''Tonspion'' (e.g. "tone spy") is the first German
MP3 blog
An MP3 blog is a type of blog in which the creator makes music files, normally in the MP3 format, available for download. They are also known as musicblogs, audioblogs or soundblogs (the latter two can also mean podcasts). MP3 blogs have become ...
founded in 1998 in Cologne, Germany and moved to Berlin in 2001. The editorial team is reviewing the best free MP3 Downloads on the web, offering links to the source of the download, usually artists and labels. Due to strong
copyrights
A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, educatio ...
and a monopolist
collecting society it is not legally possible to host free downloads on webpages and blogs in Germany. However it is legal to link to websites that offer free promotional downloads, so Tonspion became the first German guide for free downloads all over the
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web (WWW), commonly known as the Web, is an information system enabling documents and other web resources to be accessed over the Internet.
Documents and downloadable media are made available to the network through web ...
.
In 2001 Tonspion set up an English website under the name "Tonespy" with an own team of editors, which was temporarily discontinued in 2003 due to the different legal situation in the US and the UK. Tonspion is now planning to re-open an English version of Tonspion in 2010.
''Tonspion'' has a team of five editors and an office in Berlin. It now works with all big major companies in Germany and with many independent labels that embraced MP3 promotion although many labels were having issues with giving away free music at the start of Tonspion.
Tonspion was nominated twice (2005 and 2006) for the Grimme Online Award, the most important award for online media in Germany and is still the only German MP3 music magazine, offering a free download to any music review.
In 2009 ''Tonspion'' relaunched the website, now offering free preview streams for all albums and downloads in partnership with
7digital
7digital Group Plc is a British publicly listed company that offers access to music, tracking and reporting for clients. London-based, 7digital provides end-to-end music services for the fitness, social media, DSPs, and gaming industries with b ...
. New features include a tourguide, videos and newsfeeds of the best music
blogs in German and English language.
[Spiegel Online]
''"Frischzellenkur für den Musik-Spion"''
28 April 2009
Nowadays Tonspion is one of the most respected music magazine in Europe.
References
External links
Tonspion - Free MP3 Downloads*
' ''Berliner Zeitung'' 21 May 2001
*
' ''Spiegel Online'' 28 April 2009
*
MP3 für Fortgeschrittene' Netselektor.de 30 September 2009
1998 establishments in Germany
German-language magazines
Online music magazines published in Germany
Magazines established in 1998
Magazines published in Berlin
Mass media in Cologne
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