Justin Timberlake and his partners at MySpace want you to know they never went away. Apparently you did. The new face and part-owner of the first big social media site is on its third life, and this cat may not need all nine feline lives.
The site celebrates its tenth anniversary next year and launched a slick video in advance of re-opening the doors. Filled with dizzying jump-cuts seen over JJAMZ’s Heartbeat, the video has a little something for everyone and leans on its celebrity connections to bring the party back to life. It’s not like the site died, but after its dizzying heyday as the place to be online, MySpace was a pioneer in suffering through issues that would later hound Facebook and other sites such as privacy and piracy. But 100 million people signed up for the service and until a few years ago, routinely visited MySpace instead of Facebook. News Corp, the company behind Fox, The Wall Street Journal and more media properties than fit here, paid $580 million for the company.
But Facebook, Tumblr and other beat up the first kid on the block, sending its traffic tumbling. Unsigned artists and people sick of Facebook games still visited the site, but Myspace had lost the hearts and minds of most social media surfers and re-targeted itself as the cool music hangout. You have one in your town too. They sell import vinyl, have three people who know everything about recorded music and are blaring a Nina Simone mashup over a dance track. And while that may be your local place to find rare stuff or buy items not on the shelves, it’s a labor of love, not big money.
JT and a media company changed that when they bought the bedraggled MySpace last year for $35 million.
Now the race is on to rebirth cool.
Timberlake fired the first volley on Twitter Monday.
[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/jtimberlake/statuses/250309133369237505″]
Timberlake’s celebrity pals immediately endorsed his play, and the only question remaining on everyone’s lips is this: When the doors reopen to Timberlake’s MySpace, will the users who rush to create accounts regularly return? Timberlake has all those Grammys, Emmys and other businesses to occupy him. Hell, he may never record again and still never leave the public eye. Business interests keep him busy, he’s got that acting thing he seems to embrace and even owns a couple of restaurants. At 31, it feels like he has been around all our lives, and it’s crazy sometimes to think *Nsync started its real success more than 14 years ago when he was already a known commodity. (MIC –Justin, Brit-Bit, Gosling and Xtina–KEY) Mouse featured the precocious ones in 1993.
After twenty years in various spotlights, now may be the time for Justin Timberlake to add Internet executive to his resume.
The MySpace teaser video is attached to Timberlake’s tweet. And as a Saturday morning treat, here is a free download of JJamz’s Heartbeat, the song behind the video.
