Archive notice: This article was originally published on March 17, 2009. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
MySpace Music (http://music.myspace.com), the music service launched around six months ago as a joint venture between the world’s four largest record companies and the MySpace social network, has issued its first positive assessment. In a recent interview with Cnet, Courtney Holt, former MTV chairman and president of the streaming service, said visitor traffic on the platform was extremely high. “Since the launch of MySpace Music, our users have already created more than 100 million playlists, and it is only a matter of time before we reach the billion mark for streams,” Holt stated. According to MySpace, users around the world currently spend a total of 172 million minutes per day listening to music on the website. The service will be continuously developed to attract even more visitors in the future.
“MySpace Music meets a fundamental need in the digital age. It provides both users and artists with a productive ecosystem in which they can connect personally and discover new music together,” Holt emphasized. More than five million artists and bands are already represented on the online portal with their music. “With MySpace Music, we offer users what is currently the world’s largest music selection, encompassing the complete catalogs of all four major labels,” added Mats Wappmann, spokesperson for MySpace Germany http://de.myspace.com, in response to an inquiry from pressetext. At present, however, the online service is available only in the United States. “Although we do not yet have an exact timetable, we assume that MySpace Music will launch in Europe in summer 2009,” Wappmann revealed. Setting a single launch date is difficult because agreements with the relevant collecting societies must be negotiated separately in each European country.
As MySpace Music president Holt explained in the Cnet interview, development of the service is far from complete. “We pay close attention to feedback from our users and take criticism and suggestions for improvement very seriously,” Holt said. A range of new features was recently added to improve the music service’s functionality and ease of use. At the same time, MySpace is already considering entering the concert-ticket and merchandise business “in the near future.” “Our goal is to become the central destination for music lovers on the internet. By incorporating ticket and merchandise sales, MySpace could cover the entire process from music production and distribution through to consumption,” Wappmann concluded.