Music Mogul offers virtual world to musicians, fans
LOS ANGELES (Billboard) - Grammy Award-winning songwriter/producer Rodney Jerkins and former Vivendi Games executive Nicholas Longano are teaming up on a technology project that will present a basic virtual world, in the tradition of Second Life, on the Web.
The site, Music Mogul, will feature social-networking functions, online games and "live" performances that users can watch in streaming video. Like other online music destinations such as FameCast, myAWOL and rapper Ludacris' WeMix, Music Mogul will use real-life rewards to help build an online audience. Users will be able to upload videos of themselves performing to compete for a three-song demo deal with Jerkins' Darkchild Productions.
Music Mogul will retain ownership of any user-generated videos uploaded to the site.
A preview of coming features will be posted at musicmogul.com November 24, with a formal launch expected in February.
Jerkins, who has produced such top artists as Beyonce, Mary J. Blige and Britney Spears, will serve as Music Mogul's chief creative officer and music supervisor. The company's CEO will be Longano -- who, before his stint as general manager and executive VP at Vivendi Games, was president of Massive, a videogame advertising network now owned by Microsoft, and Brash, a publisher of movie-based videogames.
Music Mogul will generate revenue through a combination of advertising (Lionsgate Home Entertainment will be the first sponsor), premium subscriptions and the sale of virtual goods and services.
Access to the site and use of its social-networking features will be free, but users will have the option to purchase upgrades to their avatar's clothes and living quarters and attend events that will require paid admission. Music Mogul also plans to offer a monthly subscription that will provide users with access to all fee-based events and avatar accessories.
The company will also invite established musicians to set up their own "celebrity cribs" on the site. Musicians will be able to stage fee-based album release parties and sell real and virtual merchandise, such as albums and avatar accessories, Jerkins says.
"We're creating something where labels can make money and artists can make more money through micro-transactions like fans wanting to wear a particular artist's hat or clothes," he says. "They can click on that item and buy it."
Reuters/Billboard
