Re: [microsound] online mp3 hosting / mp3.com

[Jeremy Tolsma <ccws@xxxxxxxx>]

ok now this is a topic I can sink my teeth into far more viciously than the
PC/mac debate!

> exactly; but part of the point is that minimalist/silent music is
> certainly not what's driving the most traffic, so even if they had a few
> people complain (saying they're "doing it for artistic purposes" as the
> warning message goes), they won't give too much of a shit, so to speak.
> that said...  although i've thought mp3.com sucked for ages, i do think
> they have so far served an important purpose in giving artists the means
> to be heard.  they were also the first (& only?) large service to offer
> a cut of their advertising earnings to popular artists, which is a very
> appealing business practice.
>

Of course the only reason they were in a position to do that over other
similar companies is because they collected $300 million from their IPO, and
advertising revenue was NEVER ment to sustain their model anyway according
to their SEC filing.

> moreover, the fact that they are still independent (as opposed to being
> owned by some corpsy conglomerate or another) makes them especially
> interesting to watch.

WHAT??  They are owned by a consortium of communications and entertainment
conglomerates.

> & on the legal front, they have had so far much
> more of a case against the riaa than say napster can ever hope to have,

they don't have any case, the case was against them and they LOST, they cut
deals giving away whatever shreds of the company they still owned at the
time.

> even though the latter takes advantage of a legal loophole which has so
> far made them harder to sue (& they are effectively spoiling said
> loophole for all those who were using it responsibly ~ anytime i see
> someone "supporting napster", i think "naive, naive...").
>

I'll support Crapster over mp3.crap any day.  Mp3.com is a holding tank for
artists that the industry does not want to become successful and change the
styles and trends the industry now fully creates for profit.