Apparently, pairing up Twitter with music is more difficult than you might think. Twitter Music’s latest loss comes in the form of an announcement: Bob Moczydlowsky, head of music for Twitter in L.A. since September 2013, announced last week via Twitter that he’s leaving the social media giant.
I’m ending my time at Twitter in a few weeks. I’ve loved every day of it, and will miss our great team. What’s next? Stay tuned. ;)
— Bob Moczydlowsky (@bobmoz) February 27, 2015
Moczydlowsky, formerly the SVP of product at TopSpin Media underneath Ian Rogers (now of Beats/Apple), came to the company during Twitter #Music’s short existence to help Twitter’s relationships within the music industry. The demise of Twitter #Music, which let users discover music through tweets, watch videos on YouTube, and buy songs via iTunes (and lasted only a year), was the first major indicator of the difficulties in embedding Twitter into the music biz.
The music head did enjoy some success at Twitter. Last year, he brought music exec Lyor Cohen’s 300 Entertainment, a record label, on board “to mine Twitter for the kinds of signs that music scouts have always sought, like a flicker of excitement about a fledgling band,” according to an New York Times interview.
But, executives at 300 confirmed to Billboard that the Twitter partnership hasn’t yet resulted in any direct artist signings. We haven’t heard much else about Moczydlowsky’s contributions to Twitter.
It’s worth noting, though, that major artists often announce new songs, albums and shows via Twitter. Most recently, Kanye dropped word of his upcoming album’s title and artwork on Twitter.
So Help Me God pic.twitter.com/e3UUsQQEts — KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) March 1, 2015
While the platform is a necessity for artists’ self-promotion and communication with fans — and is used by labels as a measure of an artist’s fanbase — Twitter Music has had difficulty becoming a go-to resource for finding and buying music. Stronger relationships with YouTube, iTunes, Spotify and other music services could help the cause. Although, considering Moczydlowsky’s departure, it’s proving difficult. Further, Twitter has only recently implemented a ‘buy’ button to new feeds. The jury’s still out on how well e-commerce will work on the platform.
As for Bob Moczydlowsky’s future? Considering his background working for Ian Rogers, he very well may be off to join Apple and Beats new venture. We’ll know for sure in a few weeks.
