you don't spell it, son. YOU HEAR IT!

If you’re a fan of free streaming music, you may want to take a gander at this article from TechCrunch, here is an excerpt:

Spotify is now saying that they must delay their U.S. launch. They don’t want to launch here with a paid-only model, and the big labels are signaling that they won’t have it. From the NYTimes last month, quoting Sony Music: “We like Spotify as our partner in Europe, but we would like them to move more toward a paid subscription environment.”

And that isn’t the only bad news. MySpace Music is “almost certainly” going to severely restrict free streaming to users, say multiple sources, and move to a paid model. “They are spending $20 million/month on streaming royalties, and that just isn’t sustainable,” said one source with knowledge of MySpace’s relationships with the labels. Other sources have said that MySpace’s royalty payments are much lower, but don’t deny that the service is a cash hole.

MySpace won’t comment on this story, but they have a deadline to all this. The Google search deal is up next year, and $300 million/year in revenue will evaporate. Changes need to happen soon. The last payment of $75 million is due on June 20, 2010.

Although it’s been pretty annoying clicking dozens of links to Spotify playlists this last year only to be greeted with the message “Why is Spotify not available in my country?” each and every time, I can’t say I’m all too bothered by news that the service might be introduced as a paid-only model here in the US since I’ve never actually used it. No loss, no gain right? However, this Myspace business is where things start to hit home.

Let’s face it, Myspace may have been the go-to social networking site of yesteryear but Facebook has left it in the dust. Myspace’s saving grace has been its ability to provide users a place where they can easily access information on millions of bands and artists, from free streaming tracks to videos to tour dates to general music news. Myspace even created a new channel of communication between fan and artist that hadn’t really existed before, something that I have personally benefited from on more than one occasion and I know others have too. And really, what’s the first thing the majority of us do when we’re recommended a new band? We check out their Myspace. Where exactly will we stand when we’re forced to pay for this service? Perhaps that may not even be the most important question to ask since goodness knows we’re all very capable of finding free music elsewhere and sites like Lala.com and Google Music are quickly gaining momentum. Not to mention, news and tour dates could just as easily be accessed through Facebook fan pages and new social networking sites like Twitter are making the conversation between fan and artist even more direct, easier, and faster. When free music streaming is restricted to something like 10 tracks a day, what will be the point in seeking out Myspace? As a paid-only model, will we even find a need for Myspace in the realm of social media?

Though admittedly I haven’t felt compelled to log into Myspace more than a handful of times in the last six months–mostly due to the annoying competition it seemed to be having with Facebook regarding who could rip off the others’ features the fastest, but that’s a story for a whole different occasion–the thought that Myspace may have gasped its last breath is pretty depressing considering the site has been more than good to me these last few years when it came to discovering new music. But if it decides to take that step towards a paid-only model, I can’t say I’ll follow. And sadly, I don’t think many other users will either. Whatever the decision, it will certainly be interesting to see what the future holds for Myspace in the coming year and beyond.