You know, I really do give props to these companies for at least *trying* to get a new music service off the ground. I mean, there’s a fair amount of work involved. You gotta develop a business plan, you gotta get a new web designer, you gotta get the rights from the labels, all that stuff. And in today’s shaky economy, surely young folks like us have lots of spare cash to throw around to buy more music online, right? Plus, with iTunes totally dominating not just the online music scene, but all music sales, period—it makes perfect sense to launch a new music store, right?
*sighs*
This is apparently what passes for “logic” in the music industry. In other words, after at least two years in the making, MySpace Music is finally ready for its close-up. The skinny is that you’ll be able to stream pretty much whatever you want—apparently there are millions of tracks available from EMI, Warner Music, Sony BMG, and Universal—and then download it at $0.99 a pop from Amazon MP3. Everybody makes money because the big boys (Toyota, McDonalds and others) will be advertising on the streaming music sites, and everyone will get their cut of track sales.
But dudes, it’s 2008. You’re a bit late to the party. Like a few years at best. Even the EVP at Universal, Rio “not de Janiero” Caraeff says so. As he told The New York Times: “This is something we should have done earlier…It’s kind of like a staging ground for us to experiment with new business models.”
I give it 18 months, tops.
