MySpace to Stop Streaming

I read the following today on Digital Music News. According to this article, streaming on MySpace, not downloading of copyrighted material will be banned. I've discovered new music from profiles containing audio players with that profiler's favorite music on it. Another outlet for people to hear music will be scratched. I guess the major labels want the same royalties they get when a song is played on the radio. Newcorp who owns MySpace could work out a deal, but you would think anyway to get music out there in this ultra consolidated world, would be a plus for the labels. Ged Dougherty who is Chairman of Sony Music BMG, UK said this weekend that the CD will lose another 50% in sales in the next few years and labels need to get back to artist development. If the major labels spent less money on legal fees to fight "the cause" and put that effort into true artist development, everyone would benefit.

MySpace Begins Music Filtering Initiative
Music is an incredibly integral part of the MySpace experience, and a
high percentage of profile pages feature popular songs. Most of those tracks
are copyrighted, and streamed without permission. Tackling the thorny
issue, MySpace has now tapped audio identification experts Gracenote to filter
unauthorized content. Moving forward, MySpace will proactively identify
and block copyrighted songs, and remove the accounts of repeat violators.
"MySpace is staunchly committed to protecting artists' rights – whether
those artists are on major labels or are independent acts," said Chris
DeWolfe, CEO and co-founder of the social networking giant. "This is
another important step we're taking to ensure artists control the content they
create."
The move was probably inevitable, especially following a string of lawsuits
and tough statements from Universal Music Group. Earlier, UMG chairman
Doug Morris pointed to major copyright violations at both YouTube and
MySpace. "We believe these new businesses are copyright infringers and owe us
tens of millions of dollars," Morris said during a Merrill Lynch conference in
September. "How we deal with these companies will be revealed shortly."