IAM, THEREFORE I’M NOT
The company's fate follows an all-too-familiar trajectory. In March 2000, the netco announced it had raised $35.7 million for "content development" and marketing.
By mid-June, it had laid off a quarter of its staff and lost its CEO.
In July, the company was sued for breach of contract (among other things) by Razorfish, the firm that designed its website, after it refused to pay for the site, which it called "faulty and unusable," according to Inside.com. Razorfish alleged that the refusal to pay was due to IAM's financial straits rather than the quality of its work.
A period of relative silence followed, and some observers placed IAM.com on the online dead pool. "$40 million dollars later, online talent agency IAM.com is officially done," declared fuckedcompany.com with characteristic sensitivity yesterday (1/22).
Even so, sources at the company say they were conducting meetings and doing business as usual when word of the closure came down.
Furthermore, the experience will be remembered fondly by principals like VP Music Joyce Lapinsky. "IAM.com was a unique Internet environment, in that we were extremely proactive and hands-on with our members," Lapinsky declared. "Because of the industry's support and efforts, the involvement of talented artists, and the efforts and mission of our company, we had a tremendously successful experience.
"So many artists and industry people have discovered each other by doing business as human beings, and using our site as a incredible new vehicle to reach out and in. Along the way, I had the most challenging and gratifying professional experience I could have imagined. Being one of the pioneers in the Internet business is something I'm very proud of as well."
Meanwhile, a message on the company site reads: "We want to thank each of you for making IAM.com a reality. Our greatest joy has been to see the magic that is made when a performer is truly seen and heard by the entertainment industry. It has been our passion and our reason to be. While financial circumstances have made it necessary for IAM.com to suspend its services at this time, we wish you all the very best.
"We will be contacting our paying members in the near future to provide information about the refund of any membership fees. To those actors, models, musicians and dancers who were kind enough to jump across the digital divide with us, we thank you," the message concludes. "Hang on to your dreams. It has been our privilege to help you on your way."
