Twin/Tone Goes Digital

06/10/1998 3:00 AM, Yahoo! Music
Bruce Haring

(6/10/98) - Minneapolis-based Twin/Tone Records, home of the Replacements and Soul Asylum once upon a time, will only release music via digital downloads as of June 15th.

In one of the first moves by an established label solely into the digital domain, Twin/Tone will use Liquid Audio to provide secure downloads and to "watermark" each track, enabling the company to track and stop bootleg copies from circulating the Web.

Paul Stark, owner-operator of the record label, said the more popular back catalog items by Soul Asylum and the Replacements would continue to show up on CD, thanks to a long-term licensing agreement with Restless Records. The label will also encourage its bands to manufacture their own CDs for sale at gigs.

But in general, customers will be referred to the Twin/Tone web site, where they can sample songs in streaming audio or download a CD quality sample. If a title is available on CD, users can also buy it through one of the online CD stores. Twin/Tone also plans to deliver custom-made CDs to customers, burning specific tracks and shipping the resulting product.