By Christine Werthman

A six-piece band stands on a tiny stage in the basement of a darkened East Village bar. The lead singer and chief piece of eye candy flips his mop of light brown hair in front of his face as his body jerks in time with the stuttering drum beat. His fellow band members sing along, their faces concentrated as they pluck, pound, strum and bow their noisemakers. Two of the bandmates stand level with the crowd, and the neck of the bass guitar nearly grazes noses as its player swings his body. 

The group’s raw enthusiasm funnels into the audience, and the crowd animatedly responds to the sounds. A twiggy girl with fuzzy hair twitches beneath her oversized houndstooth blazer, and she and her platinum blond friend clutch hands and squeal when the band begins a cover of Kate Bush’s “Hounds of Love.” 

The scene is a comfort to fans of live music: an indie band with no major record contract making music its own way and generating an honest, we-want-more reaction from the crowd. It seems like a wonderfully independent, inspiringly corporate-free world of music. But then the music ends, and in the mess of applause that follows, the same piece of uninhibited, body-jerking eye candy who spent the last 30 minutes romancing the crowd with his pitch-perfect vocals drops the inevitable five words: “Check out our MySpace page.”

It then becomes clear that this beautifully independent music world is about as untouched as a Friday night hooker. The band might not realize it, but a dynamo in the corporate world of media company giants has already snuck into its seemingly pristine little world of song. There is a big business elephant in the room.

How many friends do you have?: Social networking

For many bands, MySpace is an easy way to get their music heard, free of charge. The social networking site provides a free marketing tool to music groups that major labels might have ignored, and with an estimated 75 million users, MySpace has become one of the top spots for music promotion.  

Since its creation in 2003, MySpace has allowed users—individuals and bands alike—to come together to “create a private community,” according to the site’s “About Us” page. But in the site’s “Safety Tips” section, the message differs: “Don’t forget that your profile and MySpace forums are public spaces,” the site cautions. “Don’t post anything you wouldn’t want the world to know.” The warning tells users not to post their “specific whereabouts” or information that could “embarrass [them] or expose [them] to danger,” but for many, the instruction comes too late.

Under the guise of privacy, the site invites users to reveal as much personal information about themselves as they desire. Individual user profiles typically include a person’s name, age, gender, location, photos, interests and hobbies. Some users even willingly offer up their sexual orientations, religious affiliations and yearly incomes, making the pages read like glorified advertising demographic profiles. After establishing these profiles, users are encouraged to make “friends” by searching for and adding other users based on mutual friends or shared interests. And, like a high school social network, the higher your number of “friends,” the more impressive you are to your peers. 

The format of band pages on MySpace mirrors that of an individual page, but music pages most often offer up fewer personal details. Many music pages include sample music tracks, band photos, a list of the band’s music influences, tour dates and blogs, where bands can write journal-like entries for their fans to read. 

The site material on band and individual pages falls under the category of user-generated content. As the name implies, user-generated websites like MySpace invite the average Joes and Janes in the world to produce the site content. This is part of the idea behind what some in the technical world call Web 2.0.

Kumbaya Content: Web 2.0

Once upon a time, companies were responsible for producing website content. Back then, only people with degrees and plenty of schooling wrote encyclopedias that became outdated the minute they were published, and if no entry existed on a particular contemporary subject, well, that was just too bad. Online content contributors had to play guessing games when deciding what subjects would be of most interest to the public, and stock photography ruled the land, while personal photos stayed in scrapbooks where they belonged. Yes, it was a dark time. But that was then—this is Web 2.0.

Web 2.0’s popularity is sometimes credited to Tim O’Reilly, founder and CEO of O’Reilly Media (a company involved in publishing books and online material about current technology topics). In 2004, O’Reilly introduced the Web 2.0 meme at the now-annual Web 2.0 Conference. The concept of Web 2.0 is a complicated one that O’Reilly tried to clarify in a 2005 article. In a list of “core competencies of Web 2.0 companies,” O’Reilly wrote that real Web 2.0 companies follow seven principles, including “control over unique, hard-to-recreate data sources that get richer as more people use them,” “trusting users as co-developers” and “harnessing collective intelligence.” 

While sites like Wikipedia—an online encyclopedia created with the idea that anyone can contribute—and Flickr—an online site where users can post their own photos—seem more closely associated with the Web 2.0 concept, MySpace also shares in Web 2.0’s dependence on users to generate content. The beauty of MySpace rests in the fact that anyone can make a page and connect to millions of other users for free. But, like all good ideas crafted independently, media monsters eventually wanted a piece of the action.

I Dream of Dollars: Consolidating Web 2.0

MySpace has a reputation among indie music fans as being a pretty hip community where music trends begin. Hawthorne Heights, a pop punk band from Dayton, Ohio, generated a huge following via MySpace—without the interference of a major record label. The group became such a hit on the site that it scored a spot on 2005’s Warped Tour. MySpace has also made single releases and CDs practically irrelevant. Maya Arulpragasam, better known as the Sri Lankan hip-hop artist M.I.A., recently put her new single, “XR2,” on her MySpace page, giving fans a taste of her new material before the album’s release.

MySpace became a great marketing platform for independent bands, and the trend of artists striking it big on the site did not go unnoticed by media companies. The consolidation of MySpace by a larger media company seemed inevitable, but when MySpace’s parent company, Intermix Media Inc., was finally bought for $580 million in July 2005, the buying match seemed strange: The man that successfully wooed MySpace was none other than Rupert Murdoch, owner and CEO of News Corporation.

Murdoch fits the profile of the ultimate conservative: The 75-year-old, white, male, billionaire, media mogul is like the equivalent of a living, breathing version of “The Simpsons” Mr. Burns. Murdoch’s is a world of right-wingers, big business and FOX News, not indie bands and youth culture: So why MySpace?

In April 2005, Murdoch gave a speech at the meeting of the American Society of Newspaper Editors conference in Washington, D.C., that dropped hints about his desire for News Corp.’s future direction. “[Young people] want their news on demand, when it works for them,” Murdoch said. “They want control over their media, instead of being controlled by it. They want to question, to probe, to offer a different angle.” MySpace certainly fit the profile of a youth-oriented style of media: The site welcomes users to express their opinions in blogs and to choose which bands to listen to, which produces a world where the public, not the media, decides what is “in.” But good old Rupert didn’t just buy MySpace to support the needs of today’s youth culture. 

News Corp., like Murdoch, had an “old” image and, according to some 2005 business analysts, the company wanted to buy into the power of MySpace’s youthful brand. By purchasing MySpace, the company suddenly gained direct access to tracking trends in music, television and other forms of entertainment, as were dictated by MySpace users. Just as indie bands had desired to tap into MySpace’s brand of independent cool, News Corp.’s ownership of MySpace could also make the media giant cool—or at least, in the know—by association. Not to mention, analysts suggested, Murdoch could work advertising wonders with all of those detailed user profiles. 

MySpace Marriage: Happily ever after?

MySpace users know Tom Anderson’s face: As the first “friend” to everyone who joins MySpace, Anderson is a symbol—and the president—of the site. He and CEO Chris DeWolfe co-founded MySpace in California, and the site flourished from the start by free, word-of-mouth advertising. Anderson and DeWolfe’s business tapped into the “everybody’s doing it” attitude to bring more users onto the site. “If you have 10 friends, and nine are on MySpace and you’re not, you feel pretty left out,” said DeWolfe in a 2006 interview. “People end up joining sooner rather than later.”

Although Anderson admitted that users felt apprehensive about the strange partnership with News Corp., he said in a 2006 interview that things had been running smoothly. “We have more money to grow, faster bandwidth and more programmers working on more features. We aren’t getting pressure on designing it this or that way,” Anderson said.  

The marriage of MySpace and News Corp. still seems as happy as that between newlyweds Google Inc. and YouTube (the Internet search engine bought the user-generated video site for $1.65 billion in October), and other social networking players, like Friendster, welcome the partnerships. Friendster—a social networking site formed in 2002—remains independently owned, but the company does have specific financial backers and views the move toward ownership as a step in the right direction. “It’s a very positive sign for the industry,” says Jeff Roberto, Friendster’s public relations and marketing manager. 

But another member of the MySpace foundation team has made claims that the joining of forces was not as happy as it seemed. Brad Greenspan, the founder of eUniverse—renamed Intermix in 2004—began a website called FreeMySpace.com in an effort to reveal what he says really happened when News Corp. bought MySpace. “I wanted to keep the company independent,” Greenspan says, and he started his website in September 2005 to try to rally support against the sale before the official transaction close at the end of the month—but to no avail.   

Greenspan’s site released a report this October that accused News Corp. of paying less than it should have for the acquisition of Intermix and, subsequently, MySpace. In the report, Greenspan said the News Corp. purchase of Intermix was “… one of the largest merger and acquisition scandals in U.S. history.” Greenspan said Intermix executives, specifically Richard Rosenblatt, intentionally underestimated the company’s value at $327 million, instead of its actual $20 billion worth, in order to make a personal financial gain. Greenspan claimed that Rosenblatt personally walked away with $20 million and cheated Intermix shareholders out of money by rushing into the sale.

A Los Angeles judge dismissed Greenspan’s lawsuit against News Corp. less than one week after he filed it, but Greenspan filed another lawsuit against News Corp. on Nov. 2—this time for censorship. Greenspan is now the chief executive of LiveUniverse, a media company that owns a social networking video site called vidiLife.com. His most recent suit accuses MySpace of deleting references and links to vidiLife from MySpace-user profiles. 

News Corp. admitted to blocking the vidiLife links, stating that Universal Music Group instructed the company to block links on MySpace to prevent copyright infringement. Greenspan says Universal representatives have denied News Corp.’s claim to him, and he calls News Corp.’s statement a “quick attempt to deflect a more serious issue.” 

If Greenspan’s accusations hold up in court, News Corp. could be found guilty of violating antitrust laws, which would paint MySpace as a monopoly that prevents competition in the realm of online social networking. For a site built on promoting user-generated content, a confirmation of censorship in the MySpace realm could be a sign of the rearing of News Corp.’s ugly conservative head, one that Greenspan says few users know is even involved. “A lot of MySpace users are young,” Greenspan says, “and what they don’t realize is their buddy Tom’s become the equivalent of Ronald McDonald for News Corp.”

Holy S*%#: Lurking censorship

FreeMySpace paints Greenspan as an activist against censorship who “pledges that 100 percent of any financial awards from the lawsuit will be donated to organizations that fight censorship.” A brave martyr is he—if he’s not just filing suits for personal attention, which some News Corp. critics suspect. Still, Greenspan’s website claims News Corp. exercises “mass censorship” on MySpace. 

“It is clear that News Corp. and MySpace are determined to destroy competing video, photo and social networking products,” says Greenspan’s site, “as they seek to launch and dominate with their own products, while destroying MySpace users’ freedom of choice.”

The accusation is a strong one, and many music artists have used their public roles as platforms to speak out against censorship. But, while the case against MySpace has yet to be decided, some of the most outspoken censorship and media consolidation critics still reside on MySpace.

The Dixie Chicks’ recent documentary, Shut Up and Sing, follows the three group members through their experience in dealing with issues of free speech. “We’re ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas,” said lead singer Natalie Maines in a 2003 concert in London. Maines spoke her infamous words on the eve of the start of the war in Iraq, and her statement caused some country radio listeners and executives to turn their backs on the once-adored female group. 

One of the turning points in the film occurs when, during a meeting of the Senate Commerce Committee, Sen. John McCain accuses Lewis W. Dickey Jr., chairman and CEO of Cumulus Broadcasting, of violating free speech. Cumulus ordered a corporate ban of the Dixie Chicks’ music from all of its country music stations following Maines’ comments, and McCain called the restriction proof that “First Amendment erosion [was] in progress.”

The Dixie Chicks have been making the rounds on television promoting the new film, and the group stopped by for an interview on MSNBC’s “Hardball with Chris Matthews” at the end of October. When Matthews asked Maines if the public’s reaction to her comments scared her, Maines responded, “Media consolidation scares me more than anything.” Media consolidation—like the merging of News Corp. with Intermix and MySpace—has often been feared as a predecessor to censorship and uniformity in media content. 

In the film, Maines expresses her contempt for the censorship imposed on her music by country radio and repeatedly says she will not fight to win back the country stations that turned their backs on her group. But, listeners, have no fear: The Chicks’ tracks still reside comfortably on MySpace. Apparently Rupert hasn’t scared the group off yet.

Damning the ‘Man’: Indie band intentions

New York City’s hometown indie bands also exist on the pages of MySpace. One such band is Takka Takka. The quartet, formed in NYC in October 2005, offers indie pop that is light on its feet. Takka Takka fits the profile of a quirky indie band: The guys have an obscure band name derived from a Roy Lichtenstein painting, are name-dropped by other indie acts, have a lead singer who gets a rush from eating vegan food and have yet to sign onto a major label. 

Lead singer-guitarist Gabe Levine says he never saw Takka Takka signing with a major label. “I don’t see the logic of it,” Levine says. “Music and rock are a giant middle finger to the corporate world,” Levine says, and big business seems to fly in the face of what the music scene represents. 

Yet Takka Takka’s own homepage says, “MYSPACE: We spend most of our days, nights and afternoons on www.myspace.com/takkatakka.” Levine says he realizes the threat of big business in the MySpace realm, but he never looked at MySpace as an ideal venue for social change anyway.

“In the long run, [Murdoch’s ownership] is not good for what’s happening,” Levine said. But for now, Levine is happy to have a place to promote his music to all corners of the world. “For us, it really boils down to a direct connection with listeners.” Still, Levine says he cannot imagine that Murdoch’s involvement in the indie music scene could ever be considered a good thing.

No Space: The quest for an independent sphere

News Corp.’s removal of references to Greenspan’s vidiLife on MySpace might end up being a completely legitimate action. But if News Corp. receives the OK to move ahead with removing another site’s video links, the censoring of content might not end there. Nevertheless, the question remains as to whether or not users even care about the media consolidation and possible censorship. 

The deal clearly irritated one particular MySpace user so much that it drove him to create an anti-Rupert Murdoch website—in the form of a MySpace profile (www.myspace.com/murdoch_rupert). The site lists Murdoch’s interests in “global domination,” “dictatorships,” “fascism” and “censorship of MySpace pages that do not agree with [his] views.” The page identifies itself as a satirical take on Murdoch and invites those who disagree with the statements to contact the creator. The Murdoch page’s founder seems to take issue with big business and media consolidation, but having a site through the vehicle owned by “The Man” seems a strange way to buck the system—especially with 3,433 MySpace friends.

If MySpace ever truly embodied an independent status reflective of digital youth culture, it changed when News Corp. took control in 2005. The term “indie” might still reflect a MySpace band’s method of independent music distribution, but the culture and attitude surrounding the term have shifted toward the mainstream. In the MySpace realm, “Indie” has become simply another word with no real currency, a modifier to attach to a genre of music to make it look cool and credible. And while some MySpace bands might willingly embrace News Corp.’s arrival and celebrate Murdoch’s contribution to mass media, the bands causing the most harm to the “indie” scene are those who claim to care but have yet to unplug themselves from the system.