I haven’t tried the site as I’m a happy Rhapsody user. But, the one thing that intrigues me is the social factor. I like being able to see what my friends are listening to in an easy to manage location. Does this work well in MySpace? I have no idea, but I’m curious about what people think. I ditched MySpace for Facebook a long time ago and don’t for one second regret the decision. Curious if this move will change that.

Yeah I really have a few major problems with the new Myspace Music Launch:

1) It f’ed up everyones play counts. This is not a big deal to artists on major labels, but it can be a big deal to upcoming independent artists. Often times these indie bands and musicians use their profile as an EPK, and have spent a lot of hard work networking and gigging to get their play count up. Now all of a sudden, their social proof is wiped out. What once was used as social proof to help book gigs is now gone, leaving them to start the rebuilding process again. It could definitely be a lot harder for indie bands to book solid guys and prove that they have a following.

2) It is sad to so see Myspace, which was built based on helping and supporting indie bands, sort of kick them to the curb in favor of the money from the major labels. Yes there is a lot of great music on these labels, but it is sad to see Myspace do this.

3) The new music players look like trash, just adding even more to the trash factor and style of myspace.

Only time will tell how this move turns out for Myspace, but I am hoping they can go back to their old ways.

1)You’re being naive if you think those numbers really mean that much. Yes we also felt at first the numbers meant something. However after a little research years ago we learned that bands can easily manufacture high numbers via utility programs. If you’re looking to get a good deal write good music. It will get noticed.

2)Again I think you’re being a little too naïve. Do you really think the creators of MySpace aren’t going to jump at an opportunity to make a quick dollar…I simply see this as a chance for someone else to step up to the plate. That’s a good thing!

3)Who cares what the players look like. As long as they can easily play a tune it really doesn’t matter what they look like, unless of course you’re a designer. I wouldn’t expect MySpace ever to return to their roots. However it may be time for someone else to pick up the ball and run with it.

Side comment: It’s been overwhelming apparent that the majors don’t have a business model for current consumer trends. Several bands from our area got major deals and have been dropped early in their careers, leaving them with recoupable debt that has limited any options for digging themselves out. Today artist need to be smart. The music business today in my mind is not for the “get rich quick” generation. It takes a lot of hard work and myopic focus. MySpace is simply one site on a map of numerous sites where indie artist can cut out a little piece of the pie for themselves.

My only complaint is that due to the major’s investments they will attempt to jam whatever they can down user’s throats at every opportunity made available to them. MySpace becomes just another un-leveled playing field

I suspect the worth of the site is more for MySpace. And I suspect the core features are updated database query driven. For example, they did not have the proper mechanism to music ads ala adwords which indy musicians can use. Can’t place the bid if the keyword search tools were underpowered.

My hunch is the the new space will reap more rewards for MySpace revenues than it will for the participating artist. With that said, an artists can’t really overlook using theee mechanisms if they are going for a digitally distributed presence.