SpiralFrog Hits Snag

From Mediapost, Ad-supported music company SpiralFrog has reportedly hit a rough patch. CEO Robin Kent, former CEO of Universal McCann Worldwide, was forced out late last year, according to CNET News. At least five other execs and three board members left in his wake, CNET reported.

SpiralFrog defines themselves as a new online music destination, offering ad-supported legal downloads of audio and video content licensed from the catalogs of the world’s major and independent record labels. The service is set to launch in the first quarter of 2007.

Last summer, SpiralFrog announced it intended to launch a music service offering free ad-supported downloads. At the time, the plan was to require users to spend about 90 seconds per track, or two minutes per video, navigating through pages that displayed ads next to photos, articles or other content.

Marshall Kirkpatrick reviewed the service when it launched and wasn't very impressed overall. His comments include, "SpiralFrog will offer free downloads wrapped in a still undisclosed form of digital rights management technology. How tired."