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Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Teh Internets MySpace Music May Cease Free Streaming
Posted by Dave Segal on Tue, Jul 13, 2010 at 2:56 PM
Murmurs on the net suggest that MySpace Music could soon end its policy of free streaming.
Here's the lowdown from Side-Line Music Magazine:
The free streaming on MySpace may soon be history. According to people close to the News Corp. owned company, MySpace wants to move its MySpace Music section to a paid model. At the moment MySpace is rumoured to be spending $20 million/month (!) on streaming royalties. However sources close to MySpace say that the royalty payments are a lot lower although the service is indeed burning money at a fast pace. Fact is that News Corp. have a huge cash flow problem with the company. The Google search deal is up this month and MySpace sees a $300 million/year in revenue evaporate.
Read the whole article here.
This strikes me as bad news. For all of its heinous flaws, MySpace has served a valuable function for allowing musicians of all talent and popularity levels to expose their work, a serious boon for them and for listeners (and the leeches we charitably call "music journalists"), despite the accompanying slow-loading pages and ocular rape.
Musicians: If MySpace ends up sucking even harder or folding, where will you host your music online? If you've already bailed on MySpace, which site do you think is best to promote your art? Personally, from a purely listener's perspective, I'm pro-SoundCloud and Bandcamp.
1
That would indeed be too bad. No way for artists to opt out of being paid/keep their streams free?
Bandcamp seems cool. I've had stuff up on virb for ages, but unfortunately that never caught on, and now it seems they're changing their model to paid web hosting for bands. Facebook's band pages are for shit.
Bandcamp seems cool. I've had stuff up on virb for ages, but unfortunately that never caught on, and now it seems they're changing their model to paid web hosting for bands. Facebook's band pages are for shit.
2
I use Soundcloud about 10 times more than Myspace music player, but I have to admit that when I'm looking to hear a new rock act that I know nothing about, I go to Myspace first.
3
Baaaad news. Facebook needs to step up in a big way. They've been the leading social network site for awhile, but are weirdly non-competitive when it comes to the musician angle. Worried about those streaming costs, I imagine. Thanks for fucking up everything, "bottom lines"!
4
Good riddance Myspace, say hello to Friendster and Classmates.com!
I like this model: http://summerbabes.bandcamp.com/album/ba…
I like this model: http://summerbabes.bandcamp.com/album/ba…
5
I just put it all on my website, for which I pay the hosting. Any act that's actually getting enough plays to exceed whatever their default monthly bandwidth limit should be able to afford the overages.
6
Getting rid of streaming just means more and more people will torrent to sample new music. And then once they've torrented it they'll be much more likely to just keep it instead of deleting it (and either buying the album or not).
7
No problem, just start posting songs to youtube, Bieber has paved the way for the future.
But, seriously, Myspace players suck anyway, the bitrate is all fucked. I RARELY end up interested in a band based on what's on their myspace. Who actually sits through a whole song of a band they don't know on there? You listen to 30 seconds of a shitty quality stream that makes ALL bands sound kinda lame, and decide whether you'll go to their show or not, and that's about it. Also, in a way, if you don't have something that totally grabs people in that 30 seconds, they probably just figure your band sucks and move on. It is a useful way to communicate and all that, but it's time is gone.
For the record, we use soundcloud to stream our whole album on our website(www.atomic-bride.com). Better quality and all that. Of course, seeing as people barely listen to full songs on MySpace, you can be sure that pretty much noone will actually sit through the whole album on our website either.
But, seriously, Myspace players suck anyway, the bitrate is all fucked. I RARELY end up interested in a band based on what's on their myspace. Who actually sits through a whole song of a band they don't know on there? You listen to 30 seconds of a shitty quality stream that makes ALL bands sound kinda lame, and decide whether you'll go to their show or not, and that's about it. Also, in a way, if you don't have something that totally grabs people in that 30 seconds, they probably just figure your band sucks and move on. It is a useful way to communicate and all that, but it's time is gone.
For the record, we use soundcloud to stream our whole album on our website(www.atomic-bride.com). Better quality and all that. Of course, seeing as people barely listen to full songs on MySpace, you can be sure that pretty much noone will actually sit through the whole album on our website either.
9
Myspace, Facebook, and YouTube are all pretty much still money losing operations- they will all stop hosting all that stuff for free eventually- because server farms, and electricity, cost money. Lots of it.
We have had a brief window where rich guys paid for our free Myspace pages because they believed the Myspace execs who promised the thing would make a profit someday- but as that day keeps not coming, the rich guys are not gonna keep paying forever.
Enjoy it while you can, but expect, long term, to either have to pay, as a band, for hosting, or pay, as a consumer, for access.
We have had a brief window where rich guys paid for our free Myspace pages because they believed the Myspace execs who promised the thing would make a profit someday- but as that day keeps not coming, the rich guys are not gonna keep paying forever.
Enjoy it while you can, but expect, long term, to either have to pay, as a band, for hosting, or pay, as a consumer, for access.
10
Definitely where I go to listen to a band I've never heard before and is relatively unknown. It's pretty much the only feature I use on myspace anymore. I'm not sure how this would effect musicians but for listeners it can't be good.
And even though they throw up the shittiest corporate sponsored "musicians" on the home page, their music streaming is pretty much a deal maker/breaker when it comes to listening to new music.
And even though they throw up the shittiest corporate sponsored "musicians" on the home page, their music streaming is pretty much a deal maker/breaker when it comes to listening to new music.
13
Soundcloud is where it's at anyway. Bandcamp is great too (gay name though). Later Myspace. It was fun at the very very beginning. It's over for sure now.
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