MySpace, Record Labels Team Up For MySpace Music

The much rumoured and often spoken about ‘MySpace Music’ service has come to light, as I read this morning that MySpace have officially announced their new ‘MySpace Music’ service, a partnership between News Corporation and “three out of the four top record labels”.

The service is looking to become a one-stop shop for everything music; DRM free downloads and music sales, ticket sales for gigs and tours, band merchandise, ringtones - everything and anything goes.

It is a good move for the record industry and a great play for MySpace whose existing music service is used by millions of bands worldwide (I’m even in there) as a platform for showcasing music, listing gigs and connecting with fans.

Couple with that the ability to sell your tracks, merchandise and tickets directly through MySpace and you really have a powerful promotional tool for aspiring and established artists.

That said, with the deal seemingly focusing around the participation of three major record labels (EMI were holding out as of Friday), I would hope the the tools established by the service would be available to the smaller bands and those unaffiliated with record labels.

While the record labels look for ways to dig into online sales and catch up with the rest of the world, independent artists have been steaming ahead, safe in the knowledge that you don’t need a record label in order to release music. I’ve worked with enough bands over the last few years to see first hand you don’t need a record label to succeed and gone are the days of needing millions of dollars, pounds or Euro in order to record, launch and promote a single, EP or album.

Thomas Hesse, the President of Global Digital Business at Sony BMG Music Entertainment said in Thursday’s article on CNET that they are simply “aligning our efforts to reach fans through every conceivable platform”.

I haven’t seen any indication of what percentage of the market they’re trying to grab, likely away from Apple’s iTunes service, but here’s to hoping they don’t forget about the independent artists and make their new resources available for everyone.

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Linking In

So I’m back to reality with a bang - a never ending stream of email since last Thursday (when I disconnected myself for the second time in as many weeks) and I’m a half day into a four-day work week.

Having time over lunch today I’ve started tinkering with my LinkedIn.com profile. I figured it could do with a bit of a boost, bringing something of a personal touch to the description of work (and myself) that it holds).

I’ve followed some of the tips as laid down in a recent post by Pat Phelan and I’m committed to exploring some of the finer things that LinkedIn has to offer, both personally and professionally. Facebook, for me, has become another MySpace - too many pokes, requests for random drinking games or junk that I don’t need. As I explore fellow WIT graduates, it is interesting to see how many of them are also previous employees of AOL Europe, something that is almost a rite of passage for those studying at the main campus in Waterford (if you’re looking for industry-related work during study).

But it’s always good to make connections with new people.

Want to link in or link up? See my LinkedIn public profile here. If you’re asked for my email address, it’s ken [at] kenmc [DOT] com.

The Gamechanger: AOL Acquire Bebo In $850m Cash Deal

One of my former employers have announced that they’ve acquired Bebo
, currently ranked as the third largest social network in the US, behind MySpace and Facebook, and likely the widest used social network within Ireland. The deal sees AOL purchase Bebo in a US$850m cash deal, a price significantly higher than that paid for Intermix Media (MySpace) back at the end of 2005.

Of course, add two years worth of growth throughout the US and Europe, an opening up of the Bebo platform to accept third party applications and the price is likely to go up.

If AOL were looking for an “in” to the social networking arena, they’ve certainly got it now. The deal is expected to close some time in April, opening up a potential 40 million users to further AOL services (providing of course they’re not existing users).

I think it’s a great purchase for AOL and costs considered, it looks they’ve got themselves a decent price as well. Estimates on the sale of Bebo in the past 12 months have exceeded the US$1bn mark, TechCrunch reporting in February that Bebo may go for anywhere between US$1bn and US$1.5bn to Google while Yahoo was also rumoured to be looking into acquiring Bebo last summer.

From the announcement today, AOL chairman Randy Falco says

this deal is a “gamechanger” and will help power our strategic priorities across the board. Bebo is the best social media asset out there and has the most engaged audience and has seen great growth since its launch 3 years ago. We will be a social media powerhouse. 80 million unduplicated visitors when you count AIM and Bebo. Bebo will be connected to the largest distributed web audience and will circulate traffic from our sites to Bebo and the reverse and have the scale to grow Bebo worldwide. Joanna has impressed me with her vision for the new Web and better ways to connect and develop long-term relationship

Of course, the future of Yahoo itself has to be yet confirmed. There’s rumour today that Microsoft are set to announce their purchase of Yahoo at a 3pm press conference.

When all is said and done, congratulations to AOL on the deal, but does this mean I go back to using my ICQ account?

Update: Centernetworks has a live call with AOL (notes) here.

Reinvent How You Communicate - Google Acquires Jaiku

Well, that didn’t take long. On the go to the public not long over a year and Jaiku has been snapped up by Google. I can’t say that I didn’t see it coming - you get a reliable web service with great social network capabilities, a nice colour scheme and a funky name and Google or some other heavyweight won’t be too far off with a big bag of money.

This, just as Google’s shares today had broken the US$600 level. Maybe another small increase tomorrow as a result of today?

Wonder why it hasn’t happened to Twitter yet? Or is the Jaiku acquisition a kick in the stones to Twitter since at the heart of things their services are very similar. Why choose one over the other? For me it me it came down to three factors - reliability, functionality (use of channels) and interface design, the overall interface something I find a lot more appealing than that of Twitter’s, but I’m not one to bash the Twitter service as I still use it and have no problem in using it.

Straight off the bat, Jaiku has gone down the Google road of being invite only. Existing Jaiku users can still invite their friends into the service while people attempting to sign up from here on can apply for a limited invitation. Welcome to the members-only club, boys.

In order to focus on innovation instead of scaling, we have decided to close new user sign-ups for now.

No doubt the financial clout and power behind Google will allow Jaiku to expand - hopefully expanding in it’s own manner and brand as opposed to getting sucked into the grand scheme of things. It is a simple service, I don’t see any reason to over complicate it. Though when Twitter announced earlier in the summer that you could import your gMail contacts I figured that they were next on the shopping list - maybe they will be, but with Jaiku going to Google I wouldn’t be surprised to hear the likes of Yahoo or Microsoft drawing up plans for what they could do with Twitter, “keeping up appearances” and all that. Of course, I wasn’t the only one to think that.

We’ve a while to go yet before seeing what Google produce on the fifth of November (this being the rumoured rival to Facebook through a redevelopment of Orkut’s current platform) but they’ve got just over three weeks to get Jaiku hooked up with it.

See the new Jaiku Google FAQ for more or read the original blog post.

Other Links
Me on Jaiku | Me on Twitter

Social Networking Is On The Rise

Who would have guessed it, but social networking is on the rise, or so says the Kilkenny Advertiser.

An article by Brigid O Gorman in yesterday’s Advertiser here in Kilkenny looks at the power and rise of Bebo, although in terms of social networks doesn’t make much of a comparison (something I like out of Bernie’s media deliverables). The article looks at all the features available on Bebo and gets some quotes from a local self-confessed Bebo addict who reveals that one of the plus sides to Bebo is “the fact you can use Bebo at any time of the day”. Don’t know about you but I don’t know too many websites that shut down at 6pm when the office doors close. When this girl heads to college she might also find her opportunities to access Bebo at any time of the day quite restricted.

If its Bebo talk you’re looking for, give the article a read here (PDF format). PDF taken from Kilkenny Advertiser digital edition

A Look Around Bebo’s Offices

25.2 minutes is what the average user spends on Bebo in Ireland according to Damien. Here’s a look around the Bebo offices, via Bebo Backtage, something to view on a Saturday afternoon if you’re stuck indoors! Great day in Kilkenny..

Twitter Downtime Means A Busy Day On Jaiku

A quiet day on Twitter has meant a crazy day on Jaiku in Irish circles. I’ll call it crazy because I’ve got my E50 set up to receive SMS updates from Twitter and Jaiku (in fact the only two phone numbers in the contacts belong to the afore mentioned services). On a normal day, I’d be busy skimming the first line of a mass of texts via twitter - not today. While leaving notifications on I think I’ve deleted my inbox more than once today, at present the phone showing 13 new messages over the last half hour via Jaiku.

Walter and Conor have been particularly busy while talk of rounding people up began, a Twitter exodus looked on the cards. Even Damien Mulley has given into the green side, the first message a little tastier than “Honey, I’m Home”.

With the uptake in Jaiku use today sparking masses of new conversations in all their glorious threaded fashion, as well as having an interface I much prefer, along with the use of channel, ability to sub in a variety of feeds… what “super strength and agility” will Twitter have once it wakes up again today?

Via Twitter @ 6:23pm: “Our scheduled maintenance got off schedule. We’re aware of the problem and are working to resolve it as quickly as possible. Thanks for your patience.”

Will tomorrow be a quiet day on Twitter?

Finding Me Online Made Easier

Given that so many of us have online presences across various networks I’ve decided to add a little feature to the header of the blog, replacing my 468*60 AdSense text banner with shortcut icons (links) to my Twitter, Jaiku, Bebo, MySpace, Skype, Podcast and RSS feed.

I’m leaving out one or two links for the time being including Linked In (which I don’t really use at all) and Facebook (which I’m only recently getting into).

I should also note that the Sound System Podcast isn’t just from me, though in most cases I’m acting as the anchor for the show, but it is hosted by the KilkennyMusic.com team.

The icons do add a little splash of colour to the header don’t ya think?

Social Linking - Where Am I?

I’m not featured on pBase or hiding out as a photographer in the Caribbean but I am lurking in various social networks on the web, and this is where you’ll find me.

• MySpace
  MySpace is mainly used through KilkennyMusic.com and my constant contact with bands. More and more I see the gigs being organised via MySpace (people preferring that to taking my email or phone number which are published online), requests for information, booking information, podcast submissions. If bands want to add me, I’m open to it though I don’t go friend-hunting on it.
• Bebo
  Bebo is pretty much a friend-to-friend thing. If I don’t know you, I don’t want to know you. I’ve used it to keep up with college friends now dotted around the country and around the world and thats what I expect to keep doing with it. Much prefer their photo album service to that of MySpace. It also allows me the opportunity to pimp out KilkennyMusic.com to the younger generation that are ‘beboers’. (younger than myself anyway).
• Twitter
  My train of thoughts and random comments from during the day. I also republish these back to a Wordpress blog for myself to look back over certain days at a glance. 140 characters more liberating than restricting I feel. Twitter certainly has had an impact on the Irish blogosphere, turning bloggers into impulse shoppers now with the recent Nokia N770 tweet and the pure drain of stock from Expansys as a result.
• Jaiku
  I’ve been meaning to dip into Jaiku as a Twitter alternative but only registered myself yesterday as it is being used as a back channel for PodCamp Ireland between the organisers. Instantly prefer the interface over Twitter but yet to get the full feel of the service.
• Facebook
  Love it or hate, Facebook provides a lot of facilities for networking and social interaction along with integration of some of your favourite online haunts (eBay, Twitter, Flickr etc.). Since FB was opened up to the global population it’s use has soared and along with it the number of widgets and apps available to integrate into your homepage. I’ve only started using FB recently but given the amazing popularity of it in the US I’ve had no problem connecting with and finding family who wouldn’t touch MySpace or have heard of Bebo, especially those who prefer the professional look and feel of FB.

If you feel the need to link up with me on anything or want to reach out and say hello - don’t be a stranger. Each of the links above will have the option to subscribe, or add a friend etc. - if you use any of the above you’ll know yourself how to hook up with someone anyway. I’m sure I’ve a ‘linked-in’ profile going that is about 80% complete but when FB affords you the same opportunities and more it will be a while before the remaining 20% gets filled out.

Don’t be a stranger…

Note - the idea here stems from Krishna De’s recent post on which social network you should choose.

Twitter Widgets / Find Me On Twitter

Having fun on the Twitter train, really nice way of social interaction online - a short, sweet, to-the-point service allowing you to broadcast a stream of thought, what you’re doing us quick notes to other Twitter users. Looking forwards to Alex King’s development to integrate Twitter with WP, while I’m using Twitterific on the mac as a handy desktop application.

Also stumbled upon two widgets available from the Apple downloads area as dashboard widgets - check Twitterlex or twidget, both free downloads. Interfaces aren’t as nice as Twitterific but I’d rather the dashboard widget than the desktop app.

If you’re looking for me there check http://twitter.com/kenmcguire

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