Epitonic
Encyclopedia
First launched in 1999, Epitonic is a source for independent music across multiple genres from both signed and unsigned artists. Featuring free and legal MP3 downloads, radio streams, and many full album streams, at its peak it amassed content from more than 400 independent labels and represented a diverse array of artists helping them to further awareness and stimulate tour and album revenue.
Epitonic was one of the first free mp3 download sites, and the first one to focus on independent music. Epitonic provided an online space where users could easily find new songs from up-and-coming artists. The site also allowed users to download tracks free of charge, or create a 'black box' of their favorites and stream them through their web-browsers resulting in a streaming radio platform.
Epitonic was an iconic part of the music industry as it found its digital roots in the 90's and hosted tracks from indie artists like Animal Collective
, Built to Spill
, Burd Early, Dismemberment Plan, as well as mellow, melodic instrumental bands such as Pele
, Dianogah
, and Six Parts Seven. Electronic music
was also one of the most popular genres on the site, representing artists such as Bent Halos, Delerium
, Carl Cox
, and BT
.
Like many of the big websites of the '90s and early '00s, Epitonic raised a lot of money and spent it just as quickly. When the dot-com bubble
burst found itself in trouble. In 2003 the site was acquired by Chris Blackwell
's Palm Pictures
and ran alongside Palm's other brands including Rykodisc
, Manga
, RES
, and Sputnik 7
. In 2004 Palm shut the doors on Epitonic.com to focus on other brands. In 2006 Palm partnered with a company called Echospin and attempted to relaunch the site with no success. Another company, Audiotube purchased the rights to Epitonic and also failed to restart the site.
. Sinkovich raised over $5000 in start-up funds from nearly 100 people. In 2011 Sinkovich and his new team (as well as support from many of the original team) relaunched the newly envisioned Epitonic.com on the 12th anniversary of its original launch date of March 8.
To celebrate the 12th anniversary, Epitonic premiered one exclusive song for each year since the launch. In alphabetical order, the bands who provided exclusive tracks are: All Smiles, Autumn Owls
, Bloodiest, Braids, Cast Spells, Closed Sessions: ATX featuring Esso and Scheme, Marissa Nadler
, Restorations, STRFKR, Withered Hand, and The Wrens
.
History
The roots of the site took place in San Francisco in 1998. Original co-founders Aaron Newton, Scott Bilby, and Justin Sinkovich created the site utilizing Newton and Bilby's Web and technology background and Sinkovich's music industry experience. The three co-founders wanted a name that properly reflected their idea. They also wanted a name related to San Francisco, the epicenter, as well as music, or sound, or tone, tonic. They settled on the combination of two words: epi-tonic, the center of sound. Epitonic.com was born.Epitonic was one of the first free mp3 download sites, and the first one to focus on independent music. Epitonic provided an online space where users could easily find new songs from up-and-coming artists. The site also allowed users to download tracks free of charge, or create a 'black box' of their favorites and stream them through their web-browsers resulting in a streaming radio platform.
Epitonic was an iconic part of the music industry as it found its digital roots in the 90's and hosted tracks from indie artists like Animal Collective
Animal Collective
Animal Collective is an experimental psychedelic band originally from Baltimore, Maryland, currently based in New York City. Animal Collective consists of Avey Tare , Panda Bear , Deakin , and Geologist...
, Built to Spill
Built to Spill
Built to Spill is an American indie rock band based in Boise, Idaho. The band has released seven full-length albums. Their most recent album, There Is No Enemy, was released on October 6, 2009.-History:...
, Burd Early, Dismemberment Plan, as well as mellow, melodic instrumental bands such as Pele
Pelé
However, Pelé has always maintained that those are mistakes, that he was actually named Edson and that he was born on 23 October 1940.), best known by his nickname Pelé , is a retired Brazilian footballer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time...
, Dianogah
Dianogah
Dianogah is a Chicago, Illinois based indie rock outfit formed in 1995, noted for their use of two bass guitars. Members include Kip McCabe, Jay Ryan and Jason Harvey. Dianogah's first full-length album, As Seen From Above, was recorded by Steve Albini, who also produced their second full-length...
, and Six Parts Seven. Electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
was also one of the most popular genres on the site, representing artists such as Bent Halos, Delerium
Delerium
Delerium is a band from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, formed in 1987, originally as a side project of the influential industrial music act, Front Line Assembly...
, Carl Cox
Carl Cox
Carl Cox is a British techno and house music DJ.-Biography:Cox grew up in Oldham, Lancashire, before attending Glastonbury High Boys secondary modern school on Glastonbury Road in Morden. Cox began his career as a hardcore and rave DJ in the mid 1980s...
, and BT
BT
BT may stand for:* Baal teshuva, a Jew who became Orthodox * Babylonian Talmud, a central text in Judaism* Bacillus thuringiensis, a bacterium which forms Bt toxins...
.
Like many of the big websites of the '90s and early '00s, Epitonic raised a lot of money and spent it just as quickly. When the dot-com bubble
Dot-com bubble
The dot-com bubble was a speculative bubble covering roughly 1995–2000 during which stock markets in industrialized nations saw their equity value rise rapidly from growth in the more...
burst found itself in trouble. In 2003 the site was acquired by Chris Blackwell
Chris Blackwell
Christopher Percy Gordon "Chris" Blackwell is a British record producer and businessman, who was the founder of Island Records, acknowledged as the most successful and groundbreaking independent record company in history. Blackwell has been a music industry mogul for over fifty years...
's Palm Pictures
Palm Pictures
Palm Pictures is a US-based entertainment company owned and run by Chris Blackwell. Palm Pictures produces, acquires and distributes innovative music and film projects with a particular focus on the DVD format...
and ran alongside Palm's other brands including Rykodisc
Rykodisc
Rykodisc Records is an American record label. It is owned by Warner Music Group, operates as a unit of WMG's Independent Label Group and is distributed through Alternative Distribution Alliance.-Company history:...
, Manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
, RES
Res
Shareese Renée Ballard, better known by her stage name Res , is a female singer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her musical style is a blend of indie pop, soul, and rock...
, and Sputnik 7
Sputnik 7
Tyazhely Sputnik, , also known as Venera 1VA No.1, and in the West as Sputnik 7, was a Soviet spacecraft, which was intended to be the first spacecraft to explore Venus. Due to a problem with its upper stage it failed to leave low Earth orbit...
. In 2004 Palm shut the doors on Epitonic.com to focus on other brands. In 2006 Palm partnered with a company called Echospin and attempted to relaunch the site with no success. Another company, Audiotube purchased the rights to Epitonic and also failed to restart the site.
Relaunch
In 2010, after six years of inactivity, original co-founder Justin Sinkovich announced that he would be relaunching Epitonic as manager and principal owner. Sinkovich also began a fundraising campaign using online fundraising site KickstarterKickstarter
Kickstarter is an online threshold pledge system for funding creative projects. Kickstarter has funded a diverse array of endeavors, ranging from indie film and music to journalism, solar energy technology and food-related projects.-Model:...
. Sinkovich raised over $5000 in start-up funds from nearly 100 people. In 2011 Sinkovich and his new team (as well as support from many of the original team) relaunched the newly envisioned Epitonic.com on the 12th anniversary of its original launch date of March 8.
To celebrate the 12th anniversary, Epitonic premiered one exclusive song for each year since the launch. In alphabetical order, the bands who provided exclusive tracks are: All Smiles, Autumn Owls
Autumn owls
Autumn Owls are an experimental post-rock band from Dublin, Ireland.-History:Autumn Owls was conceived in 2006 by five friends and musicians, Gary McFarlane, Adam Browne, Simon Gillis, William Purtill and Derek Byrne . While studying for final exams in college the band began writing demos...
, Bloodiest, Braids, Cast Spells, Closed Sessions: ATX featuring Esso and Scheme, Marissa Nadler
Marissa Nadler
Marissa Nadler is an American dream-folk singer-songwriter and fine artist based in Boston.-Early life:Marissa Nadler was exposed to art at a young age through her mother Pamela, an abstract painter, and her older brother Stuart, a guitarist and writer...
, Restorations, STRFKR, Withered Hand, and The Wrens
The Wrens
The Wrens are an indie rock band that formed in the late 1980s in New Jersey. The group consists of Charles Bissell, Greg Whelan, Kevin Whelan, and Jerry MacDonald. Their debut album Silver was released in 1994...
.
Awards
- Epitonic was a runner-up in 2000 for a Wired Magazine Readers Poll for Best Music Site, losing out to the original file-sharing site NapsterNapsterNapster is an online music store and a Best Buy company. It was originally founded as a pioneering peer-to-peer file sharing Internet service that emphasized sharing audio files that were typically digitally encoded music as MP3 format files...
.
- In 2003, Epitonic won a Webby Award for Best Internet Radio, beating out KEXPKEXPKEXP-FM is a public radio station based in Seattle, Washington, that specializes in alternative and indie rock programmed by its disc jockeys. Its broadcasting license is owned by the University of Washington, which operates the station in a partnership with Paul Allen's Experience Music Project...
, CBC Radio 3CBC Radio 3CBC Radio 3 is a radio station that consists of two parts devoted to Canadian arts and music: a radio service which is available on Sirius Satellite Radio and streaming audio, and several daily and weekly podcasts from the CBC Radio 3 website...
, and NPRNPRNPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
's This American LifeThis American LifeThis American Life is a weekly hour-long radio program produced by WBEZ and hosted by Ira Glass. It is distributed by Public Radio International on PRI affiliate stations and is also available as a free weekly podcast. Primarily a journalistic non-fiction program, it has also featured essays,...
.