Myspace Positive News!! :0)

Subject: Myspace Positive News!! :0)
From: Lizzie Cornish
Date: 28 Jun 06 - 03:38 AM

Thought the Myspace detractors may like to see this!!!


From Billy Bragg:


"WE WON!!

A STATEMENT FROM THE BARD HIMSELF. PLEASE LET EVERYONE KNOW THAT MYSPACE IS SAFE AGAIN! BELOW THE STATEMENT IS A COPY OF THE NEW CLAUSE:

I am very pleased to see that MySpace have changed their terms of agreement
from a declaration of their rights into a declaration of our rights as artists,
making it clear that, as creators, we retain ownership of our material. Having
been adopted by the biggest social networking site on the block, I hope their
recognition of the right of the artist to be sole exploiter of their own material
now becomes an industry standard because there is much more at stake here
than just the terms and conditions of a website.

In the past, songwriters and performers needed a record company to
manufacture, market and distribute their work, and in exchange for that, the
company expected to own the rights to exploit the recordings for as long as the
material was capable of earning royalties - life of copyright in legalese which
currently means 50 years.

Ive always had a problem with that arrangement, arguing that the recordings
Ive made should provide my pension not that of some record company
executive. In order to achieve this, I have held on to my rights, signing licensing
deals in which ownership of the records reverts to me after a stipulated period,
usually ten years. I figure that if a company cant make their money back after
that time, they dont deserve to put out my records anyway.

Every few years, the reversion clause kicks in, my back catalogue returns to my
ownership and I begin the licensing process all over again. Not only does this
strengthen my hand in contract negotiations, it also allows me to take account
of new technologies in a rapidly changing industry.

Now that the popularity of downloading has made physical manufacturing and
distribution no longer necessary, the next generation of artists will not need to
surrender all of their rights in order to get their music into the marketplace. It is
therefore crucial that they understand, from the moment that they first post
music on the internet, the importance of retaining their long term right to
exploit the material that they create. This is doubly important on a networking
site where many of the songs posted will be by unsigned artists. Ownership of
the rights to such material is somewhat ambiguous. Thats why I hope that the
groundbreaking decision of MySpace to come down on the side of the artists
rights will be followed throughout the industry.

I also welcome the new wording of the terms and conditions in which MySpace
clarify exactly why they require specific rights and how they intend to use them.
Again, I hope more sites follow the lead of MySpace in ensuring the use of clear
and transparent language in contracts. The last thing any of us wants to see is a
situation in which everyone posting a song on the site has to have a lawyer
sitting next to them.

Im glad my music is available to the community again and Im glad that
MySpace chose to act on my concerns. In order that we might avoid any such
confusion in future, can I suggest that MySpace notify its members of any
changes in the terms and conditions whenever they take place.


Billy Bragg

Proprietary Rights in Content on MySpace.com.
MySpace.com does not claim any ownership rights in the text, files, images, photos, video, sounds, musical works, works of authorship, or any other materials (collectively, "Content") that you post to the MySpace Services. After posting your Content to the MySpace Services, you continue to retain all ownership rights in such Content, and you continue to have the right to use your Content in any way you choose. By displaying or publishing ("posting") any Content on or through the MySpace Services, you hereby grant to MySpace.com a limited license to use, modify, publicly perform, publicly display, reproduce, and distribute such Content solely on and through the MySpace Services.
Without this license, MySpace.com would be unable to provide the MySpace Services. For example, without the right to modify Member Content, MySpace.com would not be able to digitally compress music files that Members submit or otherwise format Content to satisfy technical requirements, and without the right to publicly perform Member Content, MySpace.com could not allow Users to listen to music posted by Members. The license you grant to MySpace.com is non-exclusive (meaning you are free to license your Content to anyone else in addition to MySpace.com), fully-paid and royalty-free (meaning that MySpace.com is not required to pay you for the use on the MySpace Services of the Content that you post), sublicensable (so that MySpace.com is able to use its affiliates and subcontractors such as Internet content delivery networks to provide the MySpace Services), and worldwide (because the Internet and the MySpace Services are global in reach). This license will terminate at the time you remove your Content from the MySpace Services. The license does not grant MySpace.com the right to sell your Content, nor does the license grant MySpace.com the right to distribute your Content outside of the MySpace Services."


ENJOY!! And know that your music IS safe and er...was safe...so now...GET OUT THERE AND SEND IT ROUND THE WORLD!!!!!

With thanks to Billy for clearing it up once and for all!


Lizzie :0)

Subject: RE: Myspace Positive News!! :0)
From: GUEST,Jon
Date: 28 Jun 06 - 03:48 AM

Thought the Myspace detractors may like to see this!!!

You really can't resist baiting can you Lizzie?

That said, thanks for the information. I'm pleased to see Myspace have changed it's terms to something acceptable to Billy Brag and hopefully to many others who perhaps were not aware of the risks to rights of thier material.

And know that your music IS safe and er...was safe.

No Lizzie, the material was subject to the previous terms and is now subject to the new terms. Without such a change, I don't believe the material was safe.

Subject: RE: Myspace Positive News!! :0)
From: Bonnie Shaljean
Date: 28 Jun 06 - 05:16 AM

And without the protests and questioning, WOULD THERE EVER HAVE BEEN A CHANGE? (Has that contradiction been solved? Moving house today, van coming, so no time to suss it right now.) But I doubt that without the objections which were raised, we would ever have seen anything happen.

Subject: RE: Myspace Positive News!! :0)
From: GUEST
Date: 28 Jun 06 - 05:32 AM

It shows that it DID need changing. Maybe we can all stop fighting now.

Subject: RE: Myspace Positive News!! :0)
From: The Borchester Echo
Date: 28 Jun 06 - 05:55 AM

When the world falls apart some things stay in place
The robbed and exploited artist's tears fall down his face.

NEVER sign away your rights. Like the vote, others before you have fought for them.

Subject: RE: Myspace Positive News!! :0)
From: mack/misophist
Date: 28 Jun 06 - 09:57 AM

That which has been changed can always be changed back after everyone has forgotten what the fuss was abour.

Subject: RE: Myspace Positive News!! :0)
From: GUEST
Date: 28 Jun 06 - 10:03 AM

Jon

I agree with everything you say and good news too.

One thing I would like to know is that with the anticpated increased pressure on Myspace resources (ie internet bandwidth and server resources) who will pay for it? Will the owner be philanthropic, expect increased revenue from advertising (either by charging more or by increasing the presence) or will subscription be introduced for the Myspace owners?

Personally, I will be spending the usual amount of time at sessions, clubs and gigs, getting info about what is happening by word of mouth, the grapevine, looking at sleeve notes or by just using a browser with the right keywords rather than camping at Myspace. The concentration of knowledge and information at one place and dependence on it worries me.

Subject: RE: Myspace Positive News!! :0)
From: GUEST,stripped asset
Date: 28 Jun 06 - 10:33 AM

Rupert will have plenty of money to pay for it all when he's sold off a few assets, like he's planning to do with the 'search' function.

He'll be doing the fine old country dance called Strip The Assett

Big Digger Is Watching YOU!

Subject: RE: Myspace Positive News!! :0)
From: Alba
Date: 28 Jun 06 - 11:02 AM

Plenty of trouble here in the US about MySpace at the moment.
Seems it has turned into a Sexual Predator's Cyber Dream Hangout. All those Young people chatting and leaving their Bios and Pics.
There are hearings going on at the moment regarding the problem. That ain't so positive in my opinion.

As I said before, My Music ~ MySpace = No thanks.

Best to all
J

Subject: RE: Myspace Positive News!! :0)
From: GUEST,Jon
Date: 28 Jun 06 - 11:04 AM

Guest 5:32AM.

1. I don't know but my guess is that MySpace will always have free services. I'd speculate they might start offering "premium services" (possibly "encouraged" by more advertising on free pages) at some point.

2. For my own reading and entertainment, I'm not a believer in camping anywhere. Internet wise, I visit a number of sites and mySpace is just another addition to the collection I might use from time to time.

There may be (just as a principle - I've not thought about it now) cases where a central point could be benificial but the last of all type of resource I would want to use for that is a commercialy driven one but maybe that's just me...

Subject: RE: Myspace Positive News!! :0)
From: GUEST
Date: 28 Jun 06 - 12:15 PM

Quote from that strip-the-asset article:

"MySpace holds detailed information of every user's personal details, buying habits and pop culture preferences, which would allow advertisers to coordinate highly targeted campaigns."

????????????????

Subject: RE: Myspace Positive News!! :0)
From: GUEST,Liam
Date: 28 Jun 06 - 12:32 PM

>>"MySpace holds detailed information of every user's personal details, buying habits and pop culture preferences, which would allow advertisers to coordinate highly targeted campaigns."

Ever bought anything from Amazon? They seem to know lots about me, what I've previously bought and what I like.

I presume anyone that is really worried about these things doesn't use a supermarket loyalty card or a credit card either. The only way you are going to avoid data collection and data mining in this century is by buying from market stalls and in cash.

Subject: RE: Myspace Positive News!! :0)
From: Lizzie Cornish
Date: 28 Jun 06 - 04:52 PM

YAY!!

I KNEW you'd all be THRILLED!! WOW!! The excitement in here is electric isn't it!! All these Smiley People rolling around in ecstasy that they can finally get their music out to the world!!!!

Can't stop...I'm just away to my Myspace page to have some great fun, talk to people right around the world and order another CD from Paul Sachs....Have I told you about Paul???? I found him on Myspace! PURELY and ONLY because of Myspace!! AND....he is fantastic!
A superb blend of Harry Chapin and Bruce Springsteen! Can I mention them in here or will everyone fall over sideways in shock!!

Anyways up...Paul Sachs is bloomin' brilliant! A fantastic storyteller and bringer of pictures:

Paul Sachs:
http://www.myspace.com/paulsachs

AND here are some wonderful acappella voices for you too:

Stream of Sound:
http://www.myspace.com/streamofsound

And THESE guys....incredible!

Bear Creek:
http://www.myspace.com/bearcreek15d


Right.....gotta run....hope you all have a lovely time and thanks to Billy again for cheering you all up! ;0)

Byeeeeeeeeee!



Lizzie :0)

Subject: RE: Myspace Positive News!! :0)
From: GUEST
Date: 29 Jun 06 - 06:51 AM

Lizzie, you were the one that was AGAINST protesting the terms, remember? You were the one who said they were safe and that everyone was being anti-MySpace to worry about it.

Now you're acting like this new change is some sort of victory for you. It isn't. It's a victory for those who were smart enough to raise objections and questions, and whose efforts GOT THINGS CHANGED. If it had been left to you, the old terms would still be in place.

All those artists you like so much are all getting the benefits of the work of others, people you could only criticise. So you can just stop crowing.

Subject: RE: Myspace Positive News!! :0)
From: Lizzie Cornish
Date: 29 Jun 06 - 07:16 AM

I'm not crowing, not at all. I'm merely having a gentle giggle at the usual "Oh you just watch...you just wait and see what Myspace will do...you just wait until Murdoch...It should be shut down! Burn the Myspace Witch" brigade!

I've spoken to quite a few people who were perfectly happy with the old legal language as well, and it had all been checked in detail by their lawyers....And...if you read my first post, you'd see that I said thank you to Billy Bragg for at least getting it written in clearer language.

Most posters on here are doing the usual Murdoch Bashing and very little else....


I'll leave them...and you to it!

Mmmmmmm....Feel that Myspace Enthusiasm rolling around this thread!


;0)

Subject: RE: Myspace Positive News!! :0)
From: GUEST
Date: 29 Jun 06 - 07:19 AM

Guest 6:51, facts and reality mean nothing to Lizzie. she only understands her own lunatic ravings. Her sole remaining purpose in forums is to annoy others. The post you responded to was only made because her first one failed to produce the angry responses she had hoped for. Mark my words, now you have replied she will sieze the oppertunity it provides.

She has all the symptoms of an incurable troll. She will find herself moving from site to site as her condition gets worse, her actions get more extreme and fewer people are able or willing to cope with her. It has already happened on the BBC boards.

It is not a pretty sight but the best, and in fact the only, plan is to observe as she burns herself up and goes the way all trolls do eventually.

Subject: RE: Myspace Positive News!! :0)
From: GUEST,Liam
Date: 29 Jun 06 - 07:21 AM

I depends on how much you believe of Billy's spin about "victory".

Some might say that the terms before and after the Grand Old Duke of Barking marched his troops up and down the hill are effectively exactly the same. It is just that the present set are expressed in much clearer English and explain better why the various non exclusive licences are necessary. That is a very GOOD thing

Whether quite so much hullabaloo was necessary is perhaps questionable, but that is the way BB likes to operate, and he wouldn't be BB if he didn't.

Billy is totally right that MySpace is potentially a good tool for musicians to get their material out there and heard. Of course, if what they produce is crap whether they use MySpace or not still won't matter.

Subject: RE: Myspace Positive News!! :0)
From: Lizzie Cornish
Date: 29 Jun 06 - 07:38 AM

>>It is not a pretty sight but the best, and in fact the only, plan is to observe as she burns herself up and goes the way all trolls do eventually.<<<

Sigh! I don't normally respond to er 'Guests' mainly because they're mostly the same person...but...WOULD you please show some manners. I am, as I've stated many a time....a TROLLOP and NOT a TROLL!

And now...back to Merry Myspace...and NO! 'Guest' I'm afraid that you can't be my Myspace 'friend'

Thank you

Subject: RE: Myspace Positive News!! :0)
From: Pete_Standing
Date: 29 Jun 06 - 04:15 PM

Jon

Just for the record, I was the guest at 28 Jun 06 - 10:03 AM (post no 7 and I have made no other contribution to this thread). I didn't realise I wasn't logged in.