Whatever Happened to Myspace? | Beneath the Brand

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Whatever Happened to Myspace?

By: Peter Migut

In perhaps one of the biggest rebranding challenges ever, a new-and-improved Myspace is expected by some to make a comeback. Yes, you read that correctly — Myspace. With a complete reset of the brand, the once-mighty social network aims to reclaim the position it once held as a preeminent hub for music.

Just in case anyone’s completely forgotten about Myspace, here’s a brief history. In its heyday, from 2005 until early 2008, Myspace was the most visited social-networking site in the world. In June 2006, it surpassed Google as the most visited website in the United States. Myspace hit its peak in 2008 with more than 75.9 million unique visitors a month. Then, in April 2008, Facebook overtook Myspace in rankings, and over the next several years, Myspace saw a continuing loss of membership.

Why did Myspace fall so hard so quickly? There are numerous explanations. One is that Myspace failed to innovate in the right areas, while other sites, like Facebook and Twitter, continually launched new features to improve the social-networking experience. Lots of advertising on Myspace, while generating much short-term revenue, made the site slow, hard to use, and less flexible. While Facebook focused on creating a platform that allowed outside developers to build new applications, Myspace built everything in-house, sometimes with insufficient testing. New site features were often buggy.

Myspace also had problems with spam, vandalism, phishing, and malware, further hurting the site’s reputation. Meanwhile, Facebook rolled out new communication tools, which were seen as relatively safe. By February 2011, Myspace saw its sharpest audience declines, as traffic fell 44 percent from a year earlier.

In June 2011, MySpace was sold to Specific Media for $35 million, six years after News Corp. bought it for $580 million. Young investors Tim and Chris Vanderhook decided it was time to give Myspace a second chance and quickly partnered with entertainment mogul Justin Timberlake. With a new focus on music, video, and games, Myspace is no longer trying to compete with Facebook. Retooled and cleaner in terms of content and design, the site promises to be a leading social entertainment destination powered by the passions of fans. As Timberlake described it at a news conference, “There's a need for a place where fans can go to interact with their favorite entertainers, listen to music, watch videos, share and discover cool stuff, and just connect. Myspace has the potential to be that place.”

Having repositioned itself, the site is now growing again, with about 20 million unique visitors a month. But can Myspace really undo the damage done to its brand in the past, and will it find a significant and lasting second wind? That remains to be seen as its new identity carries it into 2013.

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About the Author

A marketing professional based in central New Jersey, Peter Migut writes about branding and creativity in the 21^st century. Visit him online here.

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