• Reuters, Wednesday, November 26, 2008 11:30 AM

Following a long search and weeks of speculation, MySpace on Tuesday finally confirmed that former MTV exec Courtney Holt would take the reigns of MySpace Music, the new music venture from News Corp. and the four major record labels.

According to Reuters, the new CEO inherits "the delicate balancing act of managing expectations for MySpace executive team and the management teams at Vivendi's Universal Music Group, Sony BMG Music, Warner Music Group and EMI Music." Holt, who was previously EVP of digital music for MTV Networks Music, will assume the new post on January 5.

MySpace formally launched MySpace Music in September, but has been on the lookout for a CEO since the project was announced more than six months ago. The joint music venture offers free ad-supported streaming music, paid downloads, and merchandise. Since its September launch, MySpace Music has been rolling out a series of album and artist previews, hoping to attract millions of users to boost advertising revenues.

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