Muze has been in the process of re-inventing itself, from an information provider to a major player in the digital entertainment space. Their acquisition of a digital media platform from Loudeye back in April of '06 was the first volley, and since then, they've launched an ambitious initiative to create an industry-wide, standards-based digital media exchange - a digital management and distribution platform - to function as an intermediary between content owners (labels, studios, etc.), distributors (retailers, ISPs, MSPs, etc.), and consumers.

Their website currently lists something like 17 or 18 open positions, many on the digital side of things. I suspect that the layoffs and management changes you reference were more about getting the right people in the right positions, than being indicative of a company "in distress."

So it's probably not "spunk" you're witnessing, but rather, a carefully orchestrated re-engineering. Me? I think they're gearing up for the long haul.