Last September 15, 2008, Myspace released the names of their corporate sponsors who are willing to participate in what could be considered as one of the biggest breakthroughs in online advertising or Internet marketing.
Huge companies such as Sony Pictures, Toyota, and McDonalds, to name a few, have participated in the newest changes implemented in Myspace music. The social networking website had developed partnerships with various recording labels such as Warner Music, Sony BMG, and Universal Music, wherein Myspace will be able to display ads on their music website, depending on what the user is currently looking for. In turn, the ads will allow users to download some of their favorite music or even players at a very affordable price or even for free.
According to Jeff Berman, the head of Myspace Sales and Marketing, this will be one of their greatest projects besides the launch of Myspace itself, and hopefully, it will change the way users search, use, and experience music.
This is How the System Works –
Perhaps it is quite unbelievable to think that you can actually download these songs for free. However, all these companies are able to come up with a very revolutionary plan. These companies will be sponsoring these free music downloads. For example, Toyota will be sponsoring in Myspace for one whole year, especially in their Toyota Tuesdays. They can also have the capability to recommend types of songs or music to Myspace users. On the other hand, Sony will be launching skins of their upcoming movie to the playlists of every user for one whole week. In return, their ads will have prominent presence all over Myspace pages. And with millions of subscribers, it will mean higher traffic and conversion rates for these companies.
Battling it Out with iTunes
iTunes is perhaps one of the most popular—if not the most popular—music download websites in the World Wide Web. In fact, a lot of newer artists depend on them for the success of their independent or new records. However, the only problem—and perhaps the best advantage of the new Myspace Music service—is that you have to play for every download. Myspace offers a great new way of enjoying music and saving their favorite songs into their playlists without spending too much.
iTunes does not have the kind of advertising revenue Myspace has. These sponsors will also be able to receive a share on the advertising profits, while being able to help the struggling music industry.
Let’s See How This Goes
Perhaps the biggest challenge, and something we need to watch out for, is the effectiveness of the ads on music service websites such as Myspace. We still have to wait for some results from any of the sponsors. Nevertheless, everyone is optimistic.
Myspace is the biggest social networking website to date. It offers a lot of services to its users, including videos and music. It has a lot of members coming from different parts of the world. Recently, it just launched its Spanish-based website.