Another MySpace Problem

I was reading The Register, a UK technology site, and I stumbled upon this. Apparently, MySpace refuses to pay royalties to artists and as the article says "while composers get rewarded when music is played in hotel lobbies, clothes shops and pubs, they don't get a penny from it being played, and endlessly replayed, over MySpace's network."

MySpace, with its parent company Intermix Media, were bought by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. which owns such media companies as FOX News, Harper Collins and the New York Post, for half a billion dollars. MySpace consumes a lot of bandwidth and has ads plastered everywhere. They can afford to pay a few of the more popular artists at the very least.
The following shows what heartless bastards work at MySpace.

Asked by moderator Jim Griffin why MySpace shouldn't make some kind of contribution - she replied that bands could get on their bikes and look for other revenue sources.

The great thing about MySpace, she said, was that so many bands took business back under their own initiative.

"People love to go to your show and buy your T-shirt," she said.

What if the band doesn't want to, or can't afford to perform, came back the response. The question was sidestepped.

MySpace is supposed to be the alternate revenue stream! Why the hell would any artist use MySpace?

"We provide hundreds of millions of dollars of technology investment for new artists. It takes money to build a website."

That brought splutters from the panel. Former EMI exec Ted Cohen replied that this was an argument others could make.

"You say 'We want your music for free, and here's some technology?' Microsoft could say that!"
Oh, but we don't want it for free, she replied.

Judging from the look of MySpace and all of the HTML "hacks" that users have to use to make their profiles look a little less ugly, they're failing in terms of providing a great product.

They're a marketing site, just like the radio and TV are and they should be subject to the same royalty arrangements that music TV channels and radio stations have. Who cares how many people listen to your damn song if you can't make a single cent? Exactly like MySpace and YouTube...Who cares how many people visit those websites if they can't make a cent?


A short post I know, the next one will be longer.