Record label, plus .mp3 blog, minus vowels = RCRD LBL

You don't have to be a magna cum laude business grad to know that the music industry is changing. It's safe to say that everyone involved in this game, from the Big Four label CEOs to the lowest level Pirate Bay deck swabber, agrees that things can't stay the way they are. We've got the RIAA suing ex-Kazaa users for six figures, swinish torrent sites feasting on gigabytes of illegally acquired content and CD sales figures plummeting lower than ever before.

So what's the next step in digital music evolution? Most folk agree that the Radiohead model isn't for everyone. Arriving from the great minds behind Downtown Records (John Deutsch) and Engadget.com (Peter Rojas), the newly-launched RCRD LBL aims to test the treacherous waters of free, advertiser-sponsored music.

Basically, the website signs deals with musical artists to distribute a limited number of their songs, usually live cuts, remixes or other rarities. They recover revenue from ad partnerships, including alliances with Puma footwear, Nikon cameras and Virgin America airlines. What does that mean for the consumer? Music files to download and share without cost, DRM shackles or guilt. The site already has an impressive roster of artists for those who like their tunes indie: Art Brut, Grizzly Bear, Bloc Party, Justice, Battles, Cold War Kids and more.

"It's a blog," John Deutsch, Downtown Records and RCRD LBL chairman, told The Wall Street Journal. "We're not necessarily trying to tie you up for your fifth album."

Let's take a quick tour of RCRDLBL.com, shall we? The layout sure is crowded, what with those Puma and Nikon logos bulging out of the screen, but damned if it doesn't work. Users don't even have to register to download files, and the tunes themselves are pretty solid (check out Grizzly Bear's cover of the Crystals' "He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss)," for example). But will RCRD LBL thrive, or barely survive? The answer to that question could have far-reaching implications for the music industry.