The idea expands on what Gabriel helped develop with TheFilter.com, a website that generates music playlists based on users' record collections.
Asked whether he was worried about other similar services now coming online, Gabriel said, "I love competition -- bring it on."
And he pointed to Radiohead's recent release of its "In Rainbows" album first as a pay-what-you-will digital download and then a physical CD as the wave of the future. "I think we'll be seeing a lot more of that, where artists don't just release one thing in one form," said Gabriel, who bought the deluxe version of "In Rainbows" costing around $80. "Fans will probably be able to get a free download version, then have the choice of buying a physical copy, or paying a bit more for a deluxe version with lots of extras. Finally I think we'll be seeing more artists releasing the limited-edition, handmade, signed edition. I think all those models can coexist."
As for Gabriel's long-incubating "Big Blue Ball" project, featuring artists from around the world who recorded in his Real World studio in England over three years in the '90s, his numerous philanthropic activities have limited his time to finish it. He quipped that it would be released "this century -- weather permitting," but added that it should see the light of day in 2008.
It was his involvement with the Elders, a coalition of 13 world leaders including Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, Kofi Annan and Jimmy Carter, that prevented the singer from joining his original band, Genesis, on its reunion tour last year.
"There's no animosity" with his former bandmates, Gabriel said, and left open the possibility of revisiting the reunion idea. Not long before Led Zeppelin's reunion in London in November, Gabriel said he got a call from singer Robert Plant, wanting to know one thing: "He asked which of us was going to sell out first."
randy.lewis@latimes.com
