Songbird

While searching for an iTunes replacement a few years ago, I discovered Songbird. Songbird is a multi-media player and a web browser. With each new build, Songbird integrates more add-ons that make the distinction between media player and web browser harder to identify.

Below is a screenshot of Songbird in use: 

The mission of Songbird is to create a more open, and neutral, media sharing and web browsing experience. The device that a person interacts with should not affect their ability to experience the media that he or she possesses. Songbird describes this point perfectly here:

“Current media players such as iTunes, Windows Media Player and Zune are proprietary, single‐vendor, vertically‐integrated silos, excluding any competitive services and devices. If Web browsers had been designed like current media players, Internet Explorer would surf only Microsoft.com and run only on the Xbox.”

http://wiki.songbirdnest.com/Getting_Started_with_Songbird/01_Introduction_to_Songbird

Since Songbird is open source, how does Songbird make money? And how are their talented developers paid? In their frequently asked questions forums, I found that songbird makes money by: 

• Sequoia Capital, Atlas Venture, and donations
• 7digital, Songbird’s iTunes music store equivalent (http://us.7digital.com/)
• Songbird Store that sells Songbird merchandise (http://getsongbird.com/gear.php)
• Partnerships with devices that Songbird is installed on and with add-ons that Songbird provides (http://addons.songbirdnest.com/)

On the official website the management of Songbird said that as Songbird becomes more popular and more available, they hope to generate more creative ways to make money. Until then, their model closely resembles the way that most open-source organizations generate a profit.