Myspace previews redesigned site: It’s pretty, but will it work?

By Deborah Netburn

Sep. 24, 2012 12 AM PT

&amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;There’s a new Myspace coming, and it looks....pretty.&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;The site that once ruled the social networking space released a preview video Monday showing a newly imagined Myspace that provides an airy environment for artists to connect with their fans.&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;Whether it is enough to save the troubled site remains to be seen.&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;Like Facebook, the new Myspace will let users make connections with friends, and post photos and comments to what looks like a visual combination of Facebook’s timeline and Pinterest. (I think it’s nicer looking than both.)&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;A “Discover” section points the user to new music as well as concert events. Musicians can also use the service to find their most influential fans and send them messages directly.&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;The focus on musicians is no accident. Even after Myspace was eclipsed by Facebook as the most popular social networking site on the Internet, it continued to be popular with recording artists.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;In 2011, a survey of Myspace’s registered users found that 60% said they continued to stay on the site in the hope of getting discovered, &amp;amp;lt;a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffbercovici/2012/07/20/myspace-gets-a-makeover-with-help-from-justin-timberlake/"&amp;amp;gt;according&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt; to Forbes.com.&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;span&amp;amp;gt;"If you think about the Myspace brand, to the average consumer it was negative, but to the artist community it was positive,” Tim Vanderhook, one of Myspace’s new owners, told Forbes. “They need Myspace to succeed."&amp;amp;lt;/span&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;Myspace was founded in 2003 and was bought by &amp;amp;lt;runtime:topic id="ORCRP010796"&amp;amp;gt;News Corp.&amp;amp;lt;/runtime:topic&amp;amp;gt; in 2005 for $580 million. The site enjoyed a three-year reign as the most visited social networking site on the Internet until it was eclipsed by Facebook in 2008. It never found its footing again, and News Corp. sold the company to Tim Vanderhook and his brother, Chris Vanderhook, in 2011 for $35 million.&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;The Vanderhooks enlisted Justin Timberlake as a major investor, and he is featured prominently in the preview video.&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;There is no word yet about when the company will launch the updated site, but it does point viewers to the &amp;amp;lt;a href="https://new.myspace.com/"&amp;amp;gt;website&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt; new.myspace.com, where if you provide your email address the company says it will provide you with an invitation to the new site “very soon."&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;You’ll also find this message:&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;"We’re hard at work building the new Myspace, entirely from scratch. But we’re staying true to our roots in one important way — empowering people to express themselves however they want. So whether you’re a musician, photographer, filmmaker, designer or just a dedicated fan, we’d love for you to be a part of our brand new community."&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;strong&amp;amp;gt;ALSO:&amp;amp;lt;/strong&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;a href="https://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-iphone-5-complaints-flaws-20120924,0,3275593.story"&amp;amp;gt;Top iPhone 5 complaints: Some serious, others just silly&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;a href="https://articles.latimes.com/2012/feb/13/business/la-fi-tn-myspace-1-million-new-users-20120213"&amp;amp;gt;MySpace lives? Site signs up 1 million new users in a month&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;a href="https://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-shippo-neurowear--20120924,0,7474673.story"&amp;amp;gt;Mind-reading tail lets you wag when you’re happy, just like a dog&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;Follow Deborah Netburn on &amp;amp;lt;a href="https://twitter.com/#!/DeborahNetburn"&amp;amp;gt;Twitter&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt; or &amp;amp;lt;a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/109675776633752908527/posts"&amp;amp;gt;Google+&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt;

Business

Deborah Netburn

Deborah Netburn is a features writer at the Los Angeles Times. She joined the paper in 2006 and has covered entertainment, home and garden, national news, technology and most recently, science.