A music service that doesn’t yet exist and a music service anchored to a fading social network (may) have both hit rough patches this week. Reports indicate that Google Music isn’t succeeding in talks with record companies, while MySpace Music’s CTO has in fact left the organization.
To start with the Google side of things: Peter Kafka wrote earlier today, “Google’s negotiations with the big music labels are ‘broken,’ says a source familiar with the search giant’s thinking: ‘There’s definitely a problem with the Google music conversations.’ Another industry source says Google’s top executives are reconsidering their music plans altogether. ‘They’ve gone backwards . . .'”
That’s less than encouraging for anyone who hoped to see Google start competing with Amazon and iTunes. And at the same time, it’s plausible, given that Google Music rumors date back to at least 2006 and it managed to launch a music service in China in the meantime.
As for what happened at MySpace, Liz Gannes reported, “Myspace Music CTO Dmitry Shapiro, who joined the company less than a year ago, has left to found a new start-up.” And that’s similarly discouraging, since MySpace Music has been one of the few bright spots at MySpace in quite some time.
Of course, this shouldn’t mark the end of the line for either venture. Google can always send in a new negotiator or offer more cash, and MySpace has perhaps gotten used to replacing various execs.
The timing’s just especially unfortunate on Google’s side since the company’s already dealing with a bad reaction to its first quarter earnings report.
