It's only fitting that the day after I speak on a panel regarding the creation & usage of APIs and their importance to music innovation, that MySpace shows up to pull one of the best API platforms out from developers' feet without warning. I created a Twitter/Music app called twt.fm (http://twt.fm) that mashed up the Imeem API with Twitter's API to allow for music sharing via short links attached to tweets. While it wasn't the most trafficked of services, I do believe it added a certain value to the Twitter experience and given @twtfm's 1.5 million followers, I'd like to think others feel the same.
If this is MySpace's idea of how to run a successful music tech company, they have truly lost their way. Imeem was leagues ahead of their competition (MySpace, iLike, and Lala) in terms of technology and openness. They represented the music business of the future. Now they are a forced hyperlink to a cold, un-innovative, MySpace landing page (http://myspace.com/imeem) making false promises and giving no guidance or help for the developer community they just destroyed.
I wasn't one of the audience members of SF Music Tech yesterday that raised their hand in agreement that the time for MySpace is over and their latest shopping spree was too little too late. If I would have known then what I know now, I would have not only raised my hand but I would have also declared Interwar with this backwards thinking corporation.
But, maybe I'm wrong.. maybe MySpace will return my open streaming API platform when they return "imeem users' profiles and playlists." Until then, I'll be brushing the dust off my 1999 dell computer and getting ready to program music websites like I did 10 years ago.
This is an SOS from the Imeem developer community. We need a new streaming API partner or our services will die.
Much respect (to everyone but MySpace)
Lee Martin