The New Law Hell's Gates / 27 votes More

Dutchmassive I Want Her / 27 votes More

FATGUMS X BAMBU Gunslinger / 26 votes More

Boognights Get to Know Me / 187 votes More

Soundsci Remedy / 27 votes More

BEST BBQ VIDEOS

by Adam Figman

Interview :: MIIKE SNOW

by Travis Hayden

Michael Jackson Tributes

by URB Staff

INTERVIEW: Amazing Baby

by Som Khamsaysoury

Freaks of the Industry: MySpace Music :: They changed the way we discover music, but does MySpace have the power to save the industry they helped cripple?

By Joshua Glazer   Photography by Raymond Leon Roker

09/03/08 :: URB 155

It’s easy to forget just how impressive MySpace really is. Worn down by a combination of ubiquity, a slew of competition, and the devastation of medium-term memory in the broadband generation, it’s easy to disremember how formidable the website that truly launched Web 2.0 truly is. Even their offices lack the sort of grandiosity one might expect--a secluded corporate building tucked away from the flash that their Beverly Hills address alludes to. The collection of magazine covers on display in the lobby--Wired, Business Week, Nylon--dated three or so years since their publication. But as we walk with MySpace founder Tom Anderson and his VP of Global Communications Dani Dudeck to the modest corner office occupied by CEO Chris DeWolf, a quick conversation brings the massive accomplishments of this website back into perspective. The iPhone 3G is going to be released to the world the day after our interview, and Anderson has a technical question about the readiness of MySpace’s interface. He asks about the deadline, and Dudeck answers without a hint of irony. “It depends on what part of the world you’re in.” In case you forgot, MySpace is huge.

MySpace may be a global phenomenon, but the company is pure Los Angeles. Anderson dresses the part—having snazzed up his wardrobe with a designer cap, t-shirt and hoodie, all heavily screenprinted. DeWolf’s clothing is more subdued—black sweater, shirt and pants. But his good haircut and fit build are a far cry from the awkward uber-geek photographed slouching in a budget zip-up in a Wired magazine spread hanging on the wall. He has transformed into the sort of hip, alpha-businessman who could lead a movie studio. Or a record label, back when running a record label was something to illicit gawks of awe rather than sighs of pity.

If DeWolf and Anderson have their way, running a record label (and MySpace) could become cool again. This past spring, plans were announced for MySpace Music, a joint venture between the social network and the major labels that takes a 360-deal, and offers it not only to the world’s biggest artists, but to the users at the other end of the pipeline. The plan seems obvious—bring streaming and downloadable music, ticket and merchandise sales, and brand sponsorship dollars, all under the umbrella of the most unavoidable music site on the planet. Unlike the current models of iTunes (who seem to take pride in bullying labels into a corner) and Live Nation (whose lauded 360-deals can only capitalize on mega-artist’s future earnings rather than past sucesses), MySpace’s plan monetizes every available stream, while giving the most important folks—the artists and their fans—unfettered access to the entire body of work, soup to nuts. Stream the single, order the t-shirt, buy the concert tickets and download the back catalog, all in the biggest of modern day malls, MySpace itself.

“It’s always been convenient and that’s why it took off as a music service,” Anderson says about his company’s dominance. After all, you don’t see bands giving out their Facebook address, do you? “You didn’t have to download Windows Media Player or MP3. You came to a page and it just played. That never happened before. Now, with what we’re doing, not only does it play, but the whole catalog, the whole discography, is there and [the music] just plays. It just becomes simpler for people and they’ll always choose the route that’s easier. They’re not thinking about whether they steal or whether they want to pay. They’re thinking, ‘What do I want to do that’s easy and convenient?’ and that’s really what this service aspires to be.”

MySpace Music may aspire for ultimate ease of use, but bringing all the players to the table wasn’t as simple as one might expect.

“We could have thought of this four years ago, but there’s no way the record labels would’ve gone for it,” explains Anderson.

“The attitude of the executives in the music industry has changed a great deal,” DeWolf elaborates. “They’re much more experimental and they understand that they can’t dictate the way content gets consumed.”

In one of the first steps to get the ball rolling on MySpace Music, DeWolf spoke to the legendary Jimmy Iovine, who directed him to Doug Morris, CEO of Universal Music Group (see right), the world’s largest music label. Morris is a long time defender of intellectual property rights, especially as they pertain to his label’s bottom line. If DeWolf could convince Morris, then the rest would fall into place.

“One of the big gripes from the music companies in the past has been that other companies, like MTV, have built their business on the music companies’ backs. We said, ‘OK, we understand that you feel this way, let’s work together. It’s not on your backs because we all own this company.’ And it forced everyone to cooperate.”

The other thing MySpace brought to the table is a whole lot of marketing power, not just for the artists and music, but for the brands dying to be associated with them. So you might need to let a body spray pay for your free music (DeWolf claims five large launch sponsors are confirmed, though he doesn’t name names).

He breaks it down: “It’s going to help resurrect a lot of the music companies because they don’t have the competence of ad sales. It’s easy to say, ‘I’m going to go out and start selling sponsorships.’ But we have 250 people on the sales side. There’s definitely barriers to entry in selling sponsorships. And that’s what makes it such a great marriage because there is that trend going towards free consumption.” As of the writing of this article, MySpace Music is scheduled to launch in September, despite internet rumors about difficulties finding a CEO to head the joint venture. And there are no guarantees it will work. MySpace Music is hardly the first “savior” of a music industry that needs more saving every year. It might be popular lately to dismiss MySpace, particularly in the trendy department. But it’s one thing to proclaim the old guard “uncool.” On the other hand, do you really want to bet against them?