Reports are flooding in showing that Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp company has finally sold the flagging social network Myspace.
News Corp is reported to have sold Myspace to Specific Media for the bargain basement price of just £22 million ($35m US), in a deal which sees News Corp lose a staggering $545 million from their original investment in the site.
Suprisingly, a new major stakeholder in the site will be none other than Sean Parker. Wait, I mean Justin Timberlake. That’s right; the popstar turned actor will be following in the footsteps of the character he played in The Social Network, and investing heavily in a social networking site.
“There’s a need for a place where fans can go to interact with their favourite entertainers, listen to music, watch videos, share and discover cool stuff and just connect. Myspace has the potential to be that place,” said Justin, speaking of his move into the social networking market.
Myspace was bought out by News Corp back in 2005 for a whopping $580 million, and has since struggled to face the dominance of Facebook and Twitter. Share prices have fallen and the user base has shrunk tenfold, leaving News Corp with the tough task of selling off the site for a reasonable price. The site has been up for sale officially since February of this year.
We saw the social networking site lose 50 million users between February 2010 and 2011, then a further 10 million users between January and February of this year. We’re all thinking it; the mass fallout is thanks to Facebook and Twitter.
News Corp will retain a minor 5% share in the site, while the rest is owned by Specific Media, Justin Timberlake and various other investors.
Tim Vanderhook, CEO of Specific Media, believes that their experience and Justin Timberlake’s knowledge of the music market will help boost Myspace back to its original social status.
“We’re thrilled about the opportunity to rebuild and reinvigorate Myspace,” said Vanderhook.
“We look forward to partnering with someone as talented as Justin Timberlake, who will lead the business strategy with his creative ideas and vision for transforming Myspace. This is the next chapter of digital media, and we are excited to have a hand in writing the script”
Will Myspace ever be able to get back to its former glory, or is it too late? Let us know what you think via our Twitter page.
Perhaps the next big Social Network is Google+. You can read about it here.