"Folks like me might be interested in exploring some internet method
for distributing home 'project studio' recorded music for free
that provides facilities to set up "wish list" accounts..."

The thing is, there kind of is.

Amazon wishlists.

Paypal.

The one thing that rarely gets talked about in discussions of digital-era music sales, piracy, illegal downloads etc etc is that there is never anything actually STOPPING any member of the public giving a musician some money, at any time.

Just because somebody is giving something away for free, doesn't mean you literally cannot entertain the notion of giving them some money. The idea of voluntary payments, or of paying somebody MORE money than they have asked for in exchange for goods or a service is something that rarely gets aired.

Paypal do wishlists now. So there's nothing stopping you putting a link to your Amazon or Paypal wishlists on your website, with an "if you've enjoyed this music, feel free to surprise me by buying something from my wishlist by clicking here..."

Hey, here's mine. I don't even have any albums for anyone to download, but if there are any Mudcat-reading billionaires out there desperate to throw money around, they're welcome to buy me stuff:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/registry/wishlist/2EUEYUR0Q3A9S/ref=cm_wl_act_vv?_encoding=UTF8&visitor-view=1&reveal=