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Myspace Pulls the Plug on Free Streaming Music, maybe.

The following turned out not to be true, today … but, our sources indicate that myspace will be transitioning to a subscription-based streaming music model to offset the costs of music royalties, so keep an eye on any changes.

Here’s a couple of links of interest:

http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/11/11/free-streaming-may-be-soon-be-history-spotify-delays-u-s-launch-myspace-may-move-to-pay-model/

http://www.brooklynvegan.com/archives/2009/11/what_if_myspace.html

In what will surely be a game changing decision, myspace pulled the plug on its streaming music feature today.  Reportedly the social networking site, which had become a haven for independent musicians who wished to distribute their music, network and generally attempt to procure an audience, was paying the larger record labels millions of dollars in royalties every week for a service that myspace was providing for free.

In this recessed economy, every business has to examine its account books and make difficult decisions, but this sweeping removal of streaming music will no doubt have a lasting ripple effect that will impact the way music business is done for quite some time.

Rumors have already circulated that certain streaming applications currently available on facebook will have the plug pulled.

This comes as no real surprise, but the overnight shocking revelation for small independent bands and musicians will have them wondering how the hell they’re going to go about promoting their music.

One solution has been to allow independent people to record live shows and then share the result on sites such as Internet Archive, but since most bands also play cover songs in their sets the hosting sites will eventually come under the scrutiny of the record label attorneys.

So, is this the end of FREE MUSIC? Or was the very idea simply yet another bubble waiting to be burst?

Well, one silver lining is that the kitchen series on monkeywhale.com continues to be a place where musicians get to show off their music.  Such great musicians in the past 14 months!  Bruce Piephoff, Robin Doby, Sam Quinn, Holy Ghost Tent Revival, The Radials, Citified, Blind Pilot, Laurelyn Dossett, Jill Andrews, Bruce Molsky, Eating the Invaders, Katharine Whalen, Lucky, Alcazar Hotel, Come Hell or High Water, Sam Quinn, Jim Avett, The Waybacks, Samantha Crain, Frontier Ruckus, Lost in the Trees, The Never, The Craprock Allstars, Thayer Sarrano, Nate Nelson, Hope for a Golden Summer, Emily Moore Band, Seahorses, Colin Hay, House of Fools, Tim Betts Band, Now You See Them, Stephaniesid, The Garrigan Brothers, The Lake Isle, Irata, Matt Hill and the Buzzkillz, Ray Burnett, Albina Savoy, Hiram Ring, Filthybird, Bart Trotman, Sam Frazier, The Tremors, Big Bang Boom, Eric Robertson, Sirius. B, Molly McGinn, Josh Neas, Martha Bassett, Kristen Leigh, Wayne Reich along with countless others we haven’t edited yet.

We here at monkeywhale.com have essentially been providing, for free, and the right to embed advertising into the show (which doesn’t even pay for tape stock to record the show), electronic press kits for bands all over the country for over a year.  It’s been fun, but when you see companies in Nashville, Atlanta, LA, and Athens doing the same thing and getting paid for their services … you have to wonder how long we can keep this up. As long as its still fun we’ll keep doing it.

Thanks for continuing to watch the Harvey’s Kitchen series and Save the Monkeywhale.

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