Tag Archives: launch

The Return Of MySpace

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MySpace Will Relaunch Later This Year. Justin Timberlake Is The Creative Director Of The Site Now.

MySpace was one of the hottest assets in the social networking scene until Facebook toppled it in 2008. But even then, MySpace managed to retain a loyal following among musicians that appreciated how easy it was to have their own work hosted online for all to sample. Yet, platforms like Bandcamp and Soundcloud began depriving MySpace of even these. Defeated, MySpace was finally bought by Specific Media in June for a pittance of its former value ($35 million).

And now, after a couple of months of silence Specific Media has announced the relaunch of MySpace. This time around, the focus will be on beating services like Spotify and iTunes. The launch campaign that has been planned will feature a wealth of celebrities and brands acting as promotional partners. Justin Timberlake (who owns a stake in the company) will be the site’s creative director. Timberlake has often expressed his belief that MySpace still has the potential to be the place where “fans can go to interact with their favorite entertainers, listen to music, watch videos, share and discover cool stuff and just connect.”

When it was at its height, MySpace managed to have 70 million unique visitors each month in the United States alone. Even today it gets about 20 million monthly visitors.

Yet, it remains to be seen what impact can the rebranded MySpace have in a scene dominated by services and apps like Spotify, Bandcamp and Turnatble.fm. Even YouTube is a threat to it nowadays – many people who fled MySpace actually went to the popular video sharing service, and opened up their own channels there.

So, what do you think? Is it possible for MySpace to stand in the limelight back again, or has the service basically had its day? Sound off in the “Comments” below, I’d love to know how you feel, and whether you’re giving the “new” MySpace a look when it finally comes around.

Spotify Launches In The US

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At Long Last, Spotify Arrives In The US

Many saw it coming, but it’s not any less impressive because of that: Spotify has officially launched in the US.

Of course, an American launch had been rumored from day one. But that was all it was – only a rumor. A streaming service like Spotify was not something record companies in America would welcome with arms wide open. And they never did, actually. What made yesterday’s launch possible was that Spotify slowly began limiting the access users have to music for free, and also signing agreements with all major American record companies restricting what can be streamed, and at which rate.

Spotify had to acquiesce for the simple reason that (notwithstanding its popularity) the company has been running on a loss almost from the beginning. Only 10 % of its estimated 10 million users are paid subscribers. Launching in the States is the only way to attain long-term sustainability.

The company aims to amass no less than 50 million users in the space of 1 year.

Spotify has a 15 million-strong music library (bigger than Pandora, MOG and Rdio to name three direct competitors), and unlike Pandora and Rdio it enables users to add these locally-stored tracks they own to their online collections.

What do you think? Will that be enough to make the European startup thrive on American soil? Or is it arriving too late for its own good to America? Are you signing up for it?