<
https://www.techdirt.com/2022/12/20/libraries-offer-music-streaming-services-that-really-support-local-musicians/>
"Music streaming services are great – for listeners, who gain access to huge
quantities of music, even if they don’t end up owning any of it. But it’s
hardly a secret that streaming services produce very little income for the
musicians involved – even the big names earn a pittance – with most of the
money ending up with the recording companies. That doesn’t mean that streaming
services are beyond redemption. It just requires a little imagination to think
of ways in which they can be great for artists and audiences alike. Take this
idea, for example, reported on
Vice:
Over a dozen public libraries in the U.S. and Canada have begun offering
their own music streaming services to patrons, with the goal of boosting
artists and local music scenes. The services are region-specific, and offer
local artists non-exclusive licenses to make their albums available to the
community.
The concept originated in 2014 when Preston Austin and Kelly Hiser helped
the Madison Public Library build the Yahara Music Library, an online library
hosting music from local artists. By the time they completed their work on
Yahara, they were confident they had a software prototype that other
interested libraries could customize and deploy.
That prototype has become the open source program MUSICat, which is now being
used by a number of libraries in North America. Artists whose music is included
in one of the local streaming collections are paid an honorarium of at least
$200 per licensed album. That means they get money up front, not in barely
visible dribs and drabs over years, as with the mainstream streaming services."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
