Indie Artists and Fans Unite: MySpace Listens and Changes its Service

In a previous blog entry I mentioned how MySpace had the ability to generate a huge amount of revenue for the struggling music industry with its new MySpace Music (see left below) service. Although the music industry would surely benefit from this service, the independent labels and artists were the ones hurt because they were left out of it. In the previous blog, I expressed my belief that MySpace was going to face negative repercussions for excluding independent artists from their new service; especially when independent artists were one of the biggest reasons why MySpace had become so popular. I mentioned that I personally believed that MySpace would change its service within a few days or weeks, to allow independent labels and artists back into the MySpace Music service. A recent article on StarTribune.com puts it best, "A month after irking part of the independent recording community by launching its online music service mostly with major labels, MySpace Music has made a deal to almost double the amount of indie tunes available through the service." MySpace finally realized that what they had done was not in the best interest for their company's image and profitability. They decided to listen to all the reports and complaints that people were having about this issue and make a change for the better. Although independent labels and artists are now happy to be back on the MySpace Music, the major labels might be feeling a little bit uneasy since now they will confront competition from the hundreds if not thousands of independent artists on MySpace.

The top major labels make up a huge percentage of all the music that is sold throughout the country but they depend on a fewer or limited number of artists to generate their revenue from. Although the major labels do not necessarily need the revenue that will be generated by MySpace Music, that revenue stream would be a great help for an already struggling industry. In a comment I left previously, I had mentioned that the music industry had already made $800 million dollars already on paper; well not the top record labels might be feeling a little nervous about the fact that no longer will they be the only ones getting a pay off from the MySpace Music service. As much as the top labels want the music industry to do well, they definitely do not like losing potential revenue to other labels and specially not independent labels. Although the top major labels will definitely cringe with this current development, the fans will definitely be ecstatic about the fact that they will once again be able to discover new and true raw music that has yet to be changed to fit into what is found popular by mainstream America. As I mentioned up above, MySpace Music decided to work a partnership with independent labels and artists, the big partnership was between MySpace Music and the independent digital distributor IODA. The IODA (see right below) is a distribution company that takes care of distributing, marketing, and other technology issues for all of its independent labels and their respective artists. MySpace Music having formed this relationship with IODA increased its independent labels on its service to the thousands. An article on Billboard.biz says, "MySpace Music's executive director of strategy and business development, Frank Hajdu, told Billboard.biz that MySpace Music is dedicated to the indie artist community." This comes as a shock since at first they denied all the allegations that they had left out independent artist out of their new music service when it fact they had; this quote does make independent labels feel reassured now that they will not be forgotten anymore. I personally believe that MySpace should be dedicated to the indie artist community because without them, MySpace would have never achieved the status and number of users that it has today.

As many expected it, MySpace ended up changing their whole service on October 23, 2008 in order to adapt to the true music culture that lives on the Internet, the independent non-mainstream music. MySpace would have truly lost its dominance in the social networking arena if it did not correct its mistake of not allowing other music on its service beside that of big record labels. MySpace had no choice but to listen to its users and a large group of artists in order to remain popular, which is really their first goal because if they are no longer popular no one would go to their site and in return there would be no revenue generated from music being played on their site. Independent artists in return now have a place once again where they can upload their music and create their fan base, they can market themselves and their upcoming shows which will lead to their popularity increasing among thousands of potential fans on MySpace. Now since everyone's needs and demands have been met to an understandable level, the top major labels earning revenue from their streamed music, indie artists being able to create and upload music; and fans being able to truly find diversified music in one location, the question that remains is whether this service will last in the ever fast changing online music distribution world or will it just fade away like many other services have before. Another question I raise is the fact that since independent artists will now have the chance to reach thousands fans, will they now become mainstream musicians or will they keep the indie vibe alive? I personally believe that whenever something gets mass media attention, it tends to loose its appeal to the people that live for underground, uncomercialed music. Once artists start making money, the also forget about their love for the music and it becomes merely a way of making money and getting rich. We will have to wait in order to truly see the effects that this music service will have on independent artists, but until then everyone can benefit from MySpace's change to its music service.

The Music Industry Collection: News, Resources, Gossip, and Everything Music

This week I went on a quest across the Web to look for websites, blogs, news sites, and organizations that provide important and current relevant information regarding the music industry. I have found twenty of these resources, which I have added to my linkroll (below and to the right). I will be using the Webby standards, which judges websites based on content, structure and navigation, visual design, functionality, interactivity, and overall experience; and also IMSA criteria to evaluate these resources, in order to see what is good and bad about each one. The first three websites I will be discussing are AIMP: Association of Independent Music Publishers, The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, and National Music Publishers' Association, which all three deal with the publishing of music and provide information regarding royalty rates and links to other music industry related organizations and services. The first website being directed towards the independent musician and writers and the latter toward musicians and writers that belong to a major label. AIMP: Association of Independent Music Publishers has a clean interface and is very aesthetically pleasing, it provides links and tabs to specific locations within the site which makes it easy for users to find what they are looking for. The one thing I do not like is the fact that to reach some portions of the site you have to register as a member. The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers has a simpler website design, on its main page it lists the top stories regarding publishing and it also offers many links to get to specific locations. I would like to see the color scheme and design be changed to make it look current and not as a straight to the point website, where there is no interactivity with the user. Third, National Music Publishers' Association has a nice design that makes the site interesting visually. It provides information regarding music publishing and news updates regarding laws that affect music publishing. I did not like how the menu bar had many drop down menu bars which made things a little bit harder to be found. I believe that if it provided direct links, the site would be more user friendly. The next two sites I found where SoundExchange and the U.S. Copyright Office, they deal with song ownership (copyrights), and royalty payments. SoundExchange (see right) is the official organization that has been designated by the U.S. Copyright Office to collect and distribute digital performance royalties. I like the fact that its interface is also very simple and has very few links/menu bars which makes it easier for the user to find what they are looking for. The color scheme that it employs makes the website fit into the image that digital media has, young and futuristic. The U.S. Copyright Office is a government website, and that can be seen by the layout and colors that were selected. It offers various links to forms and other information regarding how to copyright and laws. The website is very informative but not very interactive, I would like to see the website become a Web 2.0 site, were music and forms can be uploaded directly instead of having to be mailed using traditional snail mail.

The next group of sites are news sites that provide an aggregate of all the news that is going on regarding the music industry, music, musicians, and technology. The first two, Sony BMG Music Entertainment - News and Universal Media Group - News provide news that is relevant to their own labels, regarding artists signing, music album sales, and other news. Sony BMG Music Entertainment - News has a nice interface that causes the user to be engaged with the site but the fact that the site employs a lot of flash code, makes it a little harder to get to specific places quickly. On the other hand, Universal Media Group - News has a very simple interface which provides direct links to all their news articles and other sections of the site. HITS: Daily Double provides news and sales charts and other valuable information but the fact that the main page has an intro flash "game" makes it hard for the user to get in quickly. The user must also provide their name and e-mail address every time in order to enter the main site. last100: Audio has a simple two column interface but the fact that the right hand column is full of ads makes it very unattractive. The Los Angeles Times - Entertainment & Hollywood Business News and MTV Music News and Headlines both provide music news but tend to be more geared towards individual artists, trends, and gossip. The Los Angeles Times - Entertainment & Hollywood Business News has a very sleek interface and makes use of pictures very well but it also uses a lot of ads to generate revenue which sometimes get in the way of important information. MTV Music News and Headlines (see left below) is also very young and futuristic and also employs the use of a lot of pictures to make its articles stand out. There are a lot of links to get to specific sections of the site quickly but it also has some banner ads and its site tends to be crowded and too busy. Music Connection - Music Industry News and Music Industry Today are both news aggregates which feature news relating to the music industry. Both sites are very simple in design but the first makes use of pictures to give an idea of what each article is about and the latter requires a membership to view any articles which greatly reduces the usability of it. Music Industry Newswire provides news not only about music, artists, but also technology and products that are being introduced into the market. It has a lot of links that enable users to reach popular stories, staff, and other information very quickly. It uses a small google ad banner which does not interfere with the site at all. The site might benefit by making things come more alive instead of just being plain text.

The next two sites are blogs which offer personal insight into music and its industry. Coolfer: Music and the Industry offers discussions about the changing music industry and how business is affected by new opportunities. The site is very aesthetically pleasing and the articles within it provide a lot of links back to referenced information. There are very few ads but a lot of relevant links that can help users find the information they are looking for. The next site, Digital Noise: Music and Tech is a blog that is found within CNET news' section. It discusses the authors personal preferences over new music technology. Since this site is part of a bigger professional news website, it does have a good design but also makes use of banner ads to generate revenue. The blog posts also allow users to leave comments which makes it a good interactive site for the user. The next two sites deal with piracy and musician's rights. MusicUnited.org is an informative site that discusses how music piracy affects artists and songwriters. The site is very young looking and it offers direct links to various sections of the site. I would like to see it become more interactive instead of just being informative, maybe include flash animation or games that would help younger users see why piracy is wrong. Recording Artists' Coalition: A Voice for Artists' Rights provides information to artists about their rights in the music industry and it also addresses other legal policies. The site has an urban feel to it which makes it attractive to those who are trying to fight the "system". It has links at the top that take it to specific locations but besides that it is a lot of text which makes it uninteresting and overwhelming to look at. Lastly, the Recording Industry Association of America - Consumer Trends and Billboard: Music Business both provide information about the music industry on a deeper level. The Recording Industry Association of America - Consumer Trends provides statistics about sales and trends in the market that allows marketing and executives to make decision regarding what kind of music should be put out into the market. The website is very simple to use because it provides links to different types of reports and for each year, all information is easily accessible. Billboard: Music Business is geared toward the younger generation by using lively colors and photo slideshows. All of its information is very well organized into groups and subgroups which makes it easier to find very specific information quickly. The bad things about this website is that it also makes use of banner ads and popup ads which might frustrate the user and decrease the usability factor of this site. I believe that by using all or a combination of these sites, great knowledge can be gathered about what is happening in the music industry, what kind of resources and rights artists have to receive their earned royalties, and about music trends today.