Since he entered high school, Chris San Andres hadn’t even considered revisiting the Myspace webpage. Myspace, a once large social networking site, had lost credibility when users began signing up for it’s competitor, Facebook. But when Justin Timberlake chose to help Myspace change its focus to music streaming, San Andres considered giving it a second chance.
“When I heard that Justin Timberlake was going to be involved in the new Myspace renovation, I figured I could at least give it a chance,” San Andres, a junior at Southern Methodist University, said.
In October 2012, Timberlake began tweeting links to videos of the new Myspace renovation, claiming to be “The New Myspace.” The revamped site launched right in time with Timberlake’s new single, “Suit and Tie.” Critics and users, however, are still questioning Myspace’s ability for success this late in the game.
“There are a ton of music streaming sites, and the thing about music streaming is that people typically find a site that they are comfortable using and that has all the music they’re interested in, and they stick by it. People tend to be less experimental and more loyal with their music streaming than they are with social media,” Amanda Guida, Facebook and Spotify user, said.
Myspace has undergone its third renovation since it launched in 2003, but the most recent renovation has been the biggest. The decline in Myspace subscribers prompted the first of its renovations in 2009, which caused the site to look similar to Facebook.
Until around 2008, Myspace had become one of the most popular networking sites worldwide. The site offered users the ability to connect from anywhere in the world, while also editing their page layouts and “Top 8” friends on a daily basis. The site had been visited more than Google in the U.S. in 2006 and had intentions to continue growing at a rapid rate.
Then Facebook happened.
Facebook offered the same chance to connect when it launched in 2004, but provided a difference in privacy and appearance. Facebook began to surpass Myspace in site visits, even without offering the ability to customize each individuals page. Facebook had exceeded Myspace in 2013 by hitting 1 billion active users.
“Myspace went too wide and not deep enough in its product development. We went with a lot of products that were shallow and not the best products in the world,” Shawn Gold, former head of marketing and content for Myspace, told media after its first renovation.
After Facebook took the lead in site visits, Myspace began to consider the options to salvage the once profitable networking site. This sparked its second renovation.
“Before Facebook was introduced, everyone was obsessing over Myspace because we hadn’t really seen many sites like it. Then Facebook made its mark, and by the time Myspace finished the renovation, people were comfortable with Facebook. There was no reason to switch again,” San Andres said.
The New Myspace offers a side-to-side scroll bar, a music player, a place for playlists and more. The site allows its users to create their own station based on a genre, and the station will generate a playlist of songs that match what the user is searching for, much like the music site Pandora.
Collaborators of The New Myspace claim that they are aware that Facebook is out of their range of competition, and they believe that Myspace can, instead, contribute to the music world.
“I still haven’t decided how I feel about the New Myspace, but they definitely gave it a better chance for success by changing to music streaming,” San Andres said.
