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Myspace Launches Partner Program to Produce Music Videos

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September 3, 2013

Myspace hopes to reinforce its reputation as an ally for artists through its new program called “Music Video Collaborations With Artists We Like.” The program will allow Myspace to partner with artists and labels to create original content that will be shared on Myspace and YouTube. The first collaboration will be with an independent record label called Federal Prism that was founded by TV on the Radio member and producer Dave Sitek. Continue reading Myspace Launches Partner Program to Produce Music Videos

Justin Timberlake Unveils New Myspace: Is it Worth the Time?

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September 25, 2012
  • Fifteen months ago, Specific Media purchased MySpace, with Justin Timberlake taking an ownership stake in the flailing social network.
  • Following months of relative quiet — with the only major news being a new Panasonic partnership announced at CES 2012 — the new Myspace (now fashioned with lower case ‘s’) has finally been revealed in a Vimeo post.
  • Timberlake tweeted a link to a video that gives a sneak preview at the new service. Included in the Mashable post, the video makes the new Myspace look “clean and attractive.”
  • It shows a new login using Facebook or Twitter that allows users to bring photos or other information from the other networks. Status updates feature large photos with comments showing up below.
  • “There is a large music component to the service, which includes a way to browse albums, find popular songs and artists and more,” the post explains, noting that it is still uncertain whether Myspace is “building its own music service or if it has partnered with a provider such as Spotify, Rdio or Rhapsody.”
  • “The biggest question I have about the new Myspace is whether or not the brand is worth anything,” writes Christina Warren for Mashable. “I’ve argued in the past that the biggest asset of Myspace is also its biggest liability. What the new owners will have to do — celebrity investor or not — is prove to users why this Myspace is worth a user’s time.”

MySpace Efforts May Have Cost News Corp. More Than Millions

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July 1, 2011
  • ETCentric reported earlier in the week that social networking site MySpace would be sold to Irvine-based advertising firm Specific Media for $35 million in cash and stock.
  • Although News Corp. has claimed that its Google ad deals helped curb MySpace losses over the recent years, others suggest a darker picture.
  • The sale of MySpace for a mere 6 percent of its original $580 million purchase price may be yet another chapter in a disappointing tale, one which started with a failed attempt to build an all-service media empire.
  • Ars Technica suggests that when considering the entire picture, including the operating losses over the years, the MySpace acquisition may have cost News Corp. well over $1 billion (read the article for a breakdown of the math).
  • Specific Media, with Justin Timberlake as a backer, is expected to focus on music for MySpace’s new direction.

Social Networker MySpace to Be Sold to California Ad Agency

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June 30, 2011
  • News Corp. is in the process of selling once-popular social networking site MySpace to Specific Media, an Irvine-based ad network.
  • The cash and stock deal is reportedly valued at $35 million — a mere 6 percent of the $580 million News Corp. paid for the site in 2005 (although News Corp. claims it made back its investment earlier from a Google ad deal).
  • The one-time leading social networking destination, MySpace was decimated by the global popularity of Facebook.
  • Specific Media is expected to return MySpace to its music roots as a location to discover new bands and songs.
  • The sale comes in the same week that Google announces its own new networking service, designed to directly challenge Facebook for dominance in the space.
  • Facebook is presently valued at more than $70 billion.

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