Software: What Are Friends For?

NEED A CONTACT TO SCORE A BIG DEAL? SOCIAL-NETWORKING FIRMS SAY THEIR SOFTWARE CAN FIND A CORPORATE FRIEND

If Antony Brydon had used a social-networking application in 2000 to sell EMusic, he might have made an extra $30 million on the deal. At the time, Universal head Edgar Bronfman Jr. had shown interest in purchasing EMusic, a digital-music distribution company then valued at $60 million, but was distracted by his company's merger with Vivendi. It took Brydon four months of searching to realize he had another entree into Universal: an EMusic board member who knew Universal Music president Doug Morris. Once an introduction was secured, they quickly struck a deal for $24 million. But during the time that Brydon...

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