Review: Pukshop.com…a work in progress?

If you are a music lover like I am, I’m sure you’ve heard of iTunes™, Spotify, LaLa, Pandora, Jango and eMusic but you may not have heard about PUKSHOP, the newest addition to the list of software based online digital media stores.

PUKSHOP, “a Caribbean rhythmic website for music lovers” (according to the website) went live on September 11, 2009 and is being described as a one-stop-shop that streams videos, podcasts, live events and music via its download site or jukebox application while allowing music fans (using either Mac, PC, mobile handsets and IPTV) to:
• search for and legally download songs either as singles or entire albums;
• purchase CDs
• download ringtones;
• store downloaded songs on their computer hard drives;
• purchase event e-tickets
• purchase Caribbean and Latin American carnival costumes and merchandise
• Caribbean-themed books

This joint venture between PoisonUK and BMG Partnership Ltd, managed by BMG Partnership Ltd (Dominica) trading as Venomous Ltd. is a step forward in terms of tailoring digital media stores specifically for fans of Caribbean music, while expanding the digital distribution opportunities for artists from the region. Many of the genres of music currently available in the PUKSHOP catalogue (SOCA, PAN, PARANG, CALYPSO, CHUTNEY SOCA, SOUKOUS, SOCA PARANG, PARANG SOCA) are not available via “mainstream” digital music platforms, some genres are not even recognized so hats off to the developers.

I was excited when I got a glimpse at the PUKSHOP concept a few weeks ago on SiliconCaribe, the site promised a lot, and seemed to integrate business models from UK based Spotify and the ever so popular iTunes. They promised subscription and ‘a la carte’ options, an online jukebox that can be accessed anywhere via pukshop.com, and on demand STREAMING of pure unadulterated “Caribbean music!” – what could be better?

(In the back of my mind I wondered what organization/entity would be collecting digital performance royalties on behalf of the artists on PUKSHOP)

I signed up for a “FREEDOM ACCOUNT” which would allow me to access the Pukshop jukebox free of charge and listen to as many songs as I wanted for 7 hours (with some advertising). Alternatively, I could pay for an ad-free premium subscription, for US$2.99 per day (DAY PASS).

I logged in, selected my preferred genre (SOCA) and preferred artist (Destra). A collection of her songs, which I could purchase as an album for US$11.99 came up with options to “PLAY DEMO” or “DOWNLOAD.” I hit “PLAY DEMO” and was treated to a 31 second MINI COOPER ad and that was it! So I hit “DOWNLOAD,” and was treated to an ad for a Soca fete! Still NO MUSIC!

I thought maybe something was wrong with the MacBook – did I have a missing program? I tried again several times and got the same result. I couldn’t even switch genres because all the other genres had “NO TRACKS AVAILABLE” (except for Chutney Soca which I couldn’t even listen to because the only option available was to purchase it.)
I was disappointed that PUKSHOP wasn’t able to secure the massive catalogue for the launch and I was also disappointed with the lack of freedom that my Freedom account offered.

I tried looking for Reggae music – because of course PUKSHOP is the one-stop-shop for Caribbean music but to my surprise there was no such category listed. I hope the PUKSHOP team will offer some Reggae or Dancehall in addition to their selection of Soca, Calyspso and the like.

Tracks were missing for many of the FEATURED ARTISTS and much of the categories on the site did not have images so I had no idea what many of the artists looked like. I’m sure the PUKSHOP team will secure images in the future but it would have helped for the launch of the site in terms of presentation.

I was also disappointed with the aesthetics of the site, I’m not a techie that can build a site but I spend a lot of time doing online shopping, so how a site looks and my ability to navigate makes a big difference.

PUKSHOP was very dark and cluttered. It seemed as if not much time went into designing the site, making it user friendly and easy to navigate. It seemed more like a work in progress than the OFFICIAL LAUNCH OF A WEBSITE!
Isn’t presentation everything? Even in cyberspace?

The site was also plagued by grammatical errors – in my book that’s the first sign not to use your credit card or Paypal!

The PUKSHOP team mentions that “some” songs will be available DRM free. In an age where the major online music retailers have dropped Digital Rights Management, one wonders which songs will be utilizing DRM and how the users will respond to the restrictions that it creates.
As a consumer of music, and a lover of Caribbean music, I’ll give the Pukshop team 4 stars for concept but I have to give them 1 ½ for execution.

Check out PUKSHOP for yourself www.pukshop.com

Simone Harris. 360 ARTISTS™ .www.simoneharris.com