Quick Pitch: Kroogi is a "content community" for artists, musicians, writers, videographers and photographers to post content for fans to download and pay for on a "pay what you want" model.
Genius Idea: According to a company representative, Kroogi "offers a middle ground between free and fixed-fee models in ways that respect both artist and user rights."
BitTorrent and RapidShare serve music and other creative content at no cost illegally, while iTunes and Amazon MP3 charge fixed rates. Alternatively, Kroogi allows consumers to pay whatever they feel a piece of content is worth, and creators are given tools to try and prove its value.
About 20% of the content on the site actually generates revenue, and while the revenue isn't always substantial enough that content creators can thrive as businesses, it can be an auxiliary source of income for artists who want to upload special content there. For example, musicians could upload B-Sides, rejected album tracks or works-in-progress.
The site was founded by Russian developer Miro Sarbaev, who also worked at Napster and Snocap. Much of Kroogi's content is from Russia, but expansion is underway. Artists who sign up now will already have access to blog widgets and a Facebook application because those features and perks have been in development since the Russian launch more than two years ago.
To celebrate its expansion to North America, Europe and South America, Kroogi is hosting a remix contest using the music of popular Russian band t.A.t.u. Whether or not you're interested in the contest, you can sign up to download content from the site right now or join the 45,000 creators already distributing on the site.
Sponsored by Microsoft BizSpark
BizSpark is a startup program that gives you three-year access to the latest Microsoft development tools, as well as connecting you to a nationwide network of investors and incubators. There are no upfront costs, so if your business is privately owned, less than three years old, and generates less than U.S.$1 million in annual revenue, you can sign up today.