The MySpace Music service is about to launch Stateside, and while all the major record labels are on board, a failure to agree terms means there’s no room for indie content.
Not yet, anyway. MySpace is apparently still in negotiations with indie trade body Merlin – a deal which, if done, should help bring the world’s leading independent labels and artists to the service. The sticking point seems to be the fact that the independent labels will see their major label competitors profiting from the use of their repertoire – the majors have an equity component as part of their deal with MySpace, but apparently no similar upside has been offered to the indies.
MySpace Music’s launch will add a new page to MySpace profiles. Entitled “My Music”, it’ll allow users to create unlimited playlists of up to 100 songs a pop. These can be streamed at no extra cost, or purchased through Amazon in DRM-free MP3 format. Ringtones will also be available via Jamster.
MySpace (via Distorted Loop)
It is great to see another ad-funded model emerging, but surely the heart of MySpace and much internet music discovery has been down to indie labels, so to announce the launch of MySpace without mention of an indie deal seems a little short sighted. At We7, we have always made the indies a major focus of our catalogue, as well as music from major labels.
Steve Purdham
CEO – We7
http://www.we7.com