Myspace is a social networking platform that first came into existence on August 1, 2003. It is known for its global influence, especially in technology[1], pop culture, and the music industry. Myspace was the premier social networking site from 2005 to 2009, particularly popular among teenagers and young adults. Despite its eventual decline in user numbers and acquisition by various companies, Myspace left a significant mark on the digital world. It notably expanded globally, launched innovative features, and became a crucial platform for musicians and bands to share and promote their work. However, Myspace also encountered security[2] issues and data breaches, which led to increased media scrutiny.
Myspace (formerly stylized as MySpace; also myspace and sometimes my␣, with an elongated open box symbol) is a social networking service based in the United States. Launched on August 1, 2003, it was the first social network to reach a global audience and had a significant influence on technology, pop culture and music. It also played a critical role in the early growth of companies like YouTube and created a developer platform that launched the successes of Zynga, RockYou and Photobucket, among others. From 2005 to 2009, Myspace was the largest social networking site in the world.
Type of business | Subsidiary |
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Type of site | Social networking service |
Available in | 14 languages |
Founded | August 1, 2003 |
Headquarters | United States |
Area served | Worldwide |
Owner | Viant Technology LLC |
Founder(s) |
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Key people |
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Employees | 150 |
URL | myspace |
Registration | Required |
Launched | August 1, 2003 |
Current status | Active |
In July 2005, Myspace was acquired by News Corporation for $580 million and, in June 2006, it surpassed Yahoo! and Google to become the most visited website in the United States. It generated $800 million in revenue during the 2008 fiscal year. At its peak in April 2008, Myspace and Facebook reached 115 million monthly visitors, but Myspace narrowly lost to the newly emerging Facebook in terms of global users. In May 2009, Facebook surpassed Myspace in its number of unique U.S. visitors. Since then, the number of Myspace users has declined steadily despite several redesigns. By 2019, the site's monthly visitors had dropped to seven million.
In June 2009, Myspace employed approximately 1,600 employees. In June 2011, Specific Media Group and Justin Timberlake jointly purchased the company for approximately $35 million. On February 11, 2016, it was announced that Myspace and its parent company had been purchased by Time Inc. for $87 million. Time Inc. was in turn purchased by Meredith Corporation on January 31, 2018. On November 4, 2019, Meredith spun off Myspace and its original holding company (Viant Technology Holding Inc.) and sold it to Viant Technology LLC.