Three MySpace execs depart for new venture

Three executives from social network MySpace, including Chief Operating Officer Amit Kapur, are departing the News Corp.-owned company to create a new venture.

The two execs leaving with Kapur are Jim Benedetto, senior vice president of engineering, and Steve Pearman, senior vice president of product strategy.

"We're incredibly excited to see what this team creates together and wish them the best of luck as they transition from helping run a company to building a new one," a statement from MySpace read. "Amit, Jim, and Steve depart as great friends of MySpace and of our executive team. They will remain on board for the next few weeks to ensure a smooth transition company-wide."

A company-wide memo from CEO Chris DeWolfe accentuated the health of MySpace, which has lost significant ground to rival Facebook in the past year. Facebook is now the industry leader worldwide, and while MySpace remains the U.S. leader in social networking, Facebook is expected to surpass it within a year or two. The memo highlighted recent initiatives from the five-year-old service like streaming music service MySpace Music, a redesign last year, and the HyperTargeting ad program.

MySpace has gone through a number of executive shakeups over the past year, including a big one late last July that saw five new executive hires at the same time as a number of departures.

The company would not comment on replacements for the three departing executives, and said that Kapur had not yet disclosed the nature of his new project.

[TracyRHill]

These are painful times and nobody gloats when a company is experiencing difficulties, but I think that Myspace needs to seriously reconsider its direction and corporate attitude. Myspace changed the world when it hit the scene, but like Yahoo to Google, somewhere along the way it lost its innovation. Everyone I know at one time had both a Myspace and Facebook page, but now they only seem to be using their Facebook accounts. To use a television analogy, I have always thought that Myspace was like network television and Facebook like PBS/cable. I watch both, and they each serve a different purpose. However, like much of network television, Myspace has lost sight of why their users initially joined their network. If Myspace was being guided in the right direction, there would be no issues with Facebook because the two social networks serve different purposes and aren't mutually exclusive. I still believe that as a mass market delivery network, Myspace has great potential.

For example, as someone that is knowledgeable in both online and music, I believe that Myspace Music has been a total squandering of an opportunity with enormous potential. Myspace Music's opportunity is not in selling downloads yet because they haven't established themselves as a music/entertainment brand, contrary to what they believe. Myspace Music joined a crowded field and has done nothing of significance to differentiate itself from the pack in the minds of their enormous user base. Myspace's "if we build it they will come" mentality with regard to Myspace Music is sorely mistaken. Myspace users have always been able to stream music so that's not a big deal to them. And certainly putting a button that allows users to buy music on the player is not enough to call it a major music initiative. When Myspace made the announcement about Myspace Music, I was so excited to see what revolutionary new things they would unveil, but when I actually saw Myspace Music, it was like, "Oh, that's it?" I think many of their users felt (and still feel) the same way. If Myspace Music had the benefit of being a division of the company that created the greatest music device in the history of mankind like iTunes, then they could afford to be lackadaisical about brand building, but they don't have that luxury.

I have always believed that Myspace Music's real utility is in being a one-stop music community that connects it users with the numerous bands on their social network in a meaningful way. Currently, they aren't doing that at all, which is why they also haven't been able to connect their advertisers with their users in a way that is relevant to the users. For example, here are just a few completely obvious examples of how they could really be of value to their users as a one-stop music community. First, add online radio streams as iTunes has done. Myspace should have advertising supported radio streams by genre that give information about the artist that is playing and that links to the artist's Myspace profile on the pop-up Flash player. In addition to having streams with already established artists (to pull users in), they should also have streams with the best new major label bands, indie bands, and great unsigned bands on Myspace to actually make it EASY for Joe Myspace user to hear their favorite artists and discover new music (essentially becoming a global Clear Channel Radio). Secondly, add a weekly in-studio live performance taped music program. Myspace is owned by Fox. Fox has major soundstages in Los Angeles and I'm sure that one of the soundstages on the Fox lot is empty. Myspace Music should tape an intimate, live weekly performance show with the biggest artists on Myspace Music (reminiscent of VH-1's Storytellers). It should be the place where established artists come to play live to debut songs from upcoming releases (globally), or in Bruce Springsteen's case, come to remind some of Myspace's younger users why he still kicks @$$, and a place where good up and coming Myspace bands have a place to break (again, offering sponsorship positions throughout the program to connect advertisers with Myspace users in a relevant way). Lastly, I can't even go to Myspace Music and get my music news. What's up with that? They need to add a music news aggregator. Myspace Music has a billion opportunities, they just need to use them.

I think Myspace still has a world of potential so it will be interesting to see what the management changes will bring.

[gylfib]

I couldn't agree with you more. Myspace has lost it's vision and has become ever so slow in their developement of their product. I'm ready to count them out and look elsewhere.

Here's a new online music venture that covers all the isses Myspace is missing:

What and who are www.gogoyoko.com
After years of experience from selling their music in the US, UK and mainland Europe a group of
artists and an owner of a small label was led to create what they saw as a dream platform to enter the
global market. Where they would not only get exposure and be in contact with their fans, but also
receive a fair share of the music sales and streaming of their music.
After over a year work in Iceland, Norway, Germany and India we're almost there.
gogoyoko.com, launched in alpha phase 15th of November and we will go public first quarter of 2009
where artists and music fans can transact and interact.
We?re an online music shop, but also so much more.
The concept behind www.gogoyoko.com
Gogoyoko is a fair play social music marketplace, where artists and right-owners are in control ?
where they decide the price for their songs and albums and monitor their sales & streams in real time.
Gogoyoko is independent, with no ties to any big player in the music industry.
We believe in social responsibility, doing good and running our business with a contribution towards
charity and environmental issues. We like to believe that our users and partners think the same.
Therefore, charity is an important factor in the philosophy behind Gogoyoko.
10% of our income from advertisements goes to partnering international charity and environmental
organizations. This means that everybody visiting, buying and selling through Gogoyoko contributes.
Artists can donate 10% of their music sales and users and browsers can donate directly to the
organizations on a special charity page.
Why www.gogoyoko.com
Music fans are provided with the tool to discover, stream or buy and download music straight from the
source. They can also create a profile page and socialize with their favourite artists, friends and other
music fans, find gigs, events and tour dates via our global music map and read and write all about
music.
-Artists / right holders will receive revolutionary cut from their music sale.*
-Artists / right holders will receive share of the advertisement revenues (40%), based on the streaming
of their works.
- Artists / right holders can monitor sales in real time, put price on songs and albums, create their own
customized store that can be embedded to other sites, payout is every 3 months.
- Charity is firmly built into our system with 10% of all advertisement revenues going to partnering
international charity and environmental organizations.
- Music fans can buy straight from the source, stream in fair play, discover new music, participate,
interact with other music fans & artists.
* Apart from legal obligations regarding royalty sales to publishers and transfer fees, Gogoyoko will never take a
cut from music sales.
We do not only offer artists a revolutionary cut from their music sales and revenue from streaming. We
provide them with the platform to create their online destination and manage everything themselves;
the sale, promotion and distribution of their music, without the need for a middleman
Gogoyoko is made by artists for artists, and is all about fair play.