Photo by PacificCoastNews.com
After word leaked of its sale yesterday morning, it was later confirmed that MySpace was being sold to advertising network Specific Media for dismal $35 million. Two things popped into many people’s minds upon the announcement, one being “wow, MySpace was sold for that little?!” and the other being “who is Specific Media?” While the advertising network may not be well known, they’ve brought in a pretty big name to help bring MySpace back to its glory days: Justin Timberlake.
The pop star turned actor has been given ownership stake in the social network site and has been named MySpace’s new Creative Director. Timberlake, who gained critical acclaim for his portrayal of Napster co-founder Sean Parker in The Social Network (get the irony?), had the following to say about his new endeavor:
“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. Art is inspired by people and vice versa, so there’s a natural social component to entertainment. I’m excited to help revitalize MySpace by using its social media platform to bring artists and fans together in one community.”
This announcement confirms that MySpace’s new owners are planning to enhance the site’s focus on music, which makes sense since that has pretty much been the only thing people have used the site for these past few years. It’s still going to be an uphill battle for MySpace, though. YouTube and Vevo’s presence in music has been hurting MySpace for the past year, and Facebook are planning their entrance into music as we speak. However, having Timberlake’s star power is certainly a big step up for the struggling social network site.
Timberlake and Specific Media will be holding a press conference to reveal their changes to MySpace later this Summer. We’ll keep you posted when more is revealed.
[via Rolling Stone and Pop Crush]
