MUSIC industry veteran Ronnie Gurr - who last year signed theStereophonics to Richard Branson's V2 label - has agreed to becomechief content officer for Memory Corporation's soon-to-be-launchednetwork of dig-Music websites.
The news emerged yesterday after Edinburgh-based Memory, soon tobe rechristened dig plc, announced a link-up with Microsoft and SAP,Europe's biggest maker of business software. The two industry giantswill provide the digital infrastructure, or "back office functions",that will allow dig-Music to operate effectively as an e-commerceventure.
Shares in Memory, which are quoted in dollars on Brussels-basedEasdaq, responded strongly to the news of Microsoft and SAP'sinvolvement. The stock surged nearly 30% to close $5.625 higher at$25.
While everything behind the scenes will be overseen by Microsoftand SAP, Gurr will take care of the front end by sourcing newcontent for the whole of the dig-Music network.
The first sites are set to launch in Scotland, Sweden and Hollandwithin the next few months, while 12 should be up and running by theend of the year. The country-specific sites aim to provide musiccatering to local tastes, with access also to genre-specific sitesand the global network.
Having signed the contract with Memory just last week, Gurradmits much remains to be done to get dig-Music up and running. Buthe thoroughly believes in the future of digital music delivered overthe Internet, describing this as the industry's "most exciting timesince punk". "It's a very exciting company to be with," he said.
Gurr has more than 20 years' experience in the music industry,much of which he spent as Branson's right-hand man at Virgin. He wascontracted to the company's V2 label until March 2001, but hasagreed a settlement allowing him to leave early.
The dig-Music network is being rolled out as part of Memory'sstrategy to re-invent itself as an Internet appliance andentertainment company. The websites are a natural fit with Memory'sMP3 suite of products, developed in-house by the company to cater tothe Internet music revolution.
The company has plans for a US Nasdaq listing by the end of thisyear.
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