Myspace could be getting out of its downward spiral, following an announcement by the social network that it has had over a million new sign-ups since launching its music player in December.
“Myspace's US account sign-ups have risen to an average of 40 000 new registrations daily, driven by the user-friendly music player,” said a company statement.
The music player boasts what Myspace calls the “largest online catalogue of free music in the world”, with 42 million songs.
While Myspace was once the most popular social network in the world, valued at $12 billion at its peak in 2007, it failed to innovate at the same level and speed as its competitors, and ended up being sold to advertising agency Specific Media, and Justin Timberlake, for $35 million last year.
At the time, the new owners remained tight-lipped over their plans for the site, but it was widely expected that Myspace would reposition itself as a music and entertainment platform, rather than a social network.
The new Myspace player offers personalised radio modes, a recommendation engine, and notably, integration with Facebook's new Timeline.
As noted by TechCrunch, Myspace appears to be one of the apps benefiting from Facebook's new design and deep integration of social apps. Users can now sign up for the Myspace player via Facebook, and as a result, the service has added 700 000 new users via that channel alone.
Myspace CEO Tim Vanderhook says: “The numbers tell an amazing story of strong momentum and dramatic change for Myspace, and the one million-plus new user accounts we've seen in the last 30 days validates our approach.
“Consumers are getting excited about Myspace again - a testament to a great music product."
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