Second Life Creator Joins EMI

UPDATED:
EMI Music has appointed co-founder of Linden Lab, Cory Ondrejka, SVP Digital Strategy, a new position created to help drive EMI ‘s digital business. Ondrejka led the development of the virtual world, Second Life.  In his new role, Ondrejka is tasked with building a digital strategy for EMI Music, as well as to "drive innovation around new revenue opportunities and build a world-class engineering".  Ondrejka will be based in LA.

On his personal blog Ondrejka shares a decidedly different view of the music industry and hints at his focus at EMI:

"I neither buy nor hear much new music. Since 2000, I’ve only purchased 5 albums. Three by Rush…Why not? I hear lots of new music I like – anything from the first couple seasons of Alias would work – but I never hear new music in the right context to buy it."

FROM THE PRESS RELEASE:

Douglas Merrill, president, digital business, EMI Music said: "Cory shares my passion for driving technology and innovation in the digital music business.  His unique experience building online environments, like Second Life, will be invaluable to EMI Music, as we create new digital communities for fans and artists.  Adding Cory to the leadership team of the company continues to reinforce our commitment to the digital market."

Ondrejka said: "EMI presented me with a rare opportunity to influence the digital music industry, by helping artists reach their fans in more relevant ways and by allowing fans to find and acquire music through new business models.  The technology is available to make the music experience better.  I intend to apply it and to find new ways to drive innovation at EMI Music."

Prior to EMI, Ondrejka was the co-founder of Linden Lab, where he led the development of the virtual world Second Life.  In addition to developing the core code and building the company from 4 to 250 people, Ondrejka drove multiple initiatives that generated enormous value from user participation, creation, and collaboration.  The ecosystems he helped create led directly to the success of Second Life, as well as the ongoing use of Second Life as a platform for music, education, and business. Before Linden Lab, Ondrejka traveled an eclectic path from the US Naval Academy and nuclear power to defense contracting and video game development.

More recently, he has served as a visiting professor at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California where he taught a course on online communities and coordinated the MacArthur-grant driving research for the Public Diplomacy and Network Culture Project.

Cory holds a B.S. in Weapons and Systems Engineering and a B.S. in Computer Science from the United States Naval Academy.