Why your favorite music site is deplorable

In the course of writing this blog, I've talked about the relations of various corporations with the people responsible for writing and performing the music. Helienne Lindvall clearly does not come down on the side of the corporations. Here's a sampling of what she said in a recent article:

At least the Pirate Bay were blatantly open about the fact that they had no intention of compensating artists (though they weren't quite as open about the money they are making off the back of their business....

Many new internet music ventures, Last.fm being an example, build their businesses on providing unlicensed (which means they don't pay the artist) music with the view of selling their company for a hefty sum as soon as they have built up a big enough following. CBS bought Last.fm for $280m and set out to get licences for the music on the site. None of that money went to the artists whose music built the company....

Google/YouTube forces anyone who even attempts to make a licensing deal with them to sign Non Disclosure Agreements, preventing them from divulging how paltry the deals on offer are....

More here, including Lindvall's "Fair Trade" proposal.