http://blogs.reuters.com/mediafile/2008/04/03/myspace-music-almost-a-wrap/ Where media and technology meet Mon, 13 Oct 2008 20:03:19 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.3 http://blogs.reuters.com/mediafile/2008/04/03/myspace-music-almost-a-wrap/#comment-340638 Amiri Sat, 05 Apr 2008 13:46:08 +0000 http://blogs.reuters.com/mediafile/2008/04/03/myspace-music-almost-a-wrap/#comment-340638 This is a blatant attempt on the part of the labels to raid what was ostensibly a home for independent artists, but it shows how desperate they are to maintain their declining market power. And the fact that MySpace is willing to let them raid their user base shows that MySpace is not really serious about the independent market. So where does that leave the artists on MySpace, who will now have to cut through even more distractions as the majors spam and shill their artists all over the site? It's looking bad for MySpace, in my opinion. Whether this is a competitor for iTunes or not is not the point. It's understood that the labels don't like Apple's deal, they're greedy and want to charge more money for their subpar product. That's normal for them. What matters is that this changes nothing for the artists or the fans, and it may even be worse for both. This is a blatant attempt on the part of the labels to raid what was ostensibly a home for independent artists, but it shows how desperate they are to maintain their declining market power. And the fact that MySpace is willing to let them raid their user base shows that MySpace is not really serious about the independent market. So where does that leave the artists on MySpace, who will now have to cut through even more distractions as the majors spam and shill their artists all over the site? It’s looking bad for MySpace, in my opinion. Whether this is a competitor for iTunes or not is not the point. It’s understood that the labels don’t like Apple’s deal, they’re greedy and want to charge more money for their subpar product. That’s normal for them. What matters is that this changes nothing for the artists or the fans, and it may even be worse for both.

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