One year later…

Just over a year ago, I wrote a post panning the proposed business model of announced-in-a-blaze-of-hype SpiralFrog:

Obviously I could be completely wrong, but I don’t think this will fly, ‘cool name’ or not (I think even this goes in the ‘trying just a bit too hard category’.) Everything about it smacks of a bunch of middle aged executives and their backers getting together and – looking through their 20th century prism – completely missing the point of what made things like myspace, youtube and even iTunes successful. I can just see the initial pitch: think the Orange film funding parody ads… If they had sent out their press release on April 1st, there is a 50/50 chance that people would have thought it was a spoof. How long until someone does a YouTube video in the Orange genre above parodying them?

Quite frankly, I had forgotten about them but I saw a headline on my netvibes today that announced they were finally launching. Apparently it hasn’t exactly been smooth sailing over the last 12 months. CNET reported in January:

Few at the digital music company were exactly sure who was in charge following the December 26 firing of SpiralFrog CEO Robin Kent, said former employees. Kent’s ouster created a chasm in the company’s leadership, the former employees said, and soon after, 5 of SpiralFrog’s 10 board directors and 5 company managers exited.

Just four months before, SpiralFrog was a media darling. The company promised it would launch a Web site that provided free music by the end of 2006, covering the cost of those tunes through advertising sales. Media pundits loved the idea. The New York Times dubbed the company an iTunes challenger, despite the fact that the site hadn’t even launched yet. The Guardian, a London newspaper, said Apple “took a knock” with SpiralFrog’s emergence.

Now, former executives and industry insiders describe a company reeling from a management shakeup, a missed launch date and a lukewarm reception by the major music labels to a business that supports free tunes by selling advertisements.

“The situation at SpiralFrog will certainly give ammunition to those who really never believed in the idea of ad-supported music,” said Gartner analyst Mike McGuire.

Well I guess we’ll all finally get to find out, but I’d still be betting against their investors getting any money back on this frog. I guess you could say, I don’t think it’ll be turning into a Prince. Spiral or otherwise.

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