Backed by Justin Timberlake, Myspace is re-entering the social network arena with a comprehensively redesigned version of the site. With a strong music focus, is this the all-in-one outlet musicians and their fans have been waiting for?
It might be hard to recall it now but there was once a time when Myspace was at the vanguard of online music, providing a democratic platform packed with tools that allowed independent musicians to make themselves seen and heard like never before. However, since the site’s heyday in the mid 2000s its popularity and influence has waned dramatically, long since superseded by a combination of Facebook, SoundCloud, Twitter and YouTube.
Earlier this year A-Trak mourned Myspace’s fall from favour and “the hole that [it] has left specifically in the music community.” And it’s hard to argue with his view that Myspace offered a powerful bundle of music-centric features all in one place – where else can you find artists’ music, pictures and tour dates on a customised page that’s part of a fully integrated social network? Other than Myspace’s currently cumbersome and cluttered incarnation, the answer is: nowhere. Enter Myspace 2.0: “a social network for the creative community to connect to their fans” according to co-owner Tim Vanderhook in the Hollywood Reporter.
Judging from the recently released promotional video, the site is a slick blend of social networking (think Facebook/Instagram/Pinterest hybrid) alongside an arsenal of music-based features (including integrated music players, radio streaming and advanced fan tracking) with a concerted emphasis on music sharing.
Time will tell whether the rebrand is a success, but for all music fans looking for a site built around music and social networking this certainly looks an interesting proposition.