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Myspace to Sell MP3s From Unsigned Bands
soldrinero writes "Yahoo! news is hosting a story about a new competitor to Apple's iTunes Music Store. Nearly all the other iTunes competitors have been strongly controlled by the music industry, shackled in DRM, and giving little back to artists. The new MySpace music store will feature vanilla MP3 downloads at prices set by the individual bands (3 million of them!), all or nearly all of whom are unsigned musicians with no industry affiliation. Is this the example we have all been waiting for of how the Internet will obviate the business model of the recording industry?"
... people won't buy! Unsigned bands have enough trouble getting their music heard when they're GIVING it away!
"The dew has clearly fallen with a particularly sickening thud this morning"
Reminds me of mp3.com which was quite neat back in the day and made a few unknown bands rather rich. I remember reading one success story of some jazz musician that was bringing in about $20000 per month from CD sales on mp3.com. Anything that loosens the grip of the Recording Industry Ass. of America and international equivalent is very welcome. Just dont let the myspace users design their own store areas like the horrific myspace personal pages :)
Warhammer forums
No, it is well known in most advertising circles that word of mouth advertising is the most effective around. Especially, when dealing with the rebels, a real advertising campaign smacks of effort (he tries too hard, whatever !). If you're thinking of anything other than teen-pop (of the Hillary Duff flavour), that's probably half your market. And it does work too, very well.
All in all, myspace is looking for ways to leverage the community network. And IMHO, iTunes has proved that the first requirement for a store is a player :)
Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum videtur
Because pretty soon there will be pressure on RIAA bands who are on myspace to start selling their songs! This is definitely the revolution we are talking about where the RIAA record companies go bankrupt. Ironic that it will take a major multi-national corporation to do it!
I guess that means Non-DRM'ed MP3...
Wincopy
FTA: "Songs can be sold [...] in non-copyright-protected MP3 digital file format [...]"
This is a perfect horrible example of a 'innocent' slip which conflates DRM with copyright; it cooperates with the corporate worldview that DRM is necessary to protect copyright. I don't know how to get in touch with the author but I would really love to set this kind of thing straight.
RMS may be a freak but I think he's right in that we have to be careful about the language we use; it defines and affects the thought patterns of both speaker and listener.
On the other hand i could see the Record Industry just sitting and watching to see which band seems to be doing the best and then bum-rush them with a contract for them to sign so the RIAA can cash in (as we know they so love to do) on this fresh artist (that already has a decent fan base). Basicly they are letting Myspace do all the hard work of promoting the band and they will swoop in at the end snag up the band and then squeeze every last penny out of them and us when the band release the studio record through them.
now if myspace really wanted to appeal to artist they should set up a recording studio and allow there artists they support to release records under their label.
it be a win for both seeing how the artist get a cheaper studio to produce in and release under and mysapce makes some extra cash flow....yeah i know it probly won't happen but its just an idea.
I, too, loathe any link that leads me to MySpace.
But I loathe the RIAA more.
"A great democracy must be progressive or it will soon cease to be a great democracy." --Theodore Roosevelt
""Everyone we've spoken to definitely wants an alternative to iTunes and the iPod. MySpace could be that alternative."
This statement sounds really uninformed in its context in the article. There are a lot of alternatives, but most people don't want them. Anybody who has any tech savvy needs to take their head out of their ass when they come up with ideas like this. The reason why people put up with Apple's DRM'ed technology is because its easy to use. Non-tech people can and do use it, and those same people avoid the other options because they are confusing. Now, I understand that selling a DRM-less MP3 will work with the iPod, which is very important to compete, but how will it be delivered to the user? Will it automatically show up in a playlist in a program such as iTunes so that a non-tech person doesn't have to search for the downloaded file and put it where it belongs so he/she can immediately play it after its done? There are a lot of little details that Apple paid attention to that contribute to its success with this industry. Until someone can come up with a total solution that plays as nicely as iTunes and works with the iPod, they will all be dead in the water.
As technical people, this news sounds great, but we are a relatively small population compared to the rest of the world. In order for an idea like this to work on the level of iTunes/iPod, the less-than-savvy need to be addressed.
Sound waves should be free!
Through listening to various podcasts, such as "Insomnia Radio" and NPR's music show and some others, I've actually increased my music purchasing of these indie bands - especially when they were on the iTunes store.
Most of the bands that I hear through indie Podcasts have Myspace pages, and that would make it a *lot* easier to pick up their songs as MP3's - especially if they were decent quality (like 192 or above).
So I'd say that while the amount of music won't be as high as, say, Britney, for some bands it could be a take off point - though the real winner would be Myspace through good old Mr. Longtail.
Of course, that's just my opinion. I could be wrong.
52 Weeks, 52 Religions with John Hummel
Such a service would only ever work with listeners whose musical tastes are still forming, and who would see the net as the authoritative place where new music can be found.
As it turns out, this describes MySpace's audience perfectly, so yes, this could work.
With MySpace's ranking system, they only need to find a few dozen bands with real talent to make it a success. With a population of 300M bands to draw upon, that should be possible.
The record labels will never, ever give up their right to control distribution. It is the only thing they truly own. Any new licensing model will only work with new bands and new fans.
"We receive as friendly that which agrees with, we resist with dislike that which opposes us" - Faraday
This is a big step, because it cuts out the Labels entirely. I'd love to see this grow, and I think with the popularity of MySpace, it's a real possibility. I won't buy an DRM encumbered music, because you're really only renting it. There's no guarantee that you'll be able to play that music in the future. For example, if you at any point stop paying your subscription, you won't be able to play that music on any other device, so at that point you'll only own that music for the life of the device.
This isn't the first legal music site that doesn't use DRM, though. eMusic also uses restriction-free MP3. It's a subscription model, rather than pay-as-you-download. They also don't carry most of the popular current bands, so if you're looking for the latest song on pop radio, you won't find it. They do carry lesser known artists, and their classical and jazz sections are actually very broad, including a lot of well known artists.
Netflix does the same thing, only they sign unsigned movies that play at Sundance and the like, and give them non-exclusive DVD distribution deals.
The real key? Once on Netflix, they get pushed as a new release over the recommendation mechanism. So, heard of or not, they get exposure and an audience quickly.
MySpace has nothing like that to push unsigned bands, except to offer a sales/download link from all pages using the song. Also, Netflix hand picks each indie film, whereas MySpace is not hand picking indie bands and their songs.
Honestly, I don't see the advantage here from the band's perspective. Selling a Vanilla mp3 is not hard for even the least qualified web tech using any e-commerce storefront. There's no DRM to fool with, so all you have to do is take an order, and offer a random url download or e-mail the MP3 directly to them. But, since its on the honor system, why not just let everyone download all the mp3's, and put up a paypal link as a "Tip Jar".
I8-D
I know what you're saying, but once it's sold, certain metrics can come into play. Now numbers of sales and downloads can be measured, which will help potential consumers and listeners ascertain what is good/bad/will be popular. When your giving something away, who cares how many are using the product? When it's being sold, these numbers start to take on a new significance.
SEO Copywriter. Just Say ON
Plenty of confusion here...people have already commented to clear up the DRM confusion, let's take a look at the industry:
1. The label signs the artist.
2. The label pays for expensive studio time.
3. The rep from the label contacts the program directors at radio stations to get airplay. Sending your demo tape to a station will not get you on the air...reps who offer tickets at concerts and coop opportunities for bigger artists get airplay (because payola is technically illegal).
4. The label pays for CD duplication, printing, distribution.
5. The label sends your CD to the music outlets.
6. The label arranges concerts, merchandising, etc to make you rich (because we all know artists make nearly nothing on the music itself).
In this day and age, computers and very inexpensive technology have somewhat eliminated the need for expensive studio time...but you can't cheap out on a real producer and real mastering engineer. Regardless, let's assume you have a decent recording. Instead of radio airplay, you go for popularity on myspace. You have no costs for CD duplication, printing, distribution or the need for agreements with music outlets. You arrange tshirt/mug/hat printing from an online business.
So...we're basically outdating the labels and the radio stations.
I bet these "MP3s from unsigned bands" won't play in Vista x64 Edition...
It's a matter of security, you see.
IMPEACH XENU
I wonder what is going to happen to these unsigned songs when the band is signed and wants to use these songs in their first album. Will MySpace own the music?
Just yesterday, my son (17) said that there still was music being made as good as classic rock, it's just that it is all underground by bands that no one has heard of. The kids are finding this stuff on MySpace and letting each other know about the good music...the word gets around. There are a lot of unsigned bands out there; it will all depend upon how good their music is. If they strike the right chord with other MySpace users, there is plenty of room to be successful in selling their wares.
indeed
the general public might not really know what drm actually is or what it stands for (they don't know what mp3 is either) but more and more people are learning that it is something they don't want.
the sony drm thing left the IT department and went out into the streets, it was regular ass people fearing that they had installed something horrible.
and for those who DON'T know they don't want drm just yet, when myspace says that their downloads are drm free, they will learn.
-- lol pwned
"The problem is society in general. People want to see movies with specific actors. People want to listen to specific musicians, not bands that are just like them."
And why do you think they want to see these actors and listen to this music in particular, who gave them the idea? Who controls what they get mostly exposed to? Who?
Nah, most know what an MP3 is. At least in concept at the most basic level. What they don't know is the difference between an MP3, WMA, M4A or M4P file. You're very right in saying that they don't know what DRM is, in the sense of calling it DRM anyways. Anyone who's actually encountered it (which you won't if it's working correctly) knows about it, though most don't know what it's called. I'd question the ability of MySpace to educate anyone, but I think it could help, especially if they take a slightly more aggressive stance ("When you buy music from iTunes, it has what's known as DRM that prevents you from playing it on anything but iTunes or your iPod. When you download from MyTuneSpace, it has no DRM which means you can play it wherever you want, however you want, and with no fear of it not working on your player.")
It's got potential. While I generally avoid MySpace at all costs, I've had a couple occasions where there was music written that I'd have been willing to pay a nominal fee for. The real problem here is that most bands are probably going to try charging too much, so hopefully MySpace will either have a cap or at the very least some guidelines, because overly high prices (ESPECIALLY among the typical myspace audience) WILL ensure a massive failure.
How are sites slashdotted when nobody reads TFAs?
along with mandatory broadcast flags. Both of which are nuts and are really designed to raise the entry fee. The RIAA will get their pound of flesh one way or another. We already subsidize that bunch with the tax on blank recording material.
What?
The AC who posted this originally was right. You should read and adhere to these guidelines.
From http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/linux/docs/HOWTO/Advoca cy.
By summer it was all gone...now shesmovedon. --
I pay a fair price for my music (anywhere from 11 cents to about 30 cents) per selection. And I don't have to purchase the entire album. I have the option of listening to the first 30 or so seconds of the music I expect to purchase. What I like about that offshore site, is that the majority of the money goes to the artist. Does it bypass the RIAA, or the other organisations? Well, I hope so, but I do not know. Search for all of mp3 dot com
Leslie Satenstein Montreal Quebec Canada