Exclusive: Myspace to Be Sold to Specific Media for $35 Million. Closing another chapter on one of the Internet’s most iconic properties, Myspace has been sold to to Specific Media, an advertising network, for $35 million. Sources close to the situation said the deal is being completed today, although it has not been officially signed. Myspace’s owner, News Corp., will hold on to a very small stake of less than five percent. [UPDATE: It's official; see the press release and memo to Myspace employees from outgoing CEO Mike Jones below.] AllThingsD broke news of Specific’s interest in Myspace yesterday. The price is well below the $100 million that News Corp. had been hoping for, and a chasm away from Myspace’s one-time billion valuation. The deal includes a halving of Myspace’s staff of 400, as well as other cost cuts. News Corp. bought Myspace for $580 million in 2005, and made that back via a lucrative advertising deal with Google when the social networking site was flying high.
According to a report yesterday in The Wall Street Journal: Myspace Acquired, CEO Out: Email From Mike Jones To Employees. Was MySpace Downfall Inevitable? By Lee Brenner June 28, 2011 at 6:02 pm Ahead of the news that MySpace has been sold to Specific Media for $35 million, a fraction of the $580 million that News Corp. paid for the site six years ago, I had a flurry of exchanges with some of my former MySpace colleagues about “what could’ve been.”
There will be plenty of Monday morning quarterbacking on the rise and fall of the once largest social network — nay, “social portal,” as it was re-branded back when Facebook began usurping its glory. One day before the deal, Kara Swisher of “All Things D” (another News Corp. property), said: “The price…[is a] far cry from the $100 million that News Corp. had been aiming for. As part of the deal, sources said the News Corp. unit will be making significant cuts in staff and costs — up to 50 percent or more — all contingent on the purchaser. The staff cuts are, obviously, directly related to the transaction and the winning bidder.” And I’ll offer yet another reason. The New MySpace. The launch of the new MySpace begins today; it marks not only the release of a completely overhauled design, but the start of a fundamental shift in focus for what was once the world's preeminent social network.
MySpace will roll out a completely revamped interface to its users starting today, but the rollout won't be complete until the end of November. And because so much has changed, we can't possibly cover every aspect of the new website and mobile experience in a single article. Everything from the homepage to profiles to the new Topic Pages focus on transforming MySpace from a social network into a "social entertainment destination. " The site is now focused exclusively on the 13 to 35-year-old demographic — Generation Y, in other words. Its new goal is to become "the leading entertainment destination that is socially powered by the passions of fans and curators. " This is in contrast to its old goal of being "a place for friends. " What do you think of the new interface? MySpace Logo Video. An Introduction.
Myspace as Social curation? First look at the New MySpace promises changes in design -- embraces community knowledge and passion. Today MySpace is reborn as a content centric discovery platform. It's a big shift, and it might just work. First, there's a new look. But pretty much everyone agrees that a new coat of paint isn't going to bring the site back from the wilderness. Far more interesting is the wholesale change underlying the editorial thinking of the site. There's one word that sums up the new MySpace says Music Chief Courtney Holt: "Curation. " "When I look at the word curation I think what's interesting to me is that everybody can be a curator.
" As Mike Jones, CEO of MySpace explains: "Myspace is unique in that it is powered by the passions of our users, who program the site by expressing interests, sharing tastes and knowledge around particular topics, and scouting out up-and-coming subcultures. " In the past, MySpace music's editorial process was much like many media companies. Why does it matter? Focus on Gen Y. The onetime king of social networking plans to revamp its Web site beginning on Wednesday, narrowing its focus on entertainment for people 13 to 35 years of age, also known as Generation Y. “Over time, Myspace got very broad and lost focus of what its members were using it for,” Michael Jones, the president of Myspace, a unit of ’s , said in an interview.
Mr. Jones said the more than 120 million Myspace members were primarily using the site to listen to music and share opinions and information about that music, as well as about movies and television shows. The new site will emphasize that content with a simplified service that removes much of the clutter that Myspace was known for, Mr. Jones said. And Mr. Analysts say that burnishing Myspace’s tarnished brand, even with a more narrow focus, will not be easy.
Ad spending on Myspace is expected to decline to $297 million in 2011, from $470 million in 2009, according to estimates from eMarketer , a research firm. Mr. MySpace Slashes 47 Percent Of Staff. Things only seem to be getting worse for MySpace. Amid reports that the troubled social network is for sale by parent company News Corp., MySpace has just announced massive layoffs at the company. According to PaidContent, MySpace has cut 47 percent of its staff or nearly 500 employees. Apparently, CEO Mike Jones said the cuts were necessary to “provide the company with a clear path for sustained growth and profitability.” On a side note, that could be the most-used sentence in press releases announcing massive layoffs. MySpace has been on a steady decline in terms of revenues and mindshare and traffic. The social network is even clinging on to rapidly growing rival Facebook in an effort to stay relevant despite a recent, deep redesign and a new mobile site and apps.
One a more positive note, MySpace recently renewed its search and advertising relationship with Google. Also does anyone think it’s odd that layoffs were announced in the midst of Verizon-iPhone hoopla?