[Article] Dino has a view on the future of MySpace
We were asked to share a few thoughts with MSN’s Tech and Gadget columnist Adam Hartley on the future of MySpace. Not a small subject, especially as a new push to ‘rebrand’ and relaunch in the wings.
Definitely worth a read. The full article can be found here
Here’s an excerpt…
Tips for MySpace 2.0
Dino Burbidge, Creative Director for Noise Inc, a music app development and digital marketing company, who work for the likes of Vodafone, EMI, Universal and others agrees that the new MySpace needs to (re)discover its niche.
“Doing ‘everything well’ isn’t an option anymore,” says Burbidge. “The world has got simpler. If MySpace was an app, what would it do? Find new bands in your area? Tell you what’s on tonight? Allow you to discover new music based on your tastes? Listen to music? It’s all there already. Arguably, what they could be is a ‘Spotify Unsigned’, streaming new bands that sound like the music you like and putting you at the raw edge of discovery. If done well, MySpace will have a voice worth listening to once more.
“It will be very interesting to see what platform they choose as the mothership. The browser experience is declining as the de-facto place to hang out online. The popularity of Facebook’s mobile app is testament to that. MySpace’s mobile strategy will be crucial (as it is for any media company these days). If they don’t have one, it’s doomed to be a backwater online music fanzine.
Burbidge is mainly concerned that the “business rhetoric about advertisers and branding agencies” that we have been hearing far too much about in relation to MySpace are little more than “sticky plasters for a terminal wound.”
And as for that new logo? That’s really got to go.
“It’s a perfect metaphor for their woes,” says the Noise Inc rep. “My_____. My what? They know they have something (‘My’) but there’s a big, silent, vacuous pause after. Filling that space once more should be their focus.
“A visit to MySpace feels like you’ve been transported into Blade Runner. Grimy, lawless but full of wonder, if only you didn’t get mugged in the process. Hiring a branding agency is a small step. I’d have Rudy Giuliani on speed-dial. MySpace has a real challenge on so many fronts. The brand perception is dire, the tech underpinnings are like spaghetti and the competition is fierce, especially at the very time they are choosing to relaunch.”
It seems that the obvious solution is staring MySpace’s new owners in the face. Talk to the music fans first. And the advertisers will follow…
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