REM contribute to charity download album for Oxfam

Sam Matthews,, brandrepublic.com, Friday, 03 September 2004, 3:30pm,

LONDON – Oxfam is launching its first downloadable music album with songs from REM, Ash, David Gray and Faithless to raise money for refugees in Sudan's Darfur region.

This is the first time a charity album has been made for download only, but it could be the way forward for charities as it saves on unneccessary delivery costs.

'Songs For Sudan' costs £7.99 to download from the internet and £5 will go directly to the appeal, which can provide 15 people with clean drinking water.

The album contains 14 tracks and all contributing artists are forgoing their royalties. Jet, Badly Drawn Boy and Futureheads are also on the line-up.

The album is released today on Oxfam's music download site.

More than 1m people in the Darfur region have left their homes after attacks by militias. The refugees now face starvation because the camps they are living in do not have enough food, water or medicine.

If you have an opinion on this or any other issue raised on Brand Republic, join the debate in the Forum here.

This article was first published on brandrepublic.com