I checked this out a little while ago. It's not the case that NewsCorp own it, however for
them to be able to distribute your work (via the web) you do have to implicitly grant a
(non-exclusive) licence for them to use/modify/broadcast your content (music, text,
graphics, whatever) within the MySpace environment. Sounds drastic, but if you think
about it, they have to do all those things to distribute your tracks across the web.
The whole section on this can be seen here:
http://www.myspace.com/Modules/Common/Pages/TermsConditions.aspxBut here's the relevant bit:
"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 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."
Owen
--- In Mellotronists@yahoogroups.com, Mike Dickson <mike.dickson@...> wrote:
>
> Berington Van Campen wrote:
> > Hey, if anyone wants to hear M-400 #1485 a little more currently, you
> > can check myspace.com/berington. It's on 3 songs, "Goes The Way It
> > Goes," "Hearing How You Breathe," and at the very end of "Waiting In
> > The Wings."
>
> Is it still the case that any music (or anything else) uploaded to
> MySpace becomes the property of Ruopert Murdoch's News Corp who now own it?
>
> It certainly used to be the case; several musicians have been stung by
> this one.
>
> --
>
> Mike Dickson - M400 #996
> The Official Cynic of Streetly Electronics
> Streetly Sample Library http://www.mikedickson.org.uk/tron
>