Bits & Pieces: MySpace Sold, AOL links with Slacker and Rhapsody Keeps on Keeping on
The names making music-tech news this week are a veritable who’s who of the once mighty, including MySpace, AOL and Rhapsody… News of the sale of MySpace broke yesterday, with ad network Specific Media choosing to pick up the pieces of the former social network goliath for $35 million – for those keeping score, it was purchased for $580 million in 2005 by News Corp. (who will continue to keep a small stake). And in an unexpected twist, it was also announced that Justin Timberlake has taken an ownership stake as part of the deal, and that he will be heavily involved in rejuvenating the site… On Tuesday a new partnership between AOL and Slacker was announced, with the interactive radio service set to power AOL Radio starting in September. They will replace AOL’s current partner in CBS, and the new service will expand the music offerings and give users the same pricing options as what Slacker already offers. It’s expected to more than double Slacker’s current number of listeners… Elsewhere, now seasoned music streaming service, Rhapsody, has added 100,000 new customers since its spinout from RealNetworks and Viacom last year, as revealed in a PaidContent interview this week. The increase comes mainly from its mobile app efforts, and the company will likely be looking for new investment soon, particularly with the recent interest in streaming startups.
MySpace Records Artists Depart Label as News Corp. Prepares to Unload Site
Meiko completes new album; finding new label home
As the News Corp. sale of MySpace is close at hand (with an announcement expected in the coming weeks), so too is MySpace Records shuttering, for good this time. Early 2010 began the initial dissolving of the label, which was formed in 2005 and aligned with Universal Music Group label Interscope Records via a P&D deal that has now lapsed, and since last year the operation has continued under a skeletal staff and somewhat ambiguous circumstances – a partnership with Downtown Music was announced back in September. However, with the writing on the wall as to MySpace’s future, and a scaling back of many divisions, MSR began to be dismantled, a process which was guided by label GM David Andreone who took the helm just over a year ago. Among many duties, Andreone has also helped the artists signed to MSR find new label homes, and even get master recording rights back – some albums previously released by the label have already been pulled down from digital marketplaces such as iTunes… One former MySpace Records/Interscope artist, and now free agent who is getting a lot of industry attention, Meiko, has just completed a new album produced by Styrofoam and Jimmy Messer, and mixed by Brian Malouf. We hear that labels on both coasts are talking to the songstress, who already has a strong track record with sales, touring and film & TV… And word is that Andreone, a veteran of both the music publishing and record label arenas, is likely to transition to one of a handful of digital music companies in play, after he departs his post at the end June… Stay tuned.
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More Bits & Pieces: Rdio Taps WBR Chief Rob Cavallo, AEG Launching Ticketing Venture & more…
Rdio taps WBR's Cavallo
Music-streaming start up Rdio has raised $17.5million in new funding with a round led by Mangrove Partners. The company, founded by Janus Friis and Niklas Zennstrom of Skype notoriety, also announced the addition of Warner Bros. Records chief Rob Cavallo to its board of directors. The addition of Cavallo is said to be an effort to “strengthen” relationships with the music industry. Rdio currently offers a two-tiered paid subscription service, which fits in with Warner Music Group ruler Edgar Bronfman Jr.’s stance on services offering free levels of access, as in they “will not be licensed” by WMG… Yesterday’s News Corp. earnings call has led to more reports of an impending sale of MySpace. Company executives are not really saying anything new from what’s already been reported over the previous weeks, this time it is just more official… Anschutz Entertainment Group has announced a new joint venture called Outbox Enterprises, which sees the promoter entering the ticketing arena. As a result of the regulatory judgement in the Live Nation merger with Ticketmaster, AEG is allowed to compete for ticket sales. The new venture will be headed by former Ticketmaster executive Fred Rosen who will act as CEO. The company plans on beginning to sell tickets through Outbox in the next six to twelve months… Elsewhere, Inc.com checks in the eMusic after last years customer kerfuffle over the addition of more major label catalogues to the once indie-only music service, as well increased prices and the departure of indie stalwart labels Domino, Merge and Beggars Group… And The Fader Fort, a staple of the SXSW music festival for the last decade, has announced a new sponsor this year in Fiat. They’ll also be streaming live performances in conjunction with, err, MySpace Music?
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More Bits & Pieces: MySpace Spinning Out, Shazam Links with Spotify, Changing Guard of Tastemakers & more…
Murdoch's News Corp. Weighing Myspace Options
While the massively rumored layoffs at MySpace were officially announced this week, seeing a cut of almost 50% of the workforce, speculation continues as to the future of the site. Yesterday owner New Corp. made comments published on Bloomberg indicating that a sale, merger or spinout of the social network are all possibilities being considered. The latter could see the site continuing to receive funding from New Corp., with the opportunity for employees (that are left) to be eligible for shares in the company. Some reports following the layoffs this week, indicate a possible spinout is already in talks, with CEO Mike Jones and other executives plotting a scenario that would give them majority control… Good news for Spotify users, is a new deal that has two of Europe’s top technology start-ups partnering to allow music lovers access to Spotify directly through the Shazam mobile app. Users can listen to or buy tracks that they have tagged or found through the music discovery service… Is NPR a new kingmaker in music? Helping boost sales for artists such as Arcade Fire, Florence + the Machine and Vampire Weekend, the outlet is increasing seen as a path to breaking an act… Speaking of tastemakers, check out this compilation of recent Soundscan numbers for Pitchfork’s list of the Top 50 albums of 2010, and draw your own conclusions… And manager Blaze James has joined forces with Velvet Hammer Management, bringing along his longtime clients Coheed and Cambria and Sparta to join a roster that includes Deftones, Alice in Chains, System of a Down and others. Coheed and Cambria have just announced plans this spring to perform their debut album, The Second Stage Turbine Blade, in its entirety in 22 cities across the US and in Toronto, Canada. The “Evening with” format will also feature a rare 30-40 minute acoustic set, as well as an extra set of songs from other albums. These dates are set to commemorate the band’s 10 year anniversary.
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Wednesday Bits & Pieces: BMG Buys Chrysalis, Myspace on the Block & more…
BMG buys Chrysalis
Heading out of the holiday weekend, industry chatter continues over the acquisition of Chrysalis by BMG Rights Management. One of the world’s largest independent publishers, Chrysalis publicly announced that it was in early-stage talks for a potential sale or merger just less than one month ago. Others bidders said to have been in serious talks include Imagem and Bug Music, though BMG RM came in with the winning offer at just over $168million. The purchase is the latest in a series this year from the joint-venture backed by Bertelsmann and private equity firm KKR – who is being seen as the driving force behind the publisher’s aggressive acquisitions – which also includes Cherry Lane, Adage IV and Stage 3. Following the acquisition, CEO Hartwig Masuch made comments indicating that he believes BMG is now the world’s largest independent music publisher, and is just behind the top four major music publishers. EMI Music Publishing continues to be another likely target in the event of its break up, which would easily make BMG a rival for the top spot… Following the quick deflation of any excitement over the relaunched Myspace last month, comments by News Corp. COO on Monday seem to all but spell out the likelihood of a sale for the beleaguered social network. Though Myspace did release a new mobile site and iPhone app this week, a direction some see as the most sensible one for the site who has seen its numbers drop even more drastically over the past year. Likely bidders for the site being mentioned include the usual digital media giants like Yahoo and AOL, though others see Google (who is also in the midst of discussions to acquire the red hot startup Groupon) as an interesting candidate as well… Elsewhere, the L.A. Times takes a look at the recently overhauled MTV and its focus back on music… Sony Music mistakenly takes action to pull songs offline from Bradford Cox, whose musical projects include Deerhunter and Atlas Sound… And PC Magazine has responded to the letter it received from a group of industry executives last week, which included signees from organizations such as the RIAA, Harry Fox Agency, Sound Exchange, ASCAP, BMI and SESAC, criticizing the publication for a recent article naming file-sharing service alternatives in the wake of LimeWire shutting down…
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All Dressed Up and Nowhere to Go: MySpace to be Sold?
MySpace’s recent redesign and relaunch had a modicum of positive press moving for the site in the first time in a long while, though after yesterday’s News Corp. earnings call, it seems that it might be more short-lived than most expected. As MediaMemo reports, the clear message from the COO of MySpace parent company News Corp. was that traffic is still not going in the right direction, and when asked how long the site would be given to improve following the relaunch, he remarked that they “judge in quarters, not in years” – not a good sign for the social network, which Rupert Murdoch’s media empire acquired in 2005. Does this signal that a sale is imminent – for real this time? Rumblings of investment groups putting together blueprints for an acquisition of the site continue to get louder, and it’s becoming more apparent that News Corp. desires to get the site off its books. But what would new owners of MySpace do with the site? While the new look and feel of the site is an obvious improvement, the company’s expressed focus on turning the social network into an entertainment hub seems ill-advised at best. A recent critique of the site relaunch on Evolver.fm puts it best, Myspace should leverage the one thing it has that no one else does: all of that independent music, free for the sampling, which the bands put there themselves. Stay tuned…
Wednesday Bits & Pieces: LimeWire No More, Apple + Spotify + Google = ??? & the New MySpace
Gets a Relaunch
Yesterday LimeWire software was dealt a blow in the form of a permanent injunction from a U.S. District Judge issued to parent company Lime Group, essentially killing the software that once was found on 1/3 of all PCs. Reports of a new legal digital music service began when the initial injunction was handed down against the company in May, though it appears licensing talks with major labels have broken down. The company still insists that they hope to launch the new service before the end of the year… Meanwhile, TechCrunch published a piece yesterday claiming that Apple has been in sporadic discussions with Spotify about acquisition, though it’s very early in the process, and no price has been offered. The claims are being questioned by many, believing that a deal of that kind for Apple would not make sense, if for no other reason than the presumed high price alone. However in the same post, it was revealed that Google had offered $1 billion for the service last year around the same time that the company acquired Lala… The new redesigned MySpace was launched in beta last night, and the new focus of the beleaguered social network will apparently be on entertainment content. Recognizing that they’ve been passed by in the social networking arena by Facebook, they no longer aim to compete, and are now looking to become the web’s biggest hub for music, movies and games – seeing MTV now as a more apt comparison. The backend of the site has also gotten a major overhaul, something that has been much needed since its acquisition by News Corp back in 2005…
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Amid Google Ad Expiration & Executive Exit, News Corp Unites MySpace and FAN
News Corp Integrates FAN with MySpace
As the clock was ticking on News Corp.’s $900 million ad-deal with Google, which was announced in August of 2006 and had MySpace as the primary revenue generator, many were wondering how the struggling social network would replace the significant loss when the deal expired this summer, and who would a new deal be with; Google Inc., Microsoft Corp., Yahoo! Inc.? The answer has come this week, with News Corp.’s decision to integrate the team and technology from its own Fox Audience Network (FAN) with MySpace. FAN, already the monetization division for MySpace, IGN and various other News Corp. digital properties, also happened to lose its president Adam Bain this week to Twitter, who has hired the executive to act as the company’s new president of global revenue. The timing of Bain’s departure and the decision to unite FAN with MySpace rather than an outside ad partner, has many wondering what that spells for the social network as it is gearing up for a major relaunch this fall. Adding further curiosity, is that only a few months ago it was reported that FAN was on the block, which further fueled persistent rumors of an impending sale of MySpace…
**UPDATE: Bloomberg reports that MySpace is extending their ad deal with Google by one month. Read full article here
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In Case You Missed It: Reading Recap
The Best Things in Life Aren't Free?
Not to be left out of the growing media preoccupation with new music services from industry giants like Google and Apple, not to mention the handful of new players who have emerged ahead of the curve like mspot, MOG, Spotify and Rdio, MySpace Music is back in the mix with renewed reports this week of a looming subscription service. The company is said to be in talks with labels about moving away from their current free streaming model to a paid service… Simultaneously MySpace parent News Corp. was quick to deny rumors that the company is in talks to sell the once supreme social network that has been facing a tough transition and revolving door of executives over the last year… An article in the WSJ today examines the increasingly tough road for the live music business – and for those keeping score, Rihanna’s “Last Girl on Earth” tour appears to be the latest summer outing to announce cancellations… Elsewhere, Wilco is planning to start their own label and will be leaving Warner Music after a 15-year relationship, having released albums on both Reprise and then Nonesuch… And CAA + “The Decision” x Kanye West = LeBron to The Heat…
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