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DDA and its D:Net Media System were initially conceived by Australian music industry stalwart, Scott B. Murphy back in the dot com boom earlier this decade. Murphy, who embraced early on the personal computer age, the internet and the world wide web, was frustrated with the so called ‘futurists’ constant declarations that the recorded music industry would ONLY soon involve the trade of faceless, track by track, digital files.

“I thought, surely we could get smart and have the internet carry a much richer experience for consumers – an audio visual experience, which artists would love to create and use to further express themselves. Surely the internet could be used for closer, direct relationships between artists and the consumers of their music. Why can’t we bring the mainstay of the recorded music business – the ‘album’ – into the new millennium?” said Murphy, back in the year 2000.

By 2002 the blue print was designed and Patent Applications filed.

For the next few years Murphy, not being a programmer or computer designer himself (“just a simple record guy”, he says) researched both what the market needed and how to deliver it. He started to enlist the services of Australian music business colleagues – both as financiers and mentors - such as Michael Gudinski (Mushroom Group/Frontier), Vivian Lees (Big Day Out), John Woodruff (The Music Network/Savage Garden), John Watson (Silverchair, Missy Higgins, Wolfmother), Michael Chugg (Chugg Entertainment) and Sebastian Chase (MGM) - who went on to drive the initial test marketing titles. During this period Michael Smellie (an architect of the Sony BMG merger) resigned from the post of world COO in New York for Sony BMG and returned to Sydney. He signed up as an investor and became Chairman of the Board of D:Net Media Pty Ltd.

Engaging a Melbourne based computer development firm as long terms partners, a proto type version was developed in May 2007 so that Murphy could further research the validity of his ‘direction’. The proto type was built for the then current Silverchair album ‘Young Modern’.

The proto type was shown to recorded music industry people and artist managers all around the world in 2007 and received an enthusiastic response. “Most people who saw it responded with a “wow . . . we’ve never thought of heading in that direction – very compelling” says Murphy “and they offered to help get it into the market place.”

A strategic decision was made at this time to roll out DDA using the USB device. The proliferation of USBs is phenomenal – USB ports are being incorporated into nearly all hardware devices so consumers have embraced it, and just as importantly, DDA designed USB stock could be manufactured at reasonable prices. At last, a bridge has been built between the music retail physical and digital worlds – one that sits into the existing recorded music industry framework. One that delivers the ease of use and multitude of options many consumers have been waiting for.

A test marketing period in Australia in late 2008 through 2009 begun with the commercial release of the first ever DDA’s being:

Sneaky Sound System ‘2’
Grafton Primary ‘EON’
Skipping Girl Vinegar ‘Sift The Noise’
Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu ‘Gurrumul’
Various Artists ‘Home Grown Roots VOL3’ (featuring: Paul Kelly, John Butler, Ash Grunwald, Mia Dyson)
The Fumes – ‘The Fumes’
Lior – ‘Lior’

All available in all good record stores (distributed through MGM).

Although the above listed initial market testing titles were all released on DDA USB sticks, they are all also now available to be purchased by consumers as Direct Downloads. The system was always invented as a Direct Download bundle – such could be distributed in the physical form (USB sticks) or simply consumers could buy a DDA Activation Code online and download the bundle straight to the hard drive on their computer. Both delivery systems have their advantages and ideally for most releases, both systems are used. Obviously distribution via Direct Download only means the producer of the DDA does not have to pay for USB manufacturing and packaging costs – this in itself means the Direct Download model will suit many more clients like recording artists.

“In an age of varied options for the consumption of music – a la carte online sales like iTunes, CDs, vinyl, downloads direct to mobiles, subscription services and ad funded models, there will never again be one dominant format for the recorded music business” predicts Murphy. “However, I’m confident that the DDA will quickly obtain a decent global market share of this business – it fills a niche that no other format/offering has catered to so far and I believe it’s a niche that will suit many.”

Although launched and tested in the recorded music business, the DDA concept of distribution, enjoyment and access of digital content – from content producers, to consumers – isn’t limited to any 1 or 2 types of content. Plenty of businesses and sporting clubs produce digital content and want or need such content to be enjoyed by the population. DDA is an off-the-web system to facilitate such and D:Net Media is now actively lining up a range of non-music DDAs for imminent release.

MEDIA ENQUIRIES EMAIL: dda4me@dda4me.com