave the site and they pay $5 CPM. (cost per m (m=1000), saw someone asked..) I'm glad we sold our mp3 site, it would prolly be worth 100 bucks today.. =)

Atilla....I would agree with you too. Good answer...good answer.

But ya gotta do what ya gotta do..and if the pop ups can help make profit..then why not use 'em. It may or may not drive people away, who knows. Pop ups can be annoying..but to me, its really not that big of a deal.

This is the first time I have ever kept the main window open of a site that has pop up windows. I normally just close it down because I think it is the easy way out for that site to have income. What I say doesn't matter what you guys are probably gonna do. Most likely it will be pop up windows. But there are a lot of people like me who are utterly disgusted by cheap easy advertising. This is a music site not a porn site.

The pop-ups must go. I'm sorry, but I'm ashamed to see DMusic stoop this low.

You can't make money from music directly or indirectly now. Time to go plan B. It is time for you all to go down in flames. Capitalist fuckers.

Porn and banners mis-direction starting to sound good, huh?

Mp3.com. Fucked.
Napster. Fucked.
Scour. Fucked.
Emusic. Fucked.
IUMA. Fucked.
Riffage. Fucked.
Checkout.com. Fucked.
DMusic. Fucked.

froze my cpu twice

thats what we're using =)

Favorite Angelo quotes:

"We're all, like, teenagers and in our 20s, and we're taking over this music-industry thing." (Businessweek)

"Napster is a ... poorly coded program, but is extremely functional." (Wired)

"Unfuck.exe actually breaks the protection on any file." (DMusic)

"I always knew the MP3s were illegal, I didn't care that much." (Wired)

"It's the music industry guys in their fifties who are holding back digital distribution, and it will be 18 year olds like me who are going to make it happen." (Forbes)

Amazon.com has a micropayment program that I've been noticing lately. Paypal isn't that bad really - I've never had problems with them, and they *are* secure and shit.

i been on the net for several years now. i have watched it grow by leaps and bounds. it has become the shopping/information center of the universe. i know for myself it is an appendage to my house. popups are cool providing they dont initiate 25 other popups upon closing. banner ads are cool as long as it doesnt take 5 minutes for the site to be recognized as down. a multilevel userbase like paid/unpaid subscriptions depending upon desired usage would be cool. if the dMusic is worth its bones your users will follow.

5455ghhhjjhujjjj

klkkjk

Dmusic is not a cheap porn site therefore it shouldnt have cheap advertising ways like popups on porn sites. I prefer banners. Also another way is to make dmusic users signup for e-mail and make them sign for those postmaster direct newsletters filled with ads. After all if im bored i would actually read them. Also an adress like me@dmusic.com isnt bad , but i dont know if all this is possible it depends on your hosting company. Also if the users dont check the account or read the ad-filled e-mails their account is cancelled and they cant access dmusic. I know its not the best way to keep it free for Dmusic fans but its a great alternative to those f*cking popups.--email me i would like to help or support Dmusic in someway eldoctorcelastraga@yahoo.com

E-mail me!!!

To get rid of the pop-up banners in IE, do this:

Tools --> Internet Options --> Security --> Restricted Sites and add *.internetfuel.com and *.exitfuel.com to the list.

NO MORE POP-UPS!

kind of ironic how you guys had puremp3.org "no popups no pron"
now when you visit it, it directs you here where there
are popups....

The pop-ups are ok. But once you close them they keep opening. It's a real pain in the butt.

why the hell are these popups taking up the whole sreen

errrmmm..that 545 cought my eye..sorry

Thanks anonymous one..pop up banners have been secured and removed by using
Tools -- Internet Options -- Security -- Restricted Sites and add *.internetfuel.com and *.exitfuel.com to the list.

The pop ups arent that annoying, I think most people just cross them straight away. Either dat or they register.

I think most people understand that to get a decent service from a website that website needs funding, be it from pop ups. Better than laundered drugs money or something equally as seedy.

Basically pop-ups only annoy the annoyable and if people have a problem with them then they should have a word with me and I'll sort em out.

The evils of advertising are all around us anyway, its just learning to switch of to them and accept the cruel ways of the world.

I like yr site by the way, I've just registered today.

Ta ra

well if you say now that you need the popups, just because you cant afford the server costs. Thats might be true, but why dont you think about all those other sites which couldnt afford server cost when you started pure mp3. Or were you just thinking of your needs not acknowledging the fact that many sites could only generate enough revenue through popups. But your special and get too do what you want right?
- Nameless aka Rainman, former webmaster of MP3 Unlimited (original one 3-4 yrs ago) / Rainman Online, and a few others