Myspace, the social network that launched in 2003, may have lost 12 years of irreplaceable media content according to a recent email from the company posted on a Reddit thread:
As a result of a server migration project, any photos, videos, and audio files you uploaded more than three years ago may no longer be available on or from MySpace. We apologize for the inconvenience.
Myspace, which has not responded to a request for comment, was once the most visited site in the U.S. and a one-stop for online socializing, dramatically impacting the ways people interacted with each other, identified themselves and categorized personal interests.
Catalyzing an unprecedented digital word-of-mouth phenomenon, Myspace leveraged a unique set of action-oriented features to organize people. Features like “Groups” allowed users to communicate with each other by shared interest and geographic location, while other platform features further gave agency to communities––taking stock of opinions and current moods via “Polls” and adopting newsletter-esque modes of mass communication through “Bulletins.”
In 2005, Myspace was purchased by News Corp for $580 million just two years after it was founded and six years later sold to Specific Media for a fraction of its original sale price at $35 million. The platform was amongst the first in digital community building, making it possible for users to discover and support other users in new ways.
The ability to target new audiences quickly gave rise to the social network’s popularity in music, launching the careers of bands like Arctic Monkeys and Grammy-nominated Little Dragon––a Swedish electronic soul group crossing traditional mainstream genre boundaries that suddenly found new ways of cultivating an audience.
“I worked at Myspace when we were first building music pages,” says Nate Auerbach, Partner at Versus Creative and former Myspace employee. “We knew that it was the music that lived in between or outside of genres that would ignite global communities of niche kids who depended on Myspace to find others like them.”
Solo artists also leveraged Myspace to develop themselves and showcase their music. “Miguel had a local buzz as a live performer in L.A. and after he was featured on Blu & Exile’s Below The Heavens album,” recalls Tunji Balogun, EVP of A&R at RCA . “But the only place you could go to hear his solo music was his Myspace page. I remember hearing early versions of ‘Quickie’ and ‘Vixen’ on his page and thinking “damn, this dude is going to be f***ing massive one day.”
As music became a focal point of Myspace, the platform launched Myspace Records in 2005 as a joint venture with Interscope Records. Notable projects included Pennywise’s Reason To Believe album and bringing visibility to newcomers Carly Rae Jepsen and Christina Milian.
Myspace’s music player was a seamless listening experience for users creating a new path to discovery. Diddy signed Janelle Monae to his Bad Boy label after first hearing her on Myspace and artists Soulja Boy and Skrillex built initial community bases on the platform.
The development of niche targeting opened up opportunities for bands and artists to convert online fans to offline ticket buyers––creating substantial touring businesses.
“Myspace definitely played an integral part to help launch Wiz Khalifa and his music into the live touring space,” says WME partner and music agent James Rubin. “At the time, [WME agent] Peter Schwartz and myself found him on that platform and the music, mixtapes and followers were what was helping connect him directly to his fanbase.”
As a foundational part of the social networking boom of the 2000s, Myspace normalized content sharing to build real community and connect more deeply through niche interests. "It was stripped down and wasn't about how many followers you had, Myspace was authentic," says Ben “Lambo” Lambert, Manager of rapper Freddie Gibbs. “Back then, the relationship building sequence was Myspace to AOL Instant Messenger to a real friendship."
Taking on new forms of social culture, Myspace primed user habits making way for platforms like Facebook (2004), music streaming site Soundcloud (2007) and eventually Spotify (2008).
While 12 years of transactional internet history may have been erased due to Myspace’s server migration malfunction, the communities built, deep connections made between fans and artists and careers launched on the platform may hold more value in the longer term.
"Without Myspace, the rise of many artists wouldn't have happened at such a significant speed,” notes Rubin.
