MySpace tries to save face with new interactive player

MySpace.com is taking steps to innovate the way its users can interact with music with its new launch of MySpace Music.

This comes after initially failing to expand upon its interactive services after a number of years. MySpace was initially the leader in connecting people to music via the Web by allowing artists to post their music to a public profile, viewed by anyone who had Internet access.

But after establishing a loyal audience of millions and an “indie” reputation MySpace forgot to move forward. Other online services like Pandora, Imeem or Last.fm developed personal playlists that evolved based on the users likes and dislikes or allowed users to share music with their peers.

The revamp to the MySpace Music section is a step up, yet somewhat conservative and simple. The user will find an updated music player that was definitely past due. The new player is more aesthetically pleasing and also introduces new features. They followed online music gurus Pandora and Last.fm and will now allow its users to create and share customizable playlists. MySpace will also now be linked to Amazon.com for its users to purchase full-length albums or individual mp3s, veering away from its Snocap mp3 downloading program.

There is still some concern regarding the structure of the creation and sharing of playlists among MySpace users. MySpace limits the number of songs in a playlist to 100, and restricts listening to music outside of the playlist solely to the artist’s MySpace profile. This differs from online music source Imeem, where the user is allowed to choose an infinite amount of songs for their playlist and the widget can be downloaded to your desktop. But even though there are some doubts regarding the new renovation, it seems the change to MySpace was beneficial.

“The new approach is answering the consumer demand for change, and it’s about time,” said Rudy Chaney, partner of Garden Grove Rock Music Label Red Pecker Records. “When I first saw Snocap, (MySpace’s former downloading platform) I was like what is this? Amazon is a recognizable brand which should have some impact.”

MySpace’s original plan to solely use the Snocap downloading platform was a large gamble with an unknown brand that contributed to the negative impact on digital music sales. Most MySpace Music artists were not registered with the Snocap platform, leaving MySpace users a very selected number of artists with the ability to digitally purchase music. MySpace will see in the coming months after this renovation and the demise of Snocap, whether switching to Amazon is the right choice.

One of the real questions that remains is whether the this renovation will be able to help close the gap between the music industry’s “glory days” of primarily selling Compact Discs, and the digital sales that have not come close to making up the shortfall. All four major music labels — Sony BMG, Universal Music, Warner Music and EMI — together own a 40 percent stake in MySpace Music. With MySpace’s 120 million worldwide users, the hope is to obtain an increase in advertising and online music sales.

MySpace is also pressuring artists to place all of their recorded material within the new music player, so it’s users can play any song from any album instead of the limited sample of four to eight songs normally featured on a MySpace profile. MySpace hopes to have an iTunes-like repertoire with as many songs by as many artists as possible.

“Having all the music compared to a few songs is good all around for the artist and MySpace user,” Chaney said. “As a drummer in a local band, we wouldn’t have to choose which songs we like best, we can choose it all.”

The newly renovated MySpace still has work to do to keep up with competitors or to set new trends in online music, but its future looks promising.

 Last spring, MySpace co-founder Chris DeWolfe described the future of MySpace Music allowing its users to purchase concert tickets or merchandise. This feature is still not yet available, but it is definitely a sign of the innovations to come.