MySpace Reshuffles Its Music Label

MySpace Records, the indie record label that’s a joint venture between the social network and Interscope Records, is going through some changes. Not to be confused with MySpace’s popular MySpace Music free streaming portal, MySpace Records is a small record label designed to help promising new artists get early exposure. Earlier this evening, LA-based radio station KROQ reported that MySpace Records may have been disbanded. We’re hearing from multiple sources that that isn’t entirely accurate: A handful of people were let go from the label’s small team, and the label’s GM Jay Scavo has returned to Hollywood Records. But all artists currently signed to MySpace Records will remain on the label, and the partnership with Interscope remains.

That’s sure to be good news for the label’s artists, which include Pennywise and Nico Vega. The label has also previously featured a handful of artists who were eventually promoted to the main Interscope label, including Kate Voegele and Mickey Avalon. However, while the current artists are safe, we’re hearing that the direction of the label and its future structure are still up in the air.

When MySpace Records launched, MySpace planned to leverage its then-recent acquisition by News Corp to turn the label into a jumping off point for hot new bands (former CEO Chris DeWolfe was quoted as saying they’d get the bands into Fox movies and TV shows). Obviously it hasn’t performed as well as everyone hoped, but MySpace has still managed to help kickstart the careers of quite a few well known bands. Likewise, its MySpace Music site continues to perform well despite MySpace’s slowdown in other areas.