Long-ago lapped by Facebook in popularity and with fast-growing Twitter on its tail, social networking site MySpace is planning a series of updates over the next months that will link its users’ posts to those sites more easily and carve out its niche as an entertainment hub more clearly.
Those changes, among others, were unveiled by co-presidents Jason Hirschhorn, 38, and Mike Jones, 34, this week following the abrupt departure of CEO Owen Van Natta in February after just 10 months on the job.
The two remaining executives, who once shared a single office with Van Natta and now remain in it together, declined to comment much on Van Natta’s departure, other than to say his decision to leave was between him and parent News Corp.’s chief digital officer Jonathan Miller.
They also shed no new light on the ongoing ad-sharing deal with Google Inc., which forms the backbone of MySpace’s revenue but expires in August.
“Owen’s decision and Jon’s decision were their own. Jon came to us and said, `Would you like to be co-presidents?’ We said, `Hell yeah.’ We didn’t have to move our desks,” Hirschhorn said in an interview at the Beverly Hills headquarters. “We were very much operating the company from a day-to-day basis and believed in the strategy that we laid out with Owen, frankly.”
Attempts to reach Van Natta were unsuccessful.
The executives acknowledged that change has been slow coming to the site, and critics have often cited its clunkiness compared to Facebook.
MySpace’s monthly visitors declined 7 percent in January from a year ago to 120 million worldwide, compared to Facebook’s 471 million visitors, a 100 percent increase, according to Internet tracker comScore Inc. Twitter grew 1,100 percent to 74 million visitors over the same time.
The goal of changes in the works now is about “making sure we return to the consumer zeitgeist,” Jones said, not about competing feature-for-feature with other social networks.
Hirschhorn said that MySpace needs to be more uniquely focused on the 14 million musicians who put songs and videos on the site and how fans interact with them, and is giving more control to artists over their profiles, including with tracking tools. The site is also going open up its platform for games more widely, add a movie fan page, and reward users who act as evangelizers of content.
“The experience that Mike and I and the teams aim to build is such that it’s a complement to your experience on Facebook,” he said.
While Jones said the pair did not feel “specific pressure” from News Corp. to change how the site earns revenue, he described a time frame that was fairly short — through August and through the company’s fiscal year, which ends in June.
“I think we have everything lined up strategically to where it needs to be,” Jones said. “It’s about us operationally executing on all of this, keeping pressure on the organization to get refocused on the committed strategy.”
The two helped shut down some projects that spread resources too thinly and tread on needs well served by the likes of portal sites such as Yahoo or AOL. Such segments focused on cars, parenting, weather, horoscopes, classified ads and jobs.
Now the site is refocusing its gaze on the core 13-34 age group that represents more than half of its visitors and 84 percent of all the time spent on the site.
Some changes include a better, smarter “stream” that allows users to see more of what their friends are doing in a central location, resembling Facebook’s “News Feed” more closely. Previously, videos added by users would not appear on friend’s streams, for example.
The site is also rolling out a “Super Post” update bar that allows users to post links, videos and updates to MySpace, Facebook and Twitter all at once.
And in a change that symbolizes it is really putting its past behind it, MySpace co-founder Tom Anderson, a smiling guy looking back across his white T-shirt, recently stopped being every new user’s first friend.
Since last month, he’s been replaced by the cleverly named profile, Today On MySpace (T.O.M.), which features new songs, movie clips and celebrity updates and starts feeding into the new users’ stream right away.
That leaves new users with a better sense of what MySpace has to offer, rather than leaving them with one friend and clueless, Jones said.
“We were just like, `We’re not going to tell you what to do here, we’re not going to guide you. You’re welcome to here, and go figure something out,’” Jones said. “Now we’re saying, `OK we’re going to give you some guidance.’”
R&B singer/chocolate sex D’Angelo, remembered fondly by ladies as the strapped, nude figure in his video ‘How Does It Feel’ was arrested in New York for allegedly soliciting an undercover police officer for sex. Not sure what’s more bizarre about this story: that D’Angelo could probably get it for free off his former glory, or that he was offering up a paltry $40 for sex. A $40 hooker is like shopping at the 99 Cent Store. Isn’t the standard cost of a blow job at least fifty bucks? Something to ask the tranny prostitutes on Vine and Santa Monica later.
D’Angelo, real name Michael Archer, was picked up Saturday, March 6th, after attempting to pay the officer from his SUV. He has entered a plea of not guilty.
Archer’s been on a downward spiral since his 2000 release, Voodoo, although things were expected to pick up for him with his upcoming album, his first album in a decade.
His mugshot reveals that he hasn’t managed to hang on to that cut figure over the years.
“Detroit Rock City” is coming to a playdate near you.
KISS co-founders Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley are developing a new kids’ program with E1 Television, the Canadian production company announced Tuesday.
Both Simmons and Stanley will executive produce the series, along with E1’s senior vice president of kids and animation, Frank Saperstein. The untitled half-hour comedy will help introduce the group’s iconic personas to a new generation and continue the band’s relentless marketing efforts.
“KISS continues to be the juggernaut of licensing and merchandising, from KISS M&M’s to KISS Dr Pepper,” Simmons said in a statement. “KISS is a band, but also the only music brand. Continuing in our 35 year history of going where no band has gone before, we are proud to partner with E1. Like all things KISS, we intend to make this a very special show for our fans.”
E1 will distribute the show worldwide, but no other details about the show have been released.
In the meantime, Simmons returns to the small screen for the fifth season of Gene Simmons Family Jewels, which premieres March 21 at 9/8c on A&E.
Lindsay Lohan Sues E-Trade Over Ad with “Milkaholic” Lindsay
Lindsay Lohan is suing E*Trade, claiming the financial company based the “milkaholic” baby named Lindsay in its commercial after her.
Lohan filed the $100 million lawsuit Monday at Nassau County Supreme Court, a court clerk office rep told TVGuide.com.
The spot, which premiered during the Super Bowl, features the company’s signature talking baby boy apologizing to his girlfriend via video chat for not calling her because, he says, he was preoccupied with his E*Trade account.
“And that milkaholic Lindsay wasn’t over?” the baby girl asks.
“Lindsay?” he sheepishly says before baby girl Lindsay pops up.
“Milk-a-whaaaat?” baby Lindsay coos.
Lohan’s lawyer, Stephanie Ovadia, told the New York Post that E*Trade is profiting from the 23-year-old star’s “name and characterization” without her consent or compensation.
“They used the name Lindsay,” Ovadia said. “They’re using her name as a parody of her life. Why didn’t they use the name Susan? This is a subliminal message. Everybody’s talking about it and saying it’s Lindsay Lohan.”
Lohan wants the commercial taken off the air and is seeking $50 million in exemplary damages, plus another $50 million in compensatory damages.
Chris Brown, a spokeswoman for Grey Group, which produced the 30-second spot, told the Post that the company “just used a popular baby name that happened to be the name of someone on the account team.”
The company declined to comment further to TVGuide.com. Calls and e-mails to Ovadia and E*Trade were not immediately returned.
The King of Pop trusted his three bodyguards with his life, kids and secrets.
Michael Jackson enjoyed spending time with his children, cruising the Vegas strip and even ordering fast food through a drive through, according to three of his former bodyguards.
But the men also said Jackson’s lifestyle was isolated and lonely and described it as full of “stress, paranoia and pain.”
In an exclusive interview with “Good Morning America,” Mike Garcia, Bill Whitfield and Javon “BJ” Beard spoke out about Jackson’s secretive life, describing some moments as just plain “sad.”
For instance, when Jackson held a birthday party for one of his children, only Jackson, the teacher, the nanny and the three bodyguards would attend, the men said. No other children were there.
“None,” the three men said.
Jackson died June 25 following a lethal cocktail of prescription drugs and propofol. The three men said they first met the pop star more than two years earlier in 2007.
“He’s got his little doctor’s mask on and he says, ‘BJ, hi, I’ve heard so much about you. Go ahead and have a seat,’” Beard said.
The three men signed up for personal protection, but the job became much more, they said. Jackson trusted them with his life, his children and his secrets.
“We were with Michael Jackson the person, not the entertainer,” Garcia said.
In fact, the bandages Jackson wore frequently in public were not concealing secret surgeries, Whitfield said. Instead, the singer was using them as a disguise.
“That disguise to him was the burn victim look,” Whitfield said.
Although the men wondered what was going on, they never asked Jackson about the mask.
“He’s coming down with the kids and we can’t say, ‘What the hell you got on, sir?’” Beard said. “How could you tell him that?”
Prior to his death, Jackson was staging a comeback tour in London. When the family was not on the road, Jackson called a rented Las Vegas mansion his home. But his bodyguards said the singer did not enjoy being there.
“For you and I, it’s a great house…but for security for MJ and his kids…[it's a] horrible house,” Whitfield said.
The men said Jackson was always paranoid about security.
Bodyguards on the King of Pop
Men speak about riding along the Vegas strip with Jackson.
Michael Jackson’s Love of Reading
Bodyguards say Jackson would spend thousands of dollars at bookstores.
Brad Paisley is recovering after he tripped and fell on stage during the closing moments of his concert in South Carolina Saturday night, according to The Associated Press.
Spokeswoman Darlene Bieber told the AP that Paisley was performing “Alcohol” during his encore finale when he fell. Paisley finished the show, but he checked into a Charleston hospital. He was released Sunday morning.
The country star did suffer some bad bruises, but he assured fans via Twitter that he was OK. “Nothing broken” he tweeted, later adding, “[The doctors] said I was a very brave boy.”
Paisley was performing in Charleston to promote his album American Saturday Night. His next scheduled appearance is Thursday in Houston.
Jamaica plans to open a music museum next year that officials say will feature rare pieces from the island’s music history, such as the sole album that the late reggae star Bob Marley produced before he gained international fame.
Artifacts will include a cassette tape in which another reggae great, Peter Tosh, jams a blues song with Mick Jagger and Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones, museum curator Herbie Miller said Sunday.
The tape was recorded in June 1977 in New York City, said Miller, who was Tosh’s former manager.
It will be placed alongside the album “Escape from Babylon” by American singer Martha Velez that Marley produced in 1976.
The museum is requesting donations to help preserve Jamaica’s vibrant music history. The island’s music preservation took a major hit two years ago when officials discovered that a massive collection of 1970s music, including original recordings by Marley and Tosh, disappeared from the archives of the former Jamaica Broadcasting Corp.
The collection has not been found.
Miller said a date has not been set for the opening of the Jamaica Music Museum in Kingston. It will be operated by the government through the Institute of Jamaica, which oversees cultural affairs.
Opera’s Rising Stars Perform in Murfreesboro at 15th Annual Orpheus Vocal Competition
Sixty young singers from 22 states will compete March 5-7 on the campus of Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tenn. at The Middle Tennessee Choral Society’s 15th Annual Orpheus Vocal Competition. With $17,700 in cash awards at stake, The Orpheus has become one of the country’s preeminent opera competitions for students and young professionals. Previous Orpheus Competition winners are now performing in major Opera companies across the globe, including two at opera’s pinnacle, The Met.
(PRWEB) March 5, 2010 — More than 1,000 young classical and opera singers can trace their roots back to Murfreesboro, Tenn. and the Orpheus Vocal Competition (http://www.orpheusvocal.com/).
The Middle Tennessee Choral Society (http://frank.mtsu.edu/~music/choralsociety.html)is celebrating the Orpheus Vocal Competition’s 15th anniversary this March. With $17,700 in cash awards at stake, The Orpheus has become one of the country’s preeminent opera competitions for students and young professionals.
The Competition will take place March 5-7 at Hinton Music Hall on the MTSU campus with ‘the Finals’ recital beginning at 3 p.m. on Sunday, March 7. Tickets for the public performance are available at the door and are just $10 with discounts for students and seniors.
Dr. Raphael Bundage, Director of Choral Activities and Opera at MTSU and artistic director for the Orpheus Competition, said, “Every year our applicant pool becomes more and more talented. We couldn’t allow every applicant into the competition, but this year they were all deserving of the chance to perform.”
“After reviewing more than 140 applicants, we carefully narrowed the field of competitors to just over seventy contestants representing 22 states.”
“The talent of these young artists is amazing,” says Kay Garrison, Orpheus Competition organizer. “In fact, many of our winners have gone on to perform with major opera companies all over the world. One is currently performing with the Metropolitan Opera (http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/) and one has been studying and performing across Europe.”
Competitors perform selections that exhibit their vocal talents before a panel of three internationally-respected judges. The rewards are a share of $17,700 in prize money and a launching pad for careers in the performing arts.
Competitors are classified within two categories. The Young Artist category features young professional vocalists between the ages of 25 and 30, while the Student category gives the stage to vocal students between the ages of 19 and 24. Each singer performs pieces for the judges they feel most fully express their talents. Only 16 singers will be asked to return on Sunday for the final recital concert.
The prize purse for the 2010 competition sets a record at $17,700. The Grand Prize for the Young Artists category is $5,000 and the top prize for the Student category is $2,500. In all, sixteen cash awards will be given out to Sunday’s performers.
Dr. Bundage explains that this competition has the largest cash awards of any competition in the U.S.
The panel of judges consists of DeeAnn Gorham, professor of voice and opera at Texas A&M University at Commerce; Benton Hess, professor of voice and music director for the Eastman opera at the renowned Eastman School of Music in New York; and John Kramar, professor of voice at the University of East Carolina and assistant director at Opera Chatauqua.
Dr. Bundage says, “The judges are well-respected in the opera and classical vocal performance circles in the United States and abroad. Almost all of our competitors know the judges as legends in this industry and many of them are excited to perform for them.”
Friends, fans and competitors in the Orpheus Competition can visit the Facebook page.
Beginning in 1996, the Middle Tennessee Choral Society has sponsored the annual Orpheus Vocal Competition to provide financial support and encouragement to singers age 19 to 30 from around the United States who are pursuing careers as vocal artists. Orpheus is the only competition of its kind in the south central United States. More information can be found on the Orpheus web site at http://www.orpheusvocal.com
About the Middle Tennessee Choral Society:
The Middle Tennessee Choral (http://frank.mtsu.edu/~music/choralsociety.html) Society was organized in 1969 to present choral music of the highest caliber. Shortly after the group became a chartered, non-profit organization in 1984, under the director Dr. Raphael Bundage and general manager Kay Garrison, its purpose was broadened to include education. School groups from elementary through high school have periodically performed with the Choral Society since then to gain additional musical understanding in settings they otherwise might not experience. The Choral Society has brought many fine performers to the Murfreesboro stage, including James Earl Jones for Copland’s “Lincoln Portrait” and international soprano Christine Brewer for Beethoven’s “Missa Solemnis.”
The Society has traveled throughout the U.S. and Europe and enjoyed two invitations to Carnegie Hall. European tours with members of the MTSU Chamber Choir included concerts in Austria, England, France, Italy, and Scandinavia. Another visit to Austria is in the offing this season.
Performer and Organizer Interviews available
J. Brooks Christol 615-796-6584 media (at) christolbranden (dot) com
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