The Magic’s In the Music and the Music Is Free

Basing your Internet business on giveaways might seem like a blueprint for a doomed circa-1999 dot-com. But Jack and Charles Scalfani are doing just that with their Orange County-based Web venture, FightCloud.com. FightCloud promotes indie musical artists by distributing their CDs for free (well, free plus $4.95 for shipping and handling) over the Internet. The fee covers art, manufacturing, packaging and a smidgen of profit. Artists retain the rights to their work, keep half the distribution profits, gain exposure to new fans and--with any luck--pique major label interest.

After 14 years in the music industry, including seven as a radio DJ and programmer and four in artist management with the Sterling/Winters Co., Jack, 33, of Buena Park, grew frustrated with conventional artist promotion channels. At a time when Napster and MP3.com were being eviscerated in the courts, Jack and his computer programmer brother Charles, 39, decided that the best way to introduce talented unknown artists to the public was to give away their CDs over the Internet. “I thought that if the record companies dropped the price of CDs to five bucks, no one would waste the time it takes to search, download, check recording levels and burn a CD,” Jack says. Now in its third month of operation, FightCloud has given away more than 1,000 CDs. Eventually FightCloud hopes for a roster of hundreds of artists.

The site now features a small but diverse array of talent including country singer Marc Corey Lee, Christian rap group Eternal Tribe, jazz artist Rico Garcia, and film and TV composer Glenn Scott Lacey. Anyone can submit a CD to be considered for distribution on the FightCloud site. The Scalfanis say the company moniker refers to the dust clouds kicked up when cartoon characters fight--the brothers see themselves as scrapping on behalf of independent artists. Despite the abysmal track record of freebie-offering dot-gones, the Scalfanis are optimistic. “We watched everyone fail, and we took notes,” Jack says. “Our site has no advertisements, great customer service, and offers a high-quality product forfree.’