MOG, a blogging platform and content aggregator for music-oriented blogs, is launching the MOG Music Network, a vertical ad network that targets music-oriented sites and blogs. The company has also added legendary producer Rick Rubin to its board.
But put simply, MOG is in a heated game. The internet is littered with social music sites. iLike, imeem and Last.fm are already quite popular, so getting and maintaining attention amidst the horde is no simple task. Like these sites, MOG offers social networking and music recommendations, but differentiates itself with its focus on written content. It has a manually curated homepage that features news and opinion from the thousands of bloggers (called Moggers) who use MOG to write about and share music. As it launches its ad network, MOG is also opening its homepage to outside bloggers, starting with around 30 it hand-selected.
MOG has snuggled up tight with the big record labels by taking a $2.8 million investment from Universal Music and Sony BMG and adding Rubin to its board. While it's not clear that either Universal and Sony BMG have developed much of a clue about the state of digital music, Rubin, himself (pictured above), is no slouch.
The company is based in Berkeley, California.