Miquel Tolosa is a student of the bachelor's degree in Computer Science at UPF. Years ago he came up with the idea of creating the first platform from which to download music free and legally, but it is only now that his project, MonkingMe, has finally seen the light.

Along the way, a further six young people have joined him: Adrià Garriga, also student of the bachelor's degree in Computer Science at UPF; Damià Fuentes and Adrià Sarquella, who are taking at UPF simultaneous studies in Computer Science and Audiovisual Systems Engineering; Raúl Martínez, student at UAB; César Torras, student at the EAE Business School in Barcelona, and Pol Cunillera, student at the UPC.

- What is MonkingMe?
- It's the first platform where the user can download music for free and legally. The idea is that each download will result in remuneration for the artists, who are provided with other sources of income, such as the sale of merchandise or concert tickets. In addition, the platform also allows sharing content and interacting easily with the music.

- And what must the user do to download a song free of charge?
- Before downloading the song, the user must watch an advertising video for about twenty seconds, so the revenue obtained goes entirely to the performer. But the artists can choose other options, such as replacing this ad with their own promotional video or make the user "like" their profile before downloading the file. In this way they don't earn any financial income, but gain in promotion and number of followers.

"Before downloading the song, the user must watch an advertising video for about twenty seconds, so the revenue obtained goes entirely to the performer."

- Where did you get the idea from?
It occurred to me before starting at University, when I didn't even know how to programme.  I realized that now, young people never pay to download music and this has given rise to a lot of illegal platforms. I thought this problem needed to be turned into an advantage. Since then, all of the members of the team have been adding things and the initial idea has evolved a lot.

- What has been the main setback when launching the platform?
- There have been so many it's difficult to choose. Maybe I'd say the programming itself. Not because it's difficult, but because creating a website with as many features as ours takes a lot of work. We are all students and not all of us programme, so maybe sometimes we're a bit pushed for time.

- To carry out a project like this, you need the approval of the artists. How have they reacted to your proposal?
- We have been very well received. We have spoken both to record labels and independent artists, who were quickest to respond. They liked the idea a lot and we have reached agreements with groups like Txarango or record labels such as BMG or Blanco y Negro, among others.

- According to a study by the Piracy Observatory, 88% of cultural consumption on the web is of illegal content. How has such a high percentage been reached?
- It's a consequence of the technological revolution. But, even though it is very nice that everyone can upload content to the network and that everyone can get access, this harms the artists. To change this trend and to enforce payment for contents is impossible now.

- So, what's the solution then?
It has been shown that combating piracy through prohibiting the free sharing of content doesn't work. They've been closing down websites and they still can't manage. What needs to be done is to see this situation as an advantage and turn this high percentage into a positive thing that becomes beneficial to record labels. Pirating should not be banned but rendered unnecessary.

- The music industry is one of the most difficult sectors for entrepreneurs?
- Yes, it's very complicated. There are many things to consider: there are many different types of contracts and many ways to manage artists' rights; the SGAE has its own conditions and must comply with them... All in all it's very difficult, but we have managed to go step by step and we reckon we're doing Ok.

- Would your business model be applicable to other cultural products?
- Each case needs to be looked into individually and requires its own customized business plan. It is true that there are certain parallels between music, series, films and books, but there are also many differences. Producing a film, for example, is more expensive than producing a song, so we would need to study whether in this case our model would be viable. For the moment, it's impossible for us to know this, but it would be a good idea good to think about.