MORE CHANGES AT LISTEN.COM
Ryan put a happy face on the announcement, explaining that the move will allow Reid to focus on the dealmaking that will put the remodeled Listen.com on the music-delivery map.
"We're constrained by a lot of outside issues—label relations, political, legal," Ryan told the Industry Standard. "This gives Rob more time to spend on those outside areas, so I can focus on running the company."
During its transition, Listen.com is scooping up beleaguered netcos—such as net-radio outfit WiredPlanet and streaming-specialist TuneTo—while slashing staff. The company is down to just over 100 employees after pink-slipping 35 two weeks ago in its second wave of cutbacks; 42 staffers (mostly editorial people) were laid off in January.
The acquisitions were made possible by a sizable stack of cash from those heady days when venture capitalists viewed net entities as good investments. Ah, the good ol' days. The company still has $50 million-plus in the bank to lavish on additional acquisitions and looks to become profitable in the second half of 2002.
Meanwhile, the netco is beta testing Listen Seeker, a prototype interface that allows users to scope out downloadable music and info on any artists they select. Listen recently raised eyebrows with Listen Seeker when it was revealed that a part of the interface opened up Napster to find music reviewed or recommended by Listen.com.
Amid all this activity, it remains to be seen whether Reid is part of Listen.com’s future or its past.
