Warner Took Their Music and I Don’t Care

All the bloggers were abuzz today with the news that Warner has required last.fm to remove their music. Silicon Alley Insider notes that contracts signed with iMeem and the coming MySpace music service included equity stakes in the company.

As for me? I don't really care. I hope last.fm tells Warner that they can take their music and stuff it. I'm watching the artists scroll by on their web site as I write this, and gee, that looks like an awful lot of Phil Collins and Genesis in the loop. I could live without the world having discovered James Blunt's "Beautiful," thank you. And I don't think I've really listened to any new Enya or Madonna since the 90s.

I have been one of the biggest proponents of these music services, mainly because personally, I find a LOT of new music that way. I find that I'm buying more things instead of waiting for new albums from those established acts to come out. I don't agree with the "freetard" mentality that all music should be free. But I also think that all artists should have the opportunity to get their stuff out there so I can hear it and then go buy it.

Here's the problem, as I see it, and I'll admit that I have never understood how the recording industry works, because to me, it makes absolutely no sense. As it stands, and please correct me if I'm wrong, the label promotes the artist so that radio stations will play the music, but they have to pay for doing that for the labels, but if the radio stations play the music, then people buy the album. Someone needs to explain to me why and how that isn't double-dipping.

In my logical world, the labels would be paying the companies like last.fm to carry their catalogue. Not promote anything, mind you, just carry it. And then people would find music from that label, and go buy it. So all this talk of equity and pulling their music just reeks of greed, but again, maybe there is some crucial thing that I'm missing. Warner pays last.fm for me to actually want to play anything Phil Collins has released since, well, actually, ever, and then maybe I'm convinced and buy the album.

So no, I won't miss Madonna or R.E.M. on last.fm. I already have their stuff on vinyl. And the lack of their music when I play a station will make room for music from artists on other labels to float up. I'm sure they won't mind me buying their stuff at all.