If self-proclaimed ‘serial entrepreneur’ Dean Jansen is a representative of last night’s crowd (and he is), everyone loved Ghetto Booties:
“That show was great,” Jansen said, “I really dig bands with ironic names.”
But for people who missed the concert, Ghetto Booties have a MySpace page, www.myspace.com/ghettobootieslala (I’m not sure what the lala stands for). Like every band’s MySpace page, you can stream audio of full length songs, download pictures, and connect with other bands. The problem is, Myspace is owned by Rupert Murdoch, it’s business model is a walled garden, and its development platform is closed-source. Myspace may not be Microsoft, but it’s far from the ideal social networking site for Creative Commons activists. I wonder: is MySpace so dangerous to the ideals of the Free Culture movement that copyright activists have a responsibility not to use it?
I’m ambivalent about the issue. The content on MySpace is decidedly unfree – users can’t download ongs, they can’t remix them, and they can’t use them on other platforms. On the other hand, MySpace has become a huge tool for personal self-expression – allowing people to publish their thoughts and feelings at almost no cost. Sure, most (nearly all) of these sirtes are hideous (who thinks a background of zebras will make text easier to read?), but that opportunity for hideousness may be just what makes this site so accessible.
Ultimately I cannot fault a band like Ghetto Booties for using MySpace anymore than I can fault them for appearing on a TV or radio program. MySpace is the dominant online forum for discovering new music, and whatever flaws it may have – it’s walled garden, its closed source – those flaws will be fixed in an open market, or MySpace will be replaced. So keep it up Ghetto Booties – we’re right behind you.
tags: dubrovnic croatia media-events summit07
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