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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?"
No. MySpace is the most popular site on the internet among the band-listening, teenage generation. Mind you, most of these bands should already be on iTunes via CDBaby... but still. If they don't fumble this, MySpace could easily put a very large dent in iTunes and the major labels, which is a good thing.
Quid festinatio swallonis est aetherfuga inonusti?
Africus aut Europaeus?
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.
""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!
Heard of the Arctic Monkeys? The first album from that indie band has become the fastest-selling debut album in UK chart history.
Res publica non dominetur
106,458,400 profiles as of right now..
i assumed that no one was thick enough to make a "myspace is for emo kids only" joke anymore
-- lol pwned
indeed. this is a pretty good move by myspace, they aren't stupid enough to think that their user base would buy a song that won't work on their ipod. the fact that they can say things like "DRM FREE" helps out too.
-- lol pwned
Mind you, most of these bands should already be on iTunes via CDBaby
ROFLMAO! You obviously don't waork in the industry. I work for an indie music distro and do A/R for a couple of labels. I can't even describe how _terrible_ most bands are. MySpace is like a meeting place for all the bands that send their demos to every label on Earth and just can't figure out why no one will sign them (because they are absolutely awful). These bands aren't on iTMS because most labels don't care about bands that would sell maybe one download per year.
Exactly. DRM free music stores that sell unsigned artists aren't new, but they didn't have any mainstream reach. MySpace is probably the first that is big enough to actually make a dent.
You underestimate just how many emo kids there are out there
Why?
Because it threatens their business model, and they are scared shitless of change.
It will turn out to be a good deal for them
That's irrelevant. Radio was a good deal for them, and they fought tooth and nail because it threatened their business model. VCRs were a great deal for the movie industry, and look how hard they fought that.
It removes a level of risk from their business - as long as they have a lock on the major distribution channels they control the serious money.
First of all, they don't want control of the "serious" money, they want control of *all* of the money.
Second, your condition ("as long as they have a lock") is not at all assured. What happens when major artists discover they no longer *need* the "major" distribution channels?
Third, record labels make millions of dollars from artists just starting out that are willing to sign contracts for what can only be charitably described as indentured servitude. When these artists see "hey, I'm paying for this myself anyway, why don't I keep all the money", the big record labels lose a major source of revenue. Steve Albini wrote an excellent essay entitled "The Problem with Music" - it's a must read if you want to know how the music industry works - which you need to if you want to understand their motivations and why they're so scared of the internet.
And of course the established music industry only signs really, really good bands to contracts.
</sarcasm>
sig has been sent away for a few small repairs...