Courtney Holt named MySpace Music's new leader

Courtney Holt

(Credit: MySpace Music)

MySpace Music, the digital music service for the News Corp's social network, has finally named a leader.

As first reported by CNET News on Friday, MySpace Music has hired Courtney Holt, an MTV exec and a longtime digital music veteran as president of the digital music service, the company said Tuesday.

Holt is expected to start work on January 5, the company said in a statement. MySpace Music went through a long process to hire a chief, with at least one candidate backing out at the last minute.

"Courtney understands how to successfully blend technology with music and the resulting new business opportunities born from such a combination," said Chris DeWolfe, MySpace CEO.

Holt was executive vice president of Digital Music for the MTV Networks.

[dascha1]

Thanks for the update on MySpace and their music approach. You classify this topic as Corporate & legal... does Holt hold a law degree as well? Varying degrees? Or is he from a Grass Roots kind of college?

[Harrison912]

Thanks, Greg, for the MySpace update. I'm there to socially markety my safety and security web site as well as raise awareness for it's products and young adults into music are part of my target audience.

[TracyRHill]

Hopefully, he will have the desire to push the envelope with the technology that is already available. I?d love see Myspace Music actually innovate the music industry for real. First, as anyone that has seen CNN.com Live knows, internet video streams are like watching television now. Myspace Music has a real opportunity to become a global streaming version of MTV. I?d love to see a weekly live music program with an in-studio audience, a global streaming version of the Myspace Music Awards (similar to the MTV music awards but worldwide), and other content that will engage. What artist wouldn?t want to play to Myspace Music?s global audience of 160,000,000. Imagine debuting a new CD that way. And since it?s the web, the audience could push one button below the live video streams and have access to every song the artist ever did. It would be a live version of a point of purchase display that reaches 160,000,000. Now that?s what I call revolutionary. Thank you!