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On the back of the Arctic Monkeys, Sandi Thom and Lilly Allen’s phenomenal on-line rise to success there are few who haven’t been turned on to MySpace.com.
Today over 1 million bands and artists use MySpace to announce tour dates, post messages and offer samples of their musical wares to the sites 27 million registered users. So potent is its punch that record companies are loathed to sign any act that hasn’t already proved themselves and their fan base on MySpace, but as the largest social network site in the world it’s much more than just a music forum.
Founded in California in 2003 by Chris DeWolfe, 30, and co-creator and MySpace president Tom Anderson, 31, the site built organically by word of mouth with DeWolfe and Anderson telling friends about it, holding huge MySpace parties and, of course, e-mailing everyone they knew to help make it happen.
MySpace began to make money by selling ad banners strategically placed at the top of every page, taking advantage of the fact that the majority of the users are 17 to 35 years old, the most highly sought-after demographic for advertisers. This helped to keep MySpace ‘free’ to users and to ensure it’s highly personal feel.
With ad rates at a premium and that elusive 17-35 demographic hooked on the site it came as little surprise 18 months into the venture in July 2005 when Rupert Murdoch came looking to buy the company, eventually paying a breathtaking $580m for it.
Although, having bought MySpace, Murdoch was unsure what he was going to do next with the site, which still has Anderson and DeWolfe at the helm, ‘God knows what we’re going to do with MySpace’ he said. ‘We’re just beginning to discover what this thing can do.”
But now that MySpace has moved from the underground to the masses has it lost its ability to pack a social network punch? And with Rupert in charge where does it leave Anderson and DeWolfe, aside from sitting pretty in the Forbes rich list?
We meet Tom Anderson who talks to us about the success of his site. We also talk to his competitors and see whether My Space can hold onto the tag of being the number one social networking site in the world with Facebook and Bebo fast on its heels.
Send us your comments
- What big ideas do you wish you'd thought of?
- Do you use MySpace, Facebook or other social networking sites?
- Have these sites changed the way you use the internet?
- Have you made any new real-life friends through one of these sites
- Has MySpace helped introduce you to any new bands or artists
- Do you think MySpace is good news for the music industry?
Send us your comments now - and we may feature some of your thoughts later in the series.
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