Fanning Changes Music Again

I was effusive when MySpace announced that it would be selling songs by unsigned artists. I think I called it "The End of the Labels as We Know Them" and other grandiose predictions. I didn't know at the time that the technology enabling these sales will be provided by Snocap.

Snocap is Shawn Fanning's legalized follow up to the original Napster. His attempt, almost a half decade in the making, to make the hugely complex issue of selling music online simple. Basically, he's made selling as easy as stealing.

Now, Fanning will revolutionize the music industry for the second time before he turns thirty. As this Motley Fool article says, "Lots of people bring up the old-fashioned idea that "unsigned" translates into artists without talent." They say the Internet is changing that all. I'd say that this effort will at least do for music what eBay did for collectibles, that is bring efficiency to the market. Snocap and MySpace won't need five bands selling a million records to make their money. They can bank on at least a hundred thousand bands selling averaging at least 500 records.

That's just the beginning. When major artists see how much these artists are making on their own, how long before they bypass the labels and sell straight to the fans?