News is all over the wires that Linden Lab co-founder Cory Ondrejka, who left the company earlier this year, has joined major record label EMI as senior vice president of digital strategy. He'll be working with digital president Douglas Merrill, who joined from Google in April. The moves are clear signs that EMI is looking outside the music industry for executives to try and restore its waning fortunes, but is there a knock-on effect for the virtual worlds industry in Ondrejka's appointment?
It would be too easy to suggest EMI will suddenly pump marketing resources into Second Life simply because its new exec used to work at Linden Lab. But there’s no doubt that Ondrejka’s role will involve plenty of experimentation with new digital and promotional models, as he explains to PaidContent:
“EMI presented me with a rare opportunity to influence the digital music industry, by helping artists reach their fans in more relevant ways and by allowing fans to find and acquire music through new business models. The technology is available to make the music experience better. I intend to apply it and to find new ways to drive innovation… There are a bunch of different experiments out on the web - I’m going to be making sure that we’re able to go with whichever of the strategies is working.”
With virtual worlds predicted to continue their growth, they’re sure to be in Ondrejka’s thoughts - although he’ll be as aware of their limitations when it comes to music promotion and distribution as their strengths. He’ll certainly bring some fresh-thinking to the role, although EMI staffers may bridle at his cheerful admission that he’s only bought five albums since 2000, of which three were by Rush…
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