Vivendi to Destroy MP3.com archive (Idiot company alert!)

Kuro5hin.org ^ | 11.21.03

[mhking]

Vivendi Universal recently sold the MP3.com domain to CNET. That in and of itself is a yawner. MP3.com doesn't really fit the Vivendi profit model, so it's understandable that they're dumping it.

Why this matters is they're not selling the archive, containing more than a million songs by 250,000 artists. As of December 3rd, they're destroying it.

Musicians received this announcement on Friday. "Your personal information, music, images, related content or other information will not be transferred to CNET Networks, Inc. or any other third party... Please note, however, that promptly following the removal of the MP3.com website, all content will be deleted from our servers and all previously submitted tapes, CD-ROMs and other media in our possession will be destroyed. We recommend that you make alternative content hosting arrangements as soon as practicable."

Mike Robertson, founder and former CEO of MP3.com is currently pleading with Vivendi and CNET to allow archive.org to mirror the contents. Since many of these artists won't be able to come up with alternate hosting in that timeframe, and many of them won't even know it's happening, what Robertson calls "the largest collection of digital works ever assembled" will cease to exist.

[mhking]

Just damn.

If you want on the new list, FReepmail me. This IS a high-volume PING list...

[Darksheare]

Cripes!
That's just wrong!

[longtermmemmory]

bump to help those in need

[flashbunny]

There are other free mp3 hosting web sites out there, and they take about 30 minutes to set up a new account with one. This is a manufactured crisis.

[SamAdams76]

That's a bummer. I found a lot of good stuff off MP3.com (free for the taking and perfectly legal).

Some old friends of mine had something of a rock band going for many years now. They never did many gigs or ever had a recording deal or anything, they were just a knockaround band fooling around in their basement most of the time, covering old Journey and Styx tunes with a few of their own songs (our age is showing). Well with MP3.com, they had webspace allotted to them where they were able to put their songs. Before they knew it, they started getting e-mail from all over the country and even got some gigs around town. All based on their exposure at MP3.com. They never did make anything more of it but it did give them a thrill that they never would have otherwise had. The thrill of getting their own music out there for others to hear.

[Elliott Jackalope]

I'm not happy about this, and I've been thinking about this for a while now. It is obvious that the major music labels are doing everything in their power to make it difficult for people who are making their own music to get it out onto the internet. Yes, there are a number of small sites that offer free listing for unsigned artists, but there is a problem in that there is no clear market leader and most of them do not offer the "station" concept. The ability for people to create their own "stations" (i.e. playlists) of songs they like was one of the best things about MP3. I created dozens of stations myself.

As of now I'm looking for a new alternative to MP3.com that not only allows people to post their own original music, but that also allows people to create and publish their playlists. I have literally hundreds of good songs that I downloaded from MP3.com, all made freely available by the artists who created them. I found most of these songs by using a search method that started with an artist that I liked, then I would look to see what stations were listing that artist. Then I would listen to some of those stations, and find the ones that played other songs that I also liked. Then I would listen to those artists, and see which ones were my favorites, then see what stations they were listed on, and so forth. It was an iterative loop that resulted in lots of good results, and allowed me to put together stations that in their turn promoted tons of good artists.

Does anyone know of a good alternative to MP3.com that has a "station" or playlist component to it? Please let me know if you do.

[Darksheare]

Yes and no.
Hoobastank started out on MP3.com and a record label found them there pretty much.
MP3.com also doesn't have millions of swarming pop-ups slamming your browser on you.
Other sites do.

So it's not as manufactured as you state.

[bleach]

Try http://www.clearchannelnewmusicnetwork.com

Yeah, I know it's run by the "evil" Clear Channel, but they do make this available for unknown artists to get their music out.

[Elliott Jackalope]

I checked that link, and yes, they do have "stations", but not any that I can program myself. If they do have that ability I was not able to find it. Again, what I'm looking for is the ability to not only list my music, but to put together my own "stations" or "playlists" that will allow for people to list their favorites, and that will allow me to listen as if I were listening to a radio.

MP3.com had a lot of great stations created by regular people, including "Radio Opium" (tech ambient) and "Hidden Sanctuary" (gothic rock and darkwave). I'm not looking for "stations" that are put together by the company hosting the site, especially not Clear Channel. If you know of any sites that allow for users to create their own stations I would LOVE to hear about them!

[Prodigal Son]

"the largest collection of digital works ever assembled" will cease to exist.

Wow. I'm sure there are many intricacies to this situation I am ignoring but some might compare this to the library in Alexandria. (not saying I would but...)

[jwfiv]

Some news you already know...)

[longtermmemmory]

what about waybackmachine?

There are trying to archive the internet. Perhaps they can help?

[July 4th]

This is a really stupid move, and will particularly affect local bands who used this service as a primary means to distribute new songs.

[dixie sass]

FYI

[hunter112]

I guess it makes it hard to sell fifty dollar tickets to concerts in the auditorium, if there are street musicians outside willing to play for quarters thrown in their guitar cases.

[Physicist]

Since this is combined with the effective destruction of Emusic.com, the independent music distribution system is just about eradicated.

[Luke Skyfreeper]

Definitely merits a "just damn."

Why this matters is they're not selling the archive, containing more than a million songs by 250,000 artists. As of December 3rd, they're destroying it.

Article on Robertson says December SECOND.

[hoosierham]

THe big music distributors don't want free music or independent artists of any kind, anywhere,anytime.

Any more questions ?

[ctdonath2]

The great tragic irony of the Information Age is that practically no information will survive it. Losing MP3.com is a prime example.