Myspace Gets In Sync With Justin Timberlake as Co-Owner
Specific Media, the advertising network that today signed a deal to acquire Myspace, revealed this afternoon that Justin Timberlake is taking an ownership stake in the company as well, and will be playing a major role in developing the future strategy for Myspace.
He and Specific Media plan to unveil their vision for the Myspace at an “exclusive press conference” later this summer. No details were provided in the announcement made today, other than that they plan to make Myspace a “premiere digital destination for original shows, video content and music.”
“There’s a need for a place where fans can go to interact with their favorite entertainers, listen to music, watch videos, share and discover cool stuff and just connect,” said Timberlake in a statement announcing the move. “Myspace has the potential to be that place. Art is inspired by people and vice versa, so there’s a natural social component to entertainment. I’m excited to help revitalize Myspace by using its social media platform to bring artists and fans together in one community.”
So that answers the question as to whether music will remain a significant feature of Myspace under new ownership. While we’re still trying to determine the exact status of the Myspace Music joint venture and the licenses that allow Myspace Music to stream music for free, early indications are that nothing has changed. According to label sources with knowledge of the situation, the Myspace Music joint venture remains intact, with Specific Media simply taking on Myspace’s ownership stake in the division, and all music licensing will remain the same.
“It’s pretty much business as usual,” said one source.
Ironically, Timberlake portrayed early Facebook investor, advisor and president Sean Parker in the movie “The Social Network.” Now, it seems, he’s channeling that role into a real-life effort to reinvigorate the struggling Myspace service, which owes no small amount of its downfall to the rise of Facebook.
Seems like there’s a lot more story left out of Myspace after all.