Well this certainly sucks. Warner Music announced today that it will no longer license its catalogue of music for use on an assortment of music streaming sites, from Spotify to Last.fm, and of course, the ever popular Pandora.
Explaining the decision, Warner Music CEO Edgar Bronfman Jr. stated, “Free streaming services are clearly not a net positive for the industry and as far as Warner Music is concerned will not be licensed. The ‘get all your music you want for free, and then maybe with a few bells and whistles we can move you to a premium price’ strategy is not the kind of approach to business that we will be supporting in the future.”
The list of artists that fall under the umbrella of the Warner Music Group is astounding. Here are some of the heavyweights: James Blunt, Tracy Chapman, Phil Collins, Death Cab for Cutie, Missy Elliott, Flo Rida, Lupe Fiasco, Gnarls Barkley, Kid Rock, Matchbox Twenty, Jason Mraz, O.A.R., Plies, Sean Paul, Rush, Shinedown, Staind, Rob Thomas, T.I., Black Sabbath, Miles Davis, Dire Straits, the Grateful Dead, the Kinks, Madonna, Randy Newman, Prince, the Ramones, Talking Heads, James Taylor, Frank Sinatra, Van Morrison, Van Halen, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, The Doors, Chicago, Black Sabbath, John Coltrane, Yes, Alice Cooper, Linda Ronstadt, The Ramones, The Monkees, Carly Simon, and Curtis Mayfield,
More on the story over here at the BBC.
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Wed, Feb 10, 2010
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