Last.fm could soon disappear if the music industry doesn’t sort out its licensing agreements, says its founder Martin Stiksel. He fears pirates will dominate online music if record labels, artists and websites don’t work together instead of battling for the best deal. Could pirates be on the verge of truly conquering online music? Last.fm thinks so, and it’s not alone.
The founder of music social network Last.FM, Martin Stiksel, has backed YouTube in the row with licensing collection organisation the Performing Rights Society, stating that unless licenses become more affordable, pirates will soon fill the void.
“We have to find commercially workable rates otherwise illegal services will win and take over,” the Last.fm founder said.
Stiksel suggested services like Last.fm and YouTube need to pay less per clip or music track viewed, or resort to flat fees like traditional broadcasters: “Terrestrial radio pays a fixed minimum and that works out a lot cheaper,” he said.
So could Last.fm face a similar struggle when its own license comes up for renewal? It sounds like Stiksel is preempting exactly that. We’ll be following this dispute all the way.
