News Corp bought Myspace for $580 million in 2005. In 2011, Specific Media and Justin Timberlake acquired it for about $35 million

News Corp bought Myspace for $580 million in 2005. In 2011, Specific Media and Justin Timberlake acquired it for about $35 million. The dramatic change in Myspace’s value within just six years remains one of the most striking stories in the history of social media and the early internet. At the height of its popularity, Myspace was not simply another website; it was one of the defining online destinations of the mid-2000s, allowing users to build personalized profiles, connect with friends, discover music and shape their digital identities. News Corporation’s decision to purchase the platform reflected the enormous potential that media companies saw in social networking. Yet the eventual sale for a reported $35 million demonstrated how quickly technology markets can change when user habits, competitors and digital business models evolve.

When News Corporation acquired Myspace in 2005, the social network was experiencing extraordinary momentum. The Guardian reported that News Corp paid $580 million for the platform, which had been founded only a few years earlier and was rapidly becoming a major force in online culture. The acquisition was part of Rupert Murdoch’s broader strategy to strengthen the company’s position in digital media at a time when traditional media businesses were increasingly looking toward the internet for future growth.

Myspace appeared to offer something particularly valuable: a huge and growing online audience that could potentially be monetized through advertising, entertainment and media partnerships. The purchase therefore represented not merely an investment in a website but a bet on the future direction of the internet.


For a period, that bet appeared remarkably successful. Myspace continued expanding after the acquisition, and the platform became deeply embedded in popular culture. The Guardian reported that Google signed a $900 million advertising agreement with Myspace in 2006, while by 2007 the network had reached around 300 million registered users and was being valued at as much as $12 billion.

Myspace was particularly influential in music, where artists and emerging performers could use their profiles to communicate directly with fans and promote their work. The platform helped establish the idea that social networking could be both a personal communication tool and a powerful promotional channel for entertainment. Its rise illustrated just how quickly online communities could transform the economics and culture of media.

But the social media landscape was changing rapidly. Facebook, which launched in 2004, developed an increasingly competitive alternative to Myspace and eventually became the dominant force in social networking. The Guardian described Myspace as having been “crushed by Facebook” as the newer platform expanded. The shift was not simply about having more users; it reflected differences in design, user experience, network growth and the way people increasingly interacted online.

As Facebook expanded beyond its original university-focused audience, Myspace faced growing pressure to retain users and remain culturally relevant. The story became an early demonstration of how quickly internet leadership can change. A platform that appears indispensable at one moment can lose its position surprisingly quickly when users discover a competing service that better fits their evolving expectations.

The decline also carried important business consequences for News Corporation. The company had acquired Myspace during a period when social networking appeared to offer enormous commercial potential, but the platform eventually became a financial burden rather than the growth engine investors had anticipated. By 2011, News Corp decided to sell the struggling social network.

Reuters reported that Specific Media agreed to acquire Myspace for approximately $35 million, while News Corp retained a minority stake. The reported purchase price represented only a small fraction of the $580 million that News Corp had paid six years earlier. The sale illustrated the extraordinary volatility of technology valuations, particularly in an industry where audience attention can migrate rapidly from one platform to another.

Specific Media’s acquisition was also notable because musician and actor Justin Timberlake joined the buying group and became involved in the company’s future. Timberlake had an obvious connection to Myspace’s entertainment-oriented identity, and the new ownership group envisioned opportunities to reshape the platform around music, entertainment and digital advertising. Specific Media, an online advertising company, believed its expertise could help create new commercial possibilities for Myspace. However, the deal also came with substantial restructuring.

CBS News reported that Myspace CEO Mike Jones announced plans for significant workforce reductions, while News Corp was expected to retain less than a 5% stake. The transition reflected the reality that the new owners were acquiring a once-famous brand while simultaneously confronting the challenges that had contributed to its decline.

The Myspace story became an important lesson in technology, innovation and digital competition. Its spectacular rise showed that first-mover momentum and enormous user numbers can create extraordinary commercial value, but those advantages do not necessarily guarantee long-term dominance. Social networks depend heavily on user engagement, cultural relevance and continuous adaptation. As online behavior changes, companies must respond to new expectations involving design, communication, mobile access, privacy, content and community.

Myspace’s experience also demonstrated the risks of treating a fast-growing digital platform primarily as an advertising asset. The history of social media since then has repeatedly shown that users can migrate quickly when another service offers a more compelling experience.

More than a decade after the $35 million sale, Myspace remains a fascinating chapter in internet history because its rise and decline happened within a remarkably short period. The gap between News Corp’s $580 million purchase in 2005 and the reported $35 million sale in 2011 captures the extraordinary speed at which digital fortunes can change.

Myspace helped popularize personalized online profiles, artist promotion and social networking at a crucial stage in the development of the web, even as Facebook ultimately became the more influential platform. Its history offers a lasting reminder that in technology, today's market leader can become tomorrow's cautionary tale. For businesses and creators navigating the modern digital economy, the Myspace saga remains relevant: attention is valuable, but keeping that attention requires constant innovation, adaptation and an understanding of what users want next.