Rupert Murdoch, founder and CEO of News Corporation, took a big loss this year selling the once-hyped social networking site Myspace for a measly $35 million. That may sound like alot of money, but when you paid over half a BILLION dollars for the site six years ago it’s a major hole in your pocketbook.
Becoming the founder in using social media to promote artists, the once popular site has met its demise. Bands like The Devil Wears Prada, Metrostation, Breathe Carolina, and even superstar Taylor Swift can attribute at least some of their success to Myspace. Myspace saw the potential of using their online platform to launch new acts and founded Myspace Records in 2005. Now with the sell of Myspace to Specific Media, the label’s future is now unknown.
The downfall began on April 19,2008 when Facebook overtook Myspace in the Alexa rankings (a rating system used to determine website traffic). Ever since then Facebook has become the definition of success in the social media world. Specific Media now has a HUGE task ahead of them to revamp Myspace’s image and have even brought on the likes of singer/actor Justin Timberlake. Tim Vanerhook, co-founder and CEO of Specific Media told Los Angeles Times reporter Matt Donnelly, “Justin is a tremendously bright guy who is really passionate about the opportunity for artists to build a community with fans.”
Will this new approach work? Only time will tell, but with Mark Zuckerberg taking Facebook public for an estimate $100 billion later this fall, Justin and the team at Specific Media are going to have a LONG way to go.
All we can do is wish them luck!
