When the machine gets rusty, you gotta grease them wheels! In the life of every social networking site’s life cycle, there comes a time when the policymakers have to decide when to make changes, and right now the timing is right for MySpace to tweak and adjust their aging model. Just when you thought it was safe to write off the service as well past its virtual shelf date, MySpace is seemingly back from the dead and ready to party, announcing that it will launch a new music service in September. Speaking to Fortune at its “Brainstorm Tech” conference in July, MySpace CEO Chris DeWolfe divulged upcoming expansion plans to include free music streaming to members and the opportunity to purchase concert tickets, downloads, ringtones, and t-shirts via its site.
It is hoped that this new music hustle will shake up MySpace and will help grow its user base to compete with the fast-growing Facebook (Aren’t you glad we provided links to Facebook and MySpace? You would have never found them otherwise!). Surprisingly, MySpace still has more users than Facebook, but the plucky upstart is accumulating new members at a much faster rate. When DeWolfe was asked about MySpace’s main competition and the new initiatives it is undertaking, he said, “MySpace is more about self-expression and individuality. One of the reasons why we’re investing so heavily in music is that self-expression and music go together so well.” So, MySpace will be known for music while Facebook will continue to be all about prolonging adolescence and about posting pictures that make you look thinner and better looking than you actually are in real life? Okay, got it.
MySpace will not be the only ones looking to the power of music to expand its financial empire; Activision Blizzard, the makers of Guitar Hero, are working on developing an iTunes-type online store for its gaming consumers. The company has apparently surpassed $1 billion in sales of the mega-popular game and have begun working on how to make a music-purchasing enterprise work efficiently. And then there’s Facebook again, who must certainly be looking into providing similar music applications, given its popularity and ease of use. Imagine if you could download music while you reconnect with that unhealthy and previously legally-restricted obsession you had in high school? Man, what a time to be alive!
