Murdoch’s News Corp. Declares Net Top Priority

"There is no greater priority for the company today than to meaningfully and profitably expand its Internet presence and to properly position ourselves from the explosion in broadband usage that we’re now starting to see,"  News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch told Business Week.

If true, one should not underestimate the power and deep pockets that Murdoch brings to the Net and what it can mean for the music industry.  Music and the loyalty, hipness and profits it can bring is an important part of many Internet growth strategies (think Yahoo, AOL, and MSN). Murdoch appears to be no exception.  He did after all just pay $580 million for MySpace whose popularity is in large part driven by creative music promotion – much of it by Indy artists.

If Murdoch continues his net spending spree (this is the guy who put Fox on the map by outbidding CBS for NFL games) and then ties the on-line acquisitions to his newspaper and broadcast outlets, the possibilities are almost limitless.