When melodies enter the charity drop box

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The music business is known for supporting causes with events like the Live Aid and Live Earth concerts, which generate lots of money and publicity for a relatively short time. But last month RED, a non-profit organisation that arranges for companies to contribute a share of profits on certain products to fight AIDS in Africa, is starting a digital music service for that purpose, and it plans to operate it for the long haul. The new venture has already arranged to release new songs from U2, Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello, Elton John, Emmylou Harris and Death Cab for Cutie.

The still-unnamed service, which is scheduled to start in September, will deliver customers three new pieces of exclusive content a week for a monthly fee of $5. Half of that money will go through RED to the Global Fund, and the other half will go to the artists who contribute songs and to their record companies. As with RED’s branded products, like a special iPod and Motorola phone, companies will sacrifice part but not all of their profits, and consumers will know that some of the money they spend goes to the AIDS-in-Africa cause.

Each week RED’s service will deliver two songs in MP3 format, one from a superstar act like U2, whose frontman, Bono, was a co-founder of RED, and one from a less established artist. The third piece of content will be a “crackerjack surprise,” a song, video or short story. The idea is to appeal to Internet users who are interested in music but alienated by commercial radio or the chaos of some online music sites.

RED’s president for content, Don MacKinnon, previously put together music products for Starbucks, where he had success connecting with adult consumers. “The idea, then as now, is music discovery,” MacKinnon said. “People want someone to send them music from artists they love as well as acts that are emerging.”

Bono, in an e-mail message, said, “Don MacKinnon might just be the penicillin the ailing music business needs.” He added, “I have no doubt that some of the music software we are working on at RED will help change the way music is received, as well as changing the lives of Africans who will die without the AIDS drugs that RED can provide.”