What happened to Myspace, the music network that ‘unveiled’ artists like Adele, Arctic Monkeys and Kid Cudi?

In the early 21st century, many people discovered new bands and songs that were not played on the radio. myspace. The platform was born in a time when Facebook and Orkut did not exist. Most visited website in the United StatesIt surpasses Google.

The site was created by colleagues Tom Anderson and Chris DeWolfe in 2003. We were inspired by Friendster, one of the first social networks and in some cases it was slow due to the large number of accesses. The duo wanted to offer an alternative to the famous platform.

Observing users during the new network’s first year, Anderson and DeWolfe found that music fans and artists were among the most active. In light of this, they decided Prioritize music contentIt attracts the attention of groups who are at the beginning of their careers and looking for a place to promote their work.

Adele, Lily Allen, Arctic Monkeys, Colbie Caillat, Panik! Kid Cudi and Soulja Boy at The Disco are some of them Artists and bands using Myspace to reach a wider audience. In addition to facilitating interaction with fans, the platform also allowed creating profiles with biographies, photos, and sharing songs for free.

What was Myspace different?

Besides discovering new artists and free music, the site operated like a traditional social network. Customizable profiles with background, graphics and music. Users could add friends (there was a so-called “top 8” ranking to classify those closest to them) and join groups and discussions.

The space was also used for sharing texts, artworks and other creative works. to a wider audience. As the network grew, new features were added: Myspace TVto promote music videos and compete with YouTube.

These and other features attracted more and more people, bringing Myspace to many countries, including Brazil. The site became the world’s largest social network between 2005 and 2008It influenced popular culture, music and technology, reaching its peak with more than 320 thousand new users per day and more than 100 million people accessing the platform.

Popular accounts

Myspace had profiles that gained significant prominence and became figures of great popularity. The first of these belonged to co-founder Tom Anderson. automatically added as the first friend of every new account createdLeading “Myspace Tom” to gain millions of followers.

One of the first singers to achieve fame in space. Lilly Allen In its early years, the site had a highly sought-after profile and attracted mostly teenagers and teenagers. Another celebrity who used the platform extensively to promote herself was a model and actress. Tila TequilaHis account was one of the most popular accounts on the page.

Makeup artist, singer and songwriter Jeffree Star He has also gained fame among the platform’s users by using news to promote his work in music and fashion. The same can be said for the vlogger and comedian cara cunninghamUsing the network’s video resources to promote himself.

Owner changes

As Myspace grew, it attracted the attention of large companies. One of the first negotiation attempts involved the recently launched Facebook. It is unknown whether Mark Zuckerberg tried to buy the music-focused network or whether Anderson and DeWolfe tried to buy the social network in 2005..

If this deal doesn’t work, Myspace sold to News Corporation for $580 million same year. The Rupert Murdoch-led conglomerate ran the company until 2011, when it sold the company for a much lower price of US$35 million. Specific Media, in which Justin Timberlake is a partner.

The singer and actor helped revive the social network during the brand’s decline, but the partnership ended in 2016. sale to Time Inc. Two years later the platform moved to: Meredith CompanyIt is a communication group responsible for magazines such as. People And InStyleAs part of the merger with Time.

Space loss and deletion of old content

Dominated social networks until 2008 Myspace started losing users to Facebook. The network launched by Zuckerberg had a more user-friendly interface and better privacy controls, among other attractions, and outperformed its rivals in 2011.

THE growth on YouTube Along with the lack of innovation, it also affected the music-focused network, according to one of the network’s former executives. The presence of spam and malware on the platform and the constant change of administrators are other factors identified as responsible for Myspace’s decline.

It is also worth highlighting that all content published before 2016 has disappeared, angering users who remain on the platform. The problem was revealed by the company in 2019. blamed a disastrous server migration that led to mass deletion of old files.

It is estimated that More than 50 million pieces of music were lostFrom 14 million artists, including songs by Lily Allen and the band Arctic Monkeys, as well as photos and videos. A small portion of the material was recovered through the Internet Archive, but the damage had already been done.

Does Myspace still exist?

Contrary to what many people think, Myspace is not over. The social network continues to operate with the same email address in 2024, but there are some differences between it and the platform that was successful at the beginning of the 21st century.

The site also hosts music and video content. Not copied during tests performed by TecMundo. The page also publishes news and lifestyle articles, but it apparently hasn’t been updated in a while, as the most recent texts are dated 2022.