MySpace has signed up one million new users since it introduced a new music player last December, hinting that the embattled social network may have a future now that it is under new management.
The site has gone from adding zero new users per day to adding 40,000 per day, according to new owners Specific Media.
The site says that a new music player offering 42 million songs has helped its ‘revival’, along with a closer tie-up with successful social networks such as Facebook.
According to MySpace’s chief operating officer, Chris Vanderhook, the site has grown for the first time in years, having attracted one million new users in the last two months. He attributed the majority of the new growth to “integration with Facebook and Twitter”.
The site has now repositioned itself as a music player and socially-driven music discovery engine. It no longer competes with Facebook as a rival social network; instead it now vies with the likes of Spotify.
MySpace, which started as a site on which users could share their interest in pop and rock bands, had in the last five years been totally eclipsed by the explosive growth of competitor Facebook.
User numbers now stand at 25.1 million – compared to at least 800 million for newcomer Facebook.
Until early 2008, MySpace was the most-visited social network in the world, with at least 100 million users worldwide.
Specific Media acquired MySpace from former owner Newscorp in June 2011.Newscorp acquired Myspace at the height of its fame for $580 million, and sold it for $35 million.
Myspace unveiled a new music player which offers free access to 42 million songs in December.
MySpace TV
Last month, MySpace announced a deal with Panasonic for MySpace TV, which will allow social sharing and commenting on music videos and TV shows, the NYT report said.
Vanderhook said this is not to compete with Facebook as a social network, but to be a conduit for music and other forms of entertainment that can be shared through other networks.
