With their digital download sites, a growing number of indie rock labels have begun to answer the prayers of fans who would love to hear long-out-of-print singles on their iPods or other mobile devices.Merge Records became the latest to join the field with the recent launch of its online emporium, which, according to label president Mac McCaughan, features "high-quality MP3s and full FLAC (free lossless audio codec) files of recent, older and out-of-print titles, including all the early Merge singles, as well as the Superchunk 'Clambakes' series." The store will also eventually host exclusive tracks, remixes and video content, in addition to the label's catalog.
full story