Independent music has been a driving force during the development of MySpace, and now the social network has ignored its core when it launched the new MySpace Music. The new deal with Amazon.com makes them a new competitor against iTunes and Napster.
After signing a deal with the 4 major labels (Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, EMI Music, and Warner Music Group, Inc.) MySpace and its business partners could benefit from the indie artists, but will they return the benefits?
You can always say that yes, an indie artist being featured next to a signed artist could help their exposure. But does the artist gain the same amount of benefits as the major label?
1. The independent artist doesn’t see a fixed amount of money coming in from the on-site advertising deals that MySpace creates, because of MySpace Music.
2. The indie artist has to count on, whoever checks out their page, actually listens to their music, instead of it being forced into their ears by consistent radio airplay.
3. Ever since the News Corp. buy-out, the social network has been geared toward mainstream music. As of today, I only see 1 independent artist featured next to a whole page of mainstream artists.
Is that really helping independent music out?
MySpace is not an artist’s, or band’s website. News Corp. can one day say, “Let’s get rid of these pages.” The page is owned by them, not the artist who put so much work into maintaining the page.
This type of deal should really send a message to an indie band, or artist, which is, “I should have my own website.” The artist is free to post/sell their music, merchandise, and what ever they have to market themselves, and it can not be taken away.
Yes, MySpace is a free outlet, but there is a price to pay if you do not go by their standards. It is a great marketing tool, but that is it. All the friends, music, and layouts that an indie artist has worked to get can all be gone one day.
Noe Pacheco is the Editor @ Gighive.com.
- Forrester's New Music Release Strategy for Independent Musicians The album is dead they say, or at the very least, the CD is on it's way out. A few months back Forrester Research released a report that argues for an alternative music release structure (you can check out the original report here). One that more closely matches the predominant......
- Independent Music Retailing With Tryxo Independent Music Retailing With TryxoThe modern era music entrepreneur will most certainly have a great deal to contend with as they attempt to monetize their business efforts in the age of web 2.0. There are more resources available via online platforms than any other time in the history of the......
- Selling Your Music On MySpace For Independent Music Artists: Music Marketing And Promotion Tips Like many musicians, waiting for a record label to find you can take a long time and even then, it may not be worth it. Instead, musicians are taking matters into their own hands and selling music by promoting it on MySpace. Since MySpace reaches millions of viewers each day,......
- Bon Jovi Posters Memorabilia -> Music Memorabilia -> Rock, Pop-> Bon Jovi One of the biggest rock bands of the 1980’s is still popular today and as such, many people are still trying to find their posters. Whether you are a new fan of the group, or you remember a certain poster that......
- Palm Pixi - Worth The Price? Now that the waiting game around Palm Pixi release date is over, the next question doing the rounds in mobile enthusiast circles is - At $99 (considering the rebates), is it a deal worth opting for a 2 year service agreement? It's not the most attractive pricing strategy by Palm......
- KEYWORD OPTIMIZATION : PPC Free Advice Dear Friend, Have you ever wished you knew how to make a quick $100-$500 online with just a few hours of work? No doubt, this might seem like peanuts to you as compared to what the gurus seem to be earning online. But one thing for SURE, they started out......
Related posts:
- Insanely Crazy Independent Music Promotion Ideas That Actually Works
- Independent Music Promotion Ideas
- Myspace Headed In The Right Direction With ‘My Music’
- Music Distribution Companies For the Independent Music Artist
- Selling Your Music On MySpace For Independent Music Artists: Music Marketing And Promotion Tips
