Amnesty International GoodStorm MixTape Music Players

After many months of planning and hard work from many organizations, artists, music industry professionals, designers, lawyers and many more, I am pleased to announce the availability of a special edition GoodStorm MixTape specifically developed to help spread the word about Amnesty International's work in Darfur, Sudan.

We specially designed and coded the Instant Karma MixTape using our unique technologies and capabilities.  We worked with a team that Amnesty International brought together:  Warner Music, Apple iTunes, HUGE, Artists First and hundreds of good people with the unselfish goal of being part of a solution to a grave situation ~ Darfur.

Take a look at the 310 pixel version...

Instant Karma MixTape 310 pixel width

We wanted to contribute a technology to help reach the greatest number of people.  We have hopes of getting to as many people as possible so we can raise both money and awareness about the greatest tragedy of our current times. 

At first, we wanted to use the Instant Karma campaign to highlight our technologies but we set aside our own company goals and bias to use only our technologies because our Darfur effort is not marketing platform.  It would have been a golden opportunity fo us but Apple iTunes volunteered to  distribute the Instant Karma music collection using their technologies and perhaps most important ~ Apple so generously agreed to give 98% of all the total sales to Amnesty International's efforts to stop the genocide in Darfur. At the end of the day, it was not a technology issue for GoodStorm.  It was about being part of a movement of good folks.  We are so humbled by Apple's generosity.  Likewise, we are in awe of Warner Music's hard work curating and producing Instant Karma.  Perhaps most important, we want to acknowledge and thank Yoko Ono for donating all the rights and royalties to John Lennon's amazing music to Amnesty International and their Darfur work.  Last but not the least, our thanks to all the artists who made this possible with their unselflish and wonderful renditions of  Lennon's music.

Our technology is so small compared to the work of many but we believe our MixTape can make a difference in the viral internet campaign.  We hope you use it, put it on your blogs and social networks to help spread the word and raise money. We are grateful to Wordpress, Facebook and SixApart for allowing the MixTape widget in their platforms.

The MixTape is special in it's goal and music.  It features some of the world's greatest artists and allows you to spread the word by forwarding it to your friends and family.  Best of all people can buy great music and feel good that you have done something great and good for the world.   It is also very easy to install and host on your blog or social network.  If your social network does not allow you to install a MixTape, ask them to permit it.  They can do it if you ask.

But enough talk, try it out and please help by posting it on your favorite blogs and social networks. 

Spread the word by posting the MixTape player, buying the music or by signing the petition that is on the MixTape widget. Explore the music, learn how you can help and join the fight against genocide.

It will be available in 3 sizes (310 px as seen above, 240 px and 160 px) to fit any blog or social network.  We are finishing sidebar integration for TypePad, WordPress  and tight integration with Facebook.

Before I go, here are the 240 and 160 pixel version.:

Instant Karma MixTape 240 pixel width

Instant Karma MixTape 160 pixel width

A Geeky Note:

This was developed using Flash, Actionscript, a bit of AJAX and php.  Apache, Linux, mySQL on the back end.  The hardest part was backend engineering.  A record label, artist or a fan who makes a MixTape has full command and control of how to present music, podcasts or videos.  It is essentially a way to present or securely sell digital media (MP3s, podcasts or even video).  The publisher gets full reports of all sales and other site statistics such as views, plays, etc...

If you want to build your own MixTape, please come to http://music.goodstorm.com.

Thank you!