Consumers are remixing videos by several emerging bands, then posting the mashups online at Eyespot to share with the world. What makes this site different from others is that here the art form is legal.

Mike Skinner

Eyespot is designed so that anyone can upload, edit, mix and share almost all formats of digital media without needing to download software or pay a fee.

"We wanted to create a video editing and remixing environment that was drop-dead simple so there would be zero barriers to entry," Eyespot Corp. cofounder, president and CEO Jim Kaskade said.

Recording artists quickly saw the value of letting fans experiment with their audio and visual assets, he said, prompting several to hand over material that Eyespot users could play with. Many also are holding competitions and establishing online communities.

Each participating artist decides what they make available. Fans of Mike Skinner's garage-rap persona the Streets can get three videos, for instance, while Towers of London fans can get the British band's new music video "Air Guitar," 10 behind-the-scenes clips and music.

User-generated videos can be sent to mobile phones or published to a blog or other Web site with a single click, and each can be tagged with descriptive information for searching and organizing.

Revenue will come from advertising, premium additional services, and a share on sales of commercial content generated by free samples, Kaskade said.