OiNK no more  <–( permalink )

death of oink, music downloads, OiNK

Well, if you know what I’m talking about, then you miss OiNK too! I could write this whole message about the good OiNK actually did and how the RIAA sucks and money-hungry labels and ad execs did this to themselves… but why, when so many other’s have already written great articles already?

I know right, why try to get people to come here when I can just link them away… haha

First off… wiki OiNK here [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oink's_Pink_Palace ] if you must. Because everything on the internet is absolutely 100% the truth. Just ask Michael Scott.

This is really good [ http://www.demonbaby.com/blog/2007/10/when-pigs-fly-death-of-oink-birth-of.html ]. The following is a quote from Rob’s blog DemonBaby explaining the highlights of OiNK’s

“If you’re not familiar with Oink, here’s a quick summary: Oink was was a free members-only site - to join it you had to be invited by a member. Members had access to an unprecedented community-driven database of music. Every album you could ever imagine was just one click away. Oink’s extremely strict quality standards ensured that everything on the site was at pristine quality - 192kbps MP3 was their bare minimum, and they championed much higher quality MP3s as well as FLAC lossless downloads. They encouraged logs to verify that the music had been ripped from the CD without any errors. Transcodes - files encoded from other encoded files, resulting in lower quality - were strictly forbidden. You were always guaranteed higher quality music than iTunes or any other legal MP3 store. Oink’s strict download/share ratio ensured that every album in their vast database was always well-seeded, resulting in downloads faster than anywhere else on the internet. A 100mb album would download in mere seconds on even an average broadband connection. Oink was known for getting pre-release albums before anyone else on the internet, often months before they hit retail - but they also had an extensive catalogue of music dating back decades, fueled by music lovers who took pride in uploading rare gems from their collection that other users were seeking out. If there was an album you couldn’t find on Oink, you only had to post a request for it, and wait for someone who had it to fill your request. Even if the request was extremely rare, Oink’s vast network of hundreds of thousands of music-lovers eager to contribute to the site usually ensured you wouldn’t have to wait long.

In this sense, Oink was not only an absolute paradise for music fans, but it was unquestionably the most complete and most efficient music distribution model the world has ever known. I say that safely without exaggeration. It was like the world’s largest music store, whose vastly superior selection and distribution was entirely stocked, supplied, organized, and expanded upon by its own consumers. If the music industry had found a way to capitalize on the power, devotion, and innovation of its own fans the way Oink did, it would be thriving right now instead of withering. If intellectual property laws didn’t make Oink illegal, the site’s creator would be the new Steve Jobs right now. He would have revolutionized music distribution. Instead, he’s a criminal, simply for finding the best way to fill rising consumer demand…”

Please read more from his blog… here’s the link again.

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And as always, after something bad happens… there are those trying to take advantage [ http://tehpaine.blogspot.com/2007/10/scamsite-news.html ]… so my advice is, don’t go rushing out to “join” another site… you will be watched. Don’t you think the same moles and lurkers on ______, ______, ____, ____, ________, _____ and ____ ( site names never typed out to protect the members from possible shutterdowners ) will go and join up on the new sites too?Nice people often invite strangers ( oops, I mean those whiny bitch-ass people on other torrent sites who won’t shutup )… so don’t. Only invite people you know. Don’t take candy from strangers. That whole bit.

Here’s some current numbers on the new “hydra” sites that have sprung up [ http://oinkmemorial.blogspot.com/2007/11/wafflesfm-vs-whatcd-vs-libble-vs.html ]. And just came across this [ http://www.negrophonic.com/2007/defending-the-pig-oink-croaks/ ] by DJ Rupture ( whoever that is, sorry ).

*** For finding new, good indie music… I still miss [ 75 minutes ] but there’s always [ Death of the Cassette ]. Let alone the other torrent sites out there that are non-RIAA. Out of selfishness, you will go unnamed… haha. ***