Yahoo! Music heads Dave Goldberg and Bob Roback, who came to Yahoo! when their seven year old startup Launch was acquired in 2001, have resigned from the company. ValleyWag had it first. We’re hearing rumors that Launch may now be up for sale.
Yahoo! Music has seen good traffic but download sales are believed to be disappointing. Shedding the property could fit well with a larger strategy to solve “the peanut butter” problem.
As GM of Yahoo! Music, David Goldberg has been one of the leading critics of DRM in music. Yahoo! has experimented with a number of DRM free downloads and Goldberg has said that DRM was on its way out industry wide. Goldberg and Yahoo Music VP of Product Development Ian Rogers were Michael Arrington’s most recent guests on TalkCrunch.
The executives’ departure throws into question the future of Yahoo’s DRM strategy but if the company does sell off Launch then the future of Yahoo! Music could be in question. At this point a sale is only rumored but we’ll follow up with details if and when they emerge.
Update: Yahoo! Music called to say that Launch is not for sale.
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Yahoo selling stuff back? Ouch. Didn’t see this coming.
-Zaid
They need to pick something to do well and just do it man. Pipes was nice but nothing that’s going to bring them huge market share. Flickr and delicious are hot (and purchased) properties. Are they giving up on Launch? At least google sticks with stuff, good or bad.
As much as I hate the Yahoo Music program itself, I mean it is probably one of the worst programs I have ever used…. I have been a subscriber for almost two years now and love it. $5/month for all you can eat music downloads, at CD quality, is awesome. (It costs a lot more if you want to xfer to a portable, but I work from home, so it’s no biggie)
You have to get out if the money’s right. http://www.thefamousguy.com
I don’t understand your comment Drew. Should Yahoo focus on things and drop distractions or stay broad and ’stick with stuff’? You seem to be talking about of both sides of your mouth. Also, your comment about Google is just wrong:
http://www.techcrunch.com/2006.....o-answers/
“We’re sorry, but Google Answers has been retired, and is no longer accepting new questions.”
As for Pipes, its clearly an innovative idea, but I don’t think that it was intended as a product in the same vein as a Flickr/Delicious/Launch. Right now its a developer tool.
Marshall - it has been nice to see you back and posting (great posts) like a mad man. Mike is great - but your presence has been missed.
In a perfect TC world - Arrington would continue to write at the pace he has set since you left…and…you would be back full-time. Good stuff.
Thanks Dave. I must respectfully disagree with the statement that in a perfect world I’d work full time for TC
but your support is appreciated.
-=)
if they say it’s not for sale, then it must be for sale.
Sites like yahoo music are crap these days anyway, and DRM won’t last long. Apple is going to try and drop it too! I want the freedom to play any song i want and listen to any song too, thats why I use a little known site called mytuneslive.com
Upload your own mp3 files, share it with others, and listen to other playlists as well.
maybe the Launch founders are leaving Yahoo to join Broadband Instruments… would make sense that the Launch radio offering with it’s customization via ratings fits nicely with what BI is attempting to do.
http://www.wired.com/news/tech.....=rss.index
Always a shame to see guys who get it leave.
yahoo music it’s not about the future… if they want to play in the big league they have to try to incorporate the things that are about the future: user interaction, user generated content and free stuff
Trouble loves Yahoo…
I think these guys leaving, isnt bad. While I must state qualified guys leaving (which these guy’s were!) is never good.
- I think Yahoo!’s problem was too many people to answer to, when developing and too many people who managed those people, they were top heavy.
- The good thing abou this is basically,
1. The overhead of that department for yahoo!, dropped by atleast 10%, undoubtable the replacements are making what those who left did.
2. When you lose (2) upper management guys, you create a more direct path to get to the top with ‘main concerns’ and ‘great ideas’
3. When the ‘old’ leave, New freash ideas and faces come in with a ‘Let me impress you’ attitude.
- I really dont think Yahoo! will, or should sell this. Just make it profitable or increase profitability.
I would like to know what this means for Yahoo! Music’s strategy. I’ve heard Dave Goldberg speak, and I think he has a firm grasp on the industry’s present upheavel and its likely evolution. So far, I think Yahoo’s execution of a strategy have gotten caught in the middle: wanting to embrace technologies relevant to the music industry’s future, but held back by an intransigent industry wanting to play with old rules.
launch was groundbreaking in 2000; in 2007 it’s horribly behind the times. you have to be on a pc running IE in order for the station to simply *play*. yahoo has had it for *6 years* and can’t move it beyond that speed bump? jeez… the whole service has sat on the shelf and rotted since it was sucked in by yahoo… i’d rather listen to pandora or interact with last.fm any day of the week.
We at http://www.gulli.com/ have reportedly talked about the whole yahoo music strategy and I believe they’ll never be #1 in a primary market again. The way they cater only their existing customers (brand-lovers) but are closed towards the other 80sth.% just doesn’t work on todays internet anymore… They better continue copying big G.
Glad to see Yahoo! Launch isn’t up for sale. I think music is a valuable property for Yahoo! and part of their complete solution feel. While they need to simplify, they also need to keep the completeness of their services and in fact increase them.
Bad news s
ERR s