2011 isn’t starting out so well for MySpace. PaidContent.org reports that the one-time king of social networking has cut almost 500 employees, or 47% of its work staff. In MySpace CEP Mike Jones’ statement regarding the layoffs, he mentioned the following:
“Today’s tough but necessary changes were taken in order to provide the company with a clear path for sustained growth and profitability. These changes were purely driven by issues related to our legacy business, and in no way reflect the performance of the new product. The new organizational structure will enable us to move more nimbly, develop products more quickly, and attain more flexibility on the financial side. We are also committed to rebuilding the company with an entrepreneurial culture and an emphasis on technical innovation.”
You can read the rest of Jones’ statement at PaidContent.org. While Jones claims that more than 3.3 million new users have created profiles since the site’s new layout went global, MySpace still had a rough time last year. Back in May of 2010, it was reported that MySpace was taking a beating by Vevo and YouTube. In fact, MySpace was even entertaining the idea of charging for the use of their music sites (the only thing that has kept them alive for so long). However, that plan never came to fruition. Good for music fans, but apparently bad for the employees who’ve been given a pink slip.
This news still isn’t a good start to MySpace’s ’11. It especially doesn’t help that more artists are now beginning to realize that they can not only stream music on Facebook (the reigning social network king), but they can even get a few “like” clicks out of it. It’s only a matter of time till Facebook becomes a serious threat to MySpace biggest (and, frankly only) strength. Just ask Jay Z and Kanye West.
