Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

TruSonic Uses MP3.com Catalog As Muzak

Posted by simoniker on from the cha-cha-cha dept.

Wacky_Wookie writes "Well, it looks like all the artists who put their songs up on MP3.com are about to break into a whole new market - elevators! The Register is reporting that Vivendi, who had control over MP3.com's archive of over 1.5 million songs even after the site's sale to CNET, has sold rebroadcasting rights to TruSonic.com, who sell them as piped music to hotels, restaurants and other businesses, passing on royalties along the way. I guess this is Vivendi's way of 'lifting' artists into new markets." Unfortunately, according to the TruSonic site FAQ, the site "does not support any type of artist page that is accessible by the public", and, according to another independent page, "any song that any artist [uploaded to MP3.com since a certain date?] got enrolled into TruSonic unless the artist 'opted out'."

8 of 230 comments (clear)

  1. Crying shame by Dark+Paladin · · Score: 5, Insightful

    That actually depresses me a bit, as I had bought some music off of mp3.com when it was around (believe it or not: the Megatokyo soundtrack. Yeah, I'm a geek.).

    It was one of the few places where an independant artist could try and sell their wares without RIAA influence.

    Now, it seems that Vivendi is doing everything they can to kill it off and make sure that the independant artists have no options to be heard by the public except through "established channels" - aka, through the Music Cartel.

    --
    52 Weeks, 52 Religions with John Hummel
    1. Re:Crying shame by gnu-generation-one · · Score: 4, Insightful

      "That actually depresses me a bit, as I had bought some music off of mp3.com when it was around"

      Great place to buy music.

      You already know it's good music, because all the songs are available to download. When you buy the CD (at a third of the price they're sold in the high-street), you even get MP3 versions of the songs on the data directory. No more CDEXing, just copy the MP3 files in seconds, and the tags are all accurate and ready to put on your Zen.

      Then if the CD gets damaged (all CDs get damaged), you already have a backup copy, legally. And if someone asks you what you're listening to, you can send them a link to download the song from the website. Chatting on IRC, "listen to this", post a link. Or email a link.

      Discover new music. Amazing what you find when you only have to spend 2 minutes of download time to sample a new band, rather than $20 and a trip to the shops. Find music in the charts there. See which music your bands like, from links in their homepages...

      Yes, it's crap that they deleted MP3.com. And you just know, that as long as we live, nobody else will figure out that that's how a music shop should be run...

  2. Meh by SargeZT · · Score: 5, Insightful

    As good of an idea as this is, the system should have been made opt-in instead of opt-out. Some people might not mind being heard on the web, but being heard through other mediums may not be in their plans. And, also, there is no way for an independent artist to have been heard by say, a record label, and contact the person, as there is no interface. Good idea, bad implementation.

    --
    And why did you staple the trout to the RAM?
    1. Re:Meh by Misch · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Maybe the artists should have considered RTFA'ing before signing? (In this case, the A is agreement/contract).

      --

      --You will rephrase your request for me to go to hell. Goto statements are not acceptable programming constructs
    2. Re:Meh by The+Other+Nate · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The 'A' grew and morphed extensively since the time that I 'signed' it. (many emails informing me, yet no recourse for declining the service once they had a copy of my songs.)

      Oh wait! I should have aimed my retained legal department at them, and used my massive financial assets to bring the bastards to their knees.

      I don't have a large stake in this (i.e. day job and only a handful of songs), but the artists who do this for a living have indeed been screwed.

      --
      The Other Nate

  3. you know, frankly by ch-chuck · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I have *never* heard music played in an actual elevator. In restaurants, hospital lobbies, stores, lots of public places, but can't ever recall it in an elevator, and I've been in many that were packed with sleepy commuters going in to the office.

    --
    try { do() || do_not(); } catch (JediException err) { yoda(err); }
  4. Is this really beneficial to the artists? by dhowells · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Although there *may* be a limited revenue stream from the comission from these lift-music systems, that not what independant music is really about. A lot of MP3.com artists hoped to start by giving their music away and/or selling it cheaply and by gaining popularity to get a record deal, i.e. get famous and repected first.

    On the other hand having your music played in some random lift with noone knowing who you are will never get anyone musical success. I feel this is just another facet to the exploitation of the artist by the industry.

    --
    use Blunt::Instrument;
  5. what's the problem? by sugarbomb · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I don't see what the problem is ... a) if they play your music, you will get paid b) if you want out, you can get out