Myspace Owners Plan Another Comeback, But The Relaunch Has No Date

The social network that helped popularize customizable profiles, music discovery, and carefully ranked friendships is preparing for another reset.

However, Myspace’s owners still cannot say when users will actually see the proposed comeback.

Brothers Chris and Tim Vanderhook, who acquired Myspace in 2011, said they intend to relaunch the once-dominant social media platform with an experience designed to feel different from today’s algorithm-heavy networks.
 

TL;DR

 

• Myspace owners Chris and Tim Vanderhook plan to relaunch the social media platform.
• Their previous attempt to modernize Myspace as a music-focused brand failed to recreate its original appeal.
• The new platform is expected to move away from algorithm-driven feeds and endless scrolling.
• No potential Myspace relaunch date has been announced.

 

Myspace Owners Confirm Plans To Relaunch The Social Media Platform

Myspace remains accessible, but its owners believe the brand could still support another social media comeback.

“We still own Myspace,” Tim Vanderhook said in director Tommy Avallone’s new “Myspace” documentary, according to People. “We are stewards of the Myspace brand at this point, and we are going to relaunch Myspace.”

The planned return arrives nearly two decades after Myspace began losing its position among the world’s leading social networks. This time, the Vanderhooks want to build something that does not simply imitate the platforms that replaced it.

The brothers said many current social media services have become overly dependent on algorithms and features intended to keep users scrolling indefinitely. Their proposed Myspace revival would instead aim to create an experience that feels distinct within the current social media landscape.
 

 

Myspace’s Previous Revival Failed To Recreate The Original Platform

This will not be the Vanderhooks’ first attempt to bring Myspace back.

After buying the company in 2011, the brothers spent years trying to reposition it as a music-focused platform. They also built what they described as an entirely new version of Myspace, but the project failed to gain traction.

“We really tried to modernize it, but it was a different company at that point. It wasn’t the same Myspace,” Tim said.

The platform had already experienced several leadership changes before the Vanderhooks took control, creating another obstacle for the revival effort.

“By that time, they had been through four other sets of management and CEOs,” Chris said. “We were going to be the fifth ones, and I think that there were a lot of the people who were really just done.”

Despite that unsuccessful attempt, the owners are not treating the brand as finished. Tim said they are waiting for the right opportunity to try again and are prepared to repeat the effort if another version fails.

“We’re just waiting for the right time to do it,” he said. “And if that one doesn’t work, we’ll do it again.”
 

 

Myspace’s Rise And Fall Shows The Scale Of Its Comeback Challenge

Founded in 2003, Myspace became one of the first major social networking websites and was known for customizable profiles, music features, and its Top Friends list.

Between 2005 and 2008, it was considered the world’s most popular social media website. Myspace and Facebook each attracted roughly 115 million visitors per month in 2008, before Facebook moved ahead in global website traffic and surpassed Myspace in unique US visitors in 2009.

Facebook’s continued growth proved difficult to overcome, culminating in a major departure of Myspace users in 2010.

Myspace co-founder Tom Anderson, remembered as every user’s automatic first friend, had already sold the company in 2005. He is not expected to participate in the Vanderhooks’ latest initiative and has not posted on the platform in 13 years.

The platform itself never completely disappeared, but it remains far removed from its peak. With no relaunch date, product details, or rollout plans announced, the proposed comeback currently rests on the Vanderhooks’ determination to make Myspace relevant again without recreating the social networks that left it behind.