Taking a page from the majors, new indie trade organization Merlin label members such as Beggars Group, Rough Trade [having plenty of their own troubles], Epitaph, and Cooking Vinyl have filled cease and desist orders against myspace this week [some last Friday].

That above paragraph was my initial beginning to this post, with my thinking clearly being that Merlin’s lawyer’s were now representing the indie labels and acting as they saw fit.

While I fully appreciate and respect the need for the indies to be properly compensated for the use of the music, resorting to such measures is the last thing they should be doing. If any indie label owner/head has failed to notice the RIAA’s current popularity with music fans they should do a quick search online. Aligning themselves with tactics [lawyers, threats etc.] that are the RIAA’s specialty will not help their case.

Thing is Billboard reported yesterday that Merlin did not send out any C&D orders, nor did any of the labels they represent.

While the independent sector represents 30% of the market, the majors control the vast majority and going against companies the majors could easily make deals with to the exclusion of the indies is not something I would pursue. Finding innovate alternatives to work with YouTube and other content users would be a preferable manner of dealing with such companies and if done correctly they could turn the tide on the majors the big innovators they are.

Innovation, ideas, and experiments, not lawyers, lawsuits and threats, will lead to a solution for all labels in these uncertain times.

Sources familiar with the situation confirm that YouTube has not yet received any cease and desist letters from the independent community.

“Merlin is not at the stage where talks could break down,” explains Wenham [see below]. “The reality is that it won’t start to be properly operational until about June*.”

*Hence I assume at least in part for the lack of an online presence yet.

What is Merlin?

Independent record sector licensing agency Merlin was ratified and announced recently at the MIDEM trade fair in Cannes with a remit to negotiate terms with the likes of YouTube and the advertising-funded service SpiralFrog. A first-up deal with Snocap has already been struck, while others are “in process,” explains Alison Wenham, CEO of U.K. trade group the Assn. of Independent Music (AIM) and president of Worldwide Independent Network (WIN), of which Merlin is a sister operation.

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