MySpace CEO talks Sundance, celebrity
"The pledges will live on MySpace," DeWolfe said. "The hope is it will inspire everyday users to also make a Presidential Pledge of service and upload it."Moving on to non-celebrity business, I decided to focus on the gray economic clouds--even if we were surrounded by glorious blue skies and snow-packed mountains. DeWolfe maintained his "cautiously optimistic" economic outlook for MySpace, and touted the company's strong revenue growth in the first half of the fiscal year even as the economy was souring.But in the last three months, financial markets have been hit "harder than ever in my life," he said, bracing himself for some "small softening" for the second half of the year.Fox Interactive Media, the News Corp. division that encompasses MySpace, Photobucket, and other digital properties, was declared the top destination for display ads on the Web several months ago. But display ads are expected to be hit harder than other digital advertising, and DeWolfe admitted that presents a challenge for MySpace.Luckily, he said, the company doesn't rely so heavily on the financial and auto sectors.As for the newly launched MySpace Music and its place in the digital music marketplace, DeWolfe doesn't see it as an iTunes competitor and seemed unfazed by Apple's recent DRM-free music announcements. "MySpace Music is much more of a social site," he said, adding that it helps people discover new music through trusted sources and shared communities. "I see iTunes and MySpace as complementary. If anything, we're driving iPod sales."Speaking of competition, DeWolfe doesn't fear Facebook domination, even given its recent spike in users. He sees Facebook more as an "efficient messaging system" and cited recent ComScore data that showed MySpace well above Facebook in terms of numbers of unique users.On the horizon, he says to look for a huge increase in the use of MySpace'smobile platform.And no, even given that I'm here at Sundance, where celebrity gossip abounds, I just couldn't bring myself to ask DeWolfe about rumors of his Paris Hilton romance. Some entertainment reporter I am! Hey, at least I got this money shot of Brinkley (makes up for the bad lighting in theDeWolfe photo). And for those wondering why Brinkley's campaign launched here, the National Milk Mustache "Got milk?" campaign is a festival sponsor.Christie Brinkley, who launched her third "Got Milk" advertising campaign Friday at Sundance, is followed outside the MySpace Cafe by a media entourage (which I join).Michelle Meyers/CNET NewsClick here for more stories from Sundance.
