It’s official. Universal has made a major investment in Buzznet. The music centered social networking site also owns music blogs Stereogum and Idolator. Here’s part of the press release:
"This partnership marks one of the first times that a music company will be directly involved in developing editorial programming for a social media site, with both companies sharing in the revenue."
There are many good reasons that this is "one of the first times" a record label has some control over music editorial content. The biggest one is fairness. Can Universal squash a bad review? Will other labels and bands get the same amount of space? Should the fans trust these site to remain impartial?
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF MUSIC COMPANIES INVESTING IN NEW MUSIC MEDIA? WILL STEREOGUM REMAIN A TRUSTED SOURCE?
