Talking of media platforms that make ambitious claims about their role in promoting music, earlier this year MTV came very close to losing the rights to screen music by Franz Ferdinand, The White Stripes, Dizzee Rascal, The Strokes, Sterephonics and, erm, Victoria Beckham, Craig David and the Cheeky Girls, when the music giant fell out big time with the independent record labels in the UK.
They wanted to pay lower royalties for screening those labels' music on the basis that things had changed since they made their original agreement with the indies, and, anyway, by playing a record label's music they were helping them sell CDs. But the labels wouldn't play ball, arguing inclusion on MTV's playlists did little for their artists' record sales (which presumably did wonders for every TV plugger's self-esteem) and that they didn't see why they should agree to cut their fees at a time when royalties were becoming an increasingly important part of a record label's income. For a few days things got nasty and it really looked like MTV would become indie free - but a last minute deal meant that MTV was able to maintain its access to Beckham, David and the Girls who are Cheeky - well, until their label Telstar went bust a few months later anyway.