Merlin, Snocap, MySpace deal
p2pnet.net News:- Australia’s Rupert Murdoch will be a happy camper.
Lately, MySpace, owned by his News Corporation, has been getting bad press because of the site’s appeal to online sexual predators.
However, now, “International independent music labels have grouped together in a deal that enables them to start selling tunes on MySpace,” says The Financial Times, going on:
.”The download deal, which was agreed between Merlin and Snocap (which provides technology for MySpace’s music retailing efforts) is the social networking site’s first with record labels.”
Snocap, run, ironically, by Napster creator Shawn Fanning, peddles Digital Restrictions Management (DRM) consumer control software.
“MySpace has been vocal in its desire to become one of the biggest digital music stores,” says the FT. “While the website’s users have been able to buy music from unsigned artists on MySpace, digital management rights issues, which protect copyright, have prevented the leading recording groups from making similar agreements.”
Snocap will use its Mystore “retail initiative” which, “enables music to be downloaded from Web sites,” says Reuters, contining:
“The Mystore and MySpace tie up will launch in the ‘near future’. The downloads will be sold in the MP3 format, meaning they can be played on any portable music player including the iPod,” unlike iTunes downloads which can only be used with an iPod, as the world knows.
Also See:
online sexual predators – MySpace in sex assault case, January 19, 2007
The Financial Times – Indie labels sign MySpace deal, January 21, 2007
Reuters – Independent record labels sign MySpace deal, January 21, 2007
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January 23rd, 2007 at 7:20 am
It’s progress, at least.
Now Snocap needs to adapt the freedom of choice that made Allofmp3 so popular (and the price-per-file-size idea isn’t half bad either).
Either way, a mandatory statuary fee for all Internet subscribers for all P2P services (current and future) is a much better solution, albeit a complex one.