DISQUS

Annie M · 1 year ago

All very perceptive comments, but wasn't this all true a year ago when imeem started streaming all the major label tunes for free?

And wasn't it true in January of this year when last.fm followed imeem

The transformation started a long time ago, myspace is merely following the inevitable (and following it with a poor implementation by the sound of things)

jon · 1 year ago

Totally true. I think what makes this shift bigger is the magnitude. MySpace gets around 5x the traffic of Imeem and many more times that of Last.fm. Plus, I’d argue that Imeem and Last.fm are music sites while MySpace is broader in scope.

So yes, you’re right. But I think this is a bigger deal for several reasons, the primary one being that they’re MySpace.

Sandra · 1 year ago

Ok, so I have a very naive question - is the revenue then being generated by advertising? And is this then going to pay the artists their royalties on MySpace Music?

jon · 1 year ago

Yup, ad-supported and yes, artists get paid royalties for each stream.

Tina · 1 year ago

It is an awesome concept to merge the streaming music with a social networking site. Many bands currently promote and network their music on MySpace currently anyway. It is great that Royalties are paid as well! Sounds like a win, win! Branding is so important for any company.

jon · 1 year ago

Great follow-up to this here:

http://www.kk.org/thetechnium/archives/2008/09/...

"Maintain an incoming flow of attention and money will follow."

Exactly.

jeff · 1 year ago

this is all about driving music into the attention economy, back where it came from. before recorded music the only way to profit from music was really via performance sales. you want to see the symphony? you buy a ticket and go see the symphony. the digitization of the distribution channel brings us back to the future.

mysapce got it's initial boost from local bands who flocked to self-promote on the site. now the question becomes, 'are teachers similar enough to local bands?' can they translate small, local audiences into larger, wider web audiences? can they capitalize on the same forces that have impacted the music business? can they use the tools of 2008 to self-promote, self-distribute and self-monetize?

clearly music and education are different businesses with different core drivers but the same forces are impacting both businesses.

it seems like it's time for a revolution, time to light a fire.