Re: [ElectronicMusic] mp3.com

["matt davignon" <mattdavignon@hotmail.com>]

At first I didn't mind the change. I didn't think enough artists would be 
convinced in paying $20 per month. That's enough money to have your own 
webspace hosted somewhere, and to build a completely custom site with all 
the mp3's you want. It simply wasn't a good deal for artists.

Now they're requiring that you pay them $20 monthly if you want to get the 
money that your music earns on mp3.com. It's almost a form of blackmail, 
really. It would be similar to our employers saying we have to give them 
$20 
a month if we want to receive our paychecks. Since a lot of artists on 
mp3.com (especially techno artists) make a couple hundred dollars a month 
through the Payback 4 Playback system, they're all going to sign up. And 
if 
they don't sign up? No prob! Mp3.com gets to keep all their earnings.

This is really going to prevent mp3.com from getting new artists in the 
long 
run. I have songs that have been waiting a week to be posted, and they 
very 
well could be waiting for a lot longer. If non-paying artists (including 
new 
artists) are finding that they simply can't get their tracks posted on 
mp3.com with out paying, they're going to go through another site. If 
mp3.com keeps it up, they will cease to be a place to hear new music.

It's too bad, really. I was never a fan of their business practices, but 
Mp3.com really did have the best interface of all the mp3 sites that I've 
been to. It was the easiest to load songs into (up until they required 
that 
you fill out a 2 page survey about each song), the easiest to find music 
you 
like. And it has those user-created streaming radio stations that I like 
so 
much.

They probably wouldn't even have to resort to this if they didn't start 
that 
stupid "My mp3.com" service a couple of years ago, which got them sued by 
most major record labels.

I'll certainly be checking out some of these other sites, but I think 
Riffage.com is now out of business.

Matt

>From: "Bill Fox" <billfox@fast.net>

>-----Original Message-----
>MIRAI asked:
> >> Have I misunderstood something.
> >> Or has Mp3.com suddenly changed its tactics?
> >> I.E. you have to pay 20.00 dollars a month
> >> to be part of their P4P system?
> >> MIRAI
>
>
>Glenn responded:
> >You didnt misunderstand. Yes they did change their tactics.
>
>Paul Adams responded:
> >This is partly true. Starting April 1st you will only be able to get 
>P4P 
>with
> >Premium Service. You may still have your work represented there if you 
>are
> >not "premiumed".
>
>And now I say:
>That's right, folks.  It's now a Pay-to-Play scheme.  Of course, if you 
>don't
>pay $20/month to get the Premium Service, I dare you to try and upload 
>anything
>and get it installed in a timely manner...  Just my not-so-humble 
>opinion, 
>not
>based in verified fact.  But hearsay cited on the Ambient list seems to be
>pointing in that direction.  Here's a list of other sites I saw on the 
>Ambient
>list.  Hey Glenn!  Sounds like a REAL NEWS STORY you may wish to consider
>covering in your e-zine.
>
>www.iuma.com
>www.besonic.com
>www.audiogalaxy.com
>www.vitaminic.com
>www.riffage.com
>www.somemusic.com
>www.icast.com
>music.tucows.com
>
>cc: to other lists where musos hang out...
>

_________________________________________________________________
Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com