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Kim Dotcom's Baboom service will hijack web ads to give you free music

Kim Dotcom built his reputation on free services -- much to the chagrin of some people -- and he's revisiting that turf with his upcoming music offering, Baboom. As he explains in an interview with Wired UK, the service will be an "iTunes-Spotify hybrid" that both sells music and offers it for free through ad deals. However, its approach to ad-supported tunes is bound to raise eyebrows -- users will install a browser plugin that replaces web ads with those from Baboom, paying surfers with cash that they can spend on songs. Typical users could earn 10 free albums a year through their browsing habits, Dotcom claims. The tech luminary will demonstrate the concept by soft-launching Baboom with his own music in January, following up with full service a few months later. The business model is intriguing, although it may face stiff resistance; we can't imagine that rival advertisers and website owners will enjoy losing revenue.

[Image credit: Thierry Ehrmann, Flickr]