@ EconMusic: How Will MySpace Music Make Money, Courtney Holt?
This story was written by Tameka Kee.
During the Keynote Q&A at our EconMusic conference, everyone asked MySpace Music President Courtney Holt the same question in different ways: How is the much-hyped music portal going to be profitable when it has to compete with free services like Pandora, illegal file-sharing sites and torrents, and of course, the nasty economy?
Holt said there were a number of strategies: display ads and sponsorships, of course, but revenues from the Secret Shows, affiliate sales (from sites like Amazon) and eventually merchandising deals. And despite the fact that parent company News Corp. swung to a loss in Q4, Holt said he was "optimistic" that MySpace Music would to deliver revenue. "I'm being very sober about how we're going to get there, but my goal is to run a profitable business," he said.
More to come.
By Tameka Kee