Hypebot’s Music 2.0 Week In Review: The Musical Middle Class, Social Nets Open Up, EMI Deals & Much More

>>> In one of Hypebot’s most read posts ever, The Rise Of The Musical Middle Class – Part I & II outlines how the fragmentation of media and rising power of the internet is creating a new middle class of artists who may never drink Cristal and ride in limos but who make a decent living. Add your comments to those of more than a dozen industry insiders.

>>> The big news this week for music marketers came as social networking sites moved to open their services up to outside developers and marketers:

• Google launched OpenSocial which creates a single standard for widgets and apps across platforms.  Many major sites including MySpace signed on.
• Facebook appears ready to announce major moves into music

>>> The head of investment firm Terra Firma issued another memo to his EMI staff (full text here).  After reading it and a previous memo, we asked, "Has Guy Hands Aready Lost
His Way?"

>>> EMI joined WMG, Sony and many indie labels in making their product available on imeem’s viral song and video streaming service. EMI also signed a deal with Music Choice.

>>> Paste Magazine is following the Radiohead model and offering subscriptions for as "pay what you want" during a 2 week experiment.

>>> Music industry job openings in the Warner Brother’s Records Tech Dept. and at the Future Of Music Coalition.

>>> OurDigitalMusic.com had a roundup of articles on saving money on downloads and mp3 players and 5 New Indie Rock Bands You Need To Know About.