The Swarm

November 27, 2008

Courtney Holt: Myspace Saviour?...

Todd Roberts

MySpace Music names Courtney Holt as president

“He was the first person that we really found that had the music experience, both from a marketing perspective and from a music programming perspective, the technical knowledge and the relationships with all the major labels as well as independent labels,” said MySpace co-founder Chris DeWolfe, who said 40 candidates were interviewed for the job.

“He’s the only one out there that had all those variables that we could check off.”

DeWolfe said he met Holt in 2005, when he worked for Interscope. Holt was the first label executive to use MySpace’s social network as a launch pad for new singles and albums from such major acts as Black Eyed Peas, Weezer and Audioslave, he said.

“In each case, each of those bands sold more albums than they’d ever sold before,” DeWolfe said. “He was a visionary.”

Despite a career working for a major label and MTV, Holt brings an appreciation for the independent artists who have long used MySpace as a launch pad, DeWolfe said.

Inside image-conscious L.A., Holt even scored fashion points.

“If you look at Courtney, from the clothes that he wears to the glasses that he may wear, he’s got a very eclectic style to him,” DeWolfe said. “A very unique style.”

Courtney Holt interview: Behance Mag

The core of the music business has and always will be creative energy, the inspiration and raw talent of an artist. However, to find, develop, and deliver creative content to audiences around the world, you need a solid business infrastructure. Lately, this infrastructure has started to change dramatically. As Holt describes it, “I have spent most of my career in the non-core side of businesses whose core has been challenged by the platforms and initiatives that were my domain. This has made for some challenging landscapes…it is up to new thinking and ideas to evolve the business and chart new courses.” On the topic of generating new ideas in the music business, Holt goes on to say, “You can easily spend all of your time fighting to maintain current audiences or build for the new. Getting legacy thinking around this is a hard challenge, but good ideas are just that and while you can root a good idea in the past, it needs to be fluid in the current landscape.”

Boston Globe

’‘I have a Rolodex of hundreds and hundreds of narrow-casting, blogging, and niche-community websites that target the audience I’m trying to reach,” says Holt. ’‘I make sure the core people get information early. It’s in its infancy, but peer-to-peer music discovery is going to be invaluable. People used to find out about music from friends at school or in their neighborhood. In an online space, that friend potential increases exponentially. Some of those people are going to turn into the influential music programmers of tomorrow.”


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7 Comments

#1 wheatus says:

"Despite a career working for a major label and MTV, Holt brings an appreciation for the independent artists who have long used MySpace as a launch pad, DeWolfe said."

REALLY? Is that why I'm not permitted to sell the masters I own on Myspace but Sony can sell the songs of mine that THEY own ON MY PAGE without even asking me if I'm cool with the link?!!!!!?!?!?!

This really is some audacious bullshit PR myspace is buying.

Prove it then....let me link to my retail URL'S...I'll cut you in and you can earn too but you have to stop being anti market fascists assholes 1st.

brendan b brown
wheatus

#2 Dennis Hopper says:

Sometimes, I have issues with getting the pubic lice out of my crotch. It helps to have a special comb.

#3 yo Wheatus says:

maybe your first problem was signing a record deal with Sony. i'm not blaming you directly - but in record biz climate of today....labels keep on assuming we're all 'green' and naive, therefore taking advantage of the hard working musicians. it's a DIY world now. screw record labels. that dinosaur industry is dust. who needs myspace anyway.

always remember people: it's ALL about the bottom line for these companies. the music is only the person who greets you at the door. they rely on the Advertising $$$'s. those cigar chomping 'exec's' could care less about the independent community.

#4 wheatus says:

Yo wheatus,

You are correct. It was a big mistake we made in 1999 that we will pay for forever. Not something you need to remind us of. But what does that have to do with myspace being fascist fuckholes in 2008?

This is about them trying to continue their draconian methodology in the digital age. And if you think for one second that inie musicians are safe from major labels just because they didn't sign to them in the 90's!?!?!........ Then you are naive as hell.

I know these "cigar chomping execs" 1st hand. Their insatiable diet is not limited to the masters they own son....they'll steal ANYBODIES intellectual property. Especially some green ass indie band who can't afford a lawyer.

You have to fight for web freedom. You need to know that, because the other side is definitely fighting against it.

brendan b brown
wheatus

#5 wheatus says:

That and "inie" was supposed to be "indie".....or we could just be talking about belly buttons... and Frank Zappa would be proud of us.

#6 elbeam says:

did anybody commenting here actually read the postings? the point is that myspace records has a new president.

you signed with sony - your issue is with them.

myspace records has a lot of problems, mainly signing shit bands and myspace becoming irrelevant... that i look forward to courtney trying to reverse.

happy holidays.

#7 wheatus says:

elbeam,

My issue is NOT with SONY. That has long since past. The only song of the 6 we have on our myspace player, that has an Amazon MP3 sales link, is the one SONY owns. I own all 5 of the others and Myspace will NOT ALLOW ME to link to any of the myriad of retail digital sites that my masters are for sale on. I'd gladly cut them in, but they changed our player without even telling us and have excluded only the masters we own!

What part of that disastrous business plan don't you get? What business model would exclude free agent music, which constitutes the large majority of music streaming on myspace players? I guess they don't want that money?!?!?! Sounds like the stock standard dinosaur major label policy has won the day. Myspace's Utopian press is not in sync with their tyrannical policy.

If Courtney reverses the inevitable death of myspace it will be because he opens up the sales link field to indie music and not just Major Label masters. If he does that I'll eat my words and sell my masters there full on. But it will be a serious about face for a company that has been hell bent on suicide since the acquisition by News Corp in 2006.

I read the entire article. You seem to be lacking a basic grasp of what I am talking about. My issue with SONY was over in 2004. The sole issue at hand is that myspace will not let me sell my masters on my page but they WILL let SONY sell their masters on MY page. WHY? Is Dick Cheney running myspace?

brendan b brown
wheatus


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