MySpace Removal Removes Opportunities for the little guys....
I've started and stopped writing so many articles in the past 72 hours. Sometimes an idea hits me, and I start pounding away on the keyboard and then, for no good reason, I lose it justlikethat. I stare at the screen for a few, and then I start looking online elsewhere. I poke my head in on the Myspace mess, which is like a wild, sleazy, commercial-ridden promotional party. I usually update a song on my profile, despite the latest news about copyrights and record labels. Surprise, surprise, though. Recently on myspace I had Little Green Bag from the Resevior Dogs soundtrack, but not no more. Instead of hearing that catchy bass, I see a notice alert stating that 'this title has been deleted by the artist'.
Fair enough. It was rather obvious that it was made available by someone other than a representative for the produced album. But, even checking through other unsigned bands and friends' accounts, I notice the ability to add to profile is now gone.
That's too damned bad, really. I understand how there is great issue from long-standing artists not benefiting from music sharing, but for unsigned bands and new artists, it severely limits their audience reach. I'm not kidding when I say that I have listened to an unbelievable amount of new music, simply because it's available. Would I have purchased an album before having an opportunity to preview songs in this manner? Probably not. But because the product was made available online without having to pay a user fee, or download fee, I did listen. And, in many cases, if those bands were to come to a nearby venue, chances are, I'd actually pay for a ticket.
I haven't done enough research to determine if it's just happenstance that every link I visited online at Myspace no longer had the ability to add to my profile, but if it is a feature that is now simply removed, it's a shame. Many new artists have lost a good opportunity to get their name and sound out and about. Perhaps they didn't monetarily benefit from certain perusals, but that's not to state that there wasn't that opportunity in the future.
Pity.