According to Hitwise General Manager Bill Tancer, in 2006, MySpace used to provide over 35% of worldwide traffic to websites in the Entertainment-Multimedia category. Ultimately, its contribution to music and band websites specifically was over 10% in 2007, a reflection of its strength at the time.
New figures now show that MySpace has slipped down some pretty slippery slopes. In just three years that 35% contribution has slipped to just 9.4% (Thanks Mashable). Sure just a % figure and doesn't reflect true traffic numbers (ie the pool of websites available has grown), but the diminshing of this figure together with declinging uniques (down to 1.7 million in Australia this month) still shows that the brand is losing its grip on it's value in the entertainment world.
That said, MySpace has a very exciting launch in September of this year which I think will provide some much needed, and much deserved (hey they were the first) street cred. MySpace Music will provide users with a one-stop shop for streaming music, purchasing concert tickets and merchandise, checking out band information and tour dates and more! This will hopefully reposition MS as the cool brand that for many doesn't exist anymore. It should also help drive more traffic to bands' websites and thus help it climb back to the top of the online entertainment world once again, where it belongs.
yer this will be interesting. there are some great band myspace designs out there, as good and interactive as any website, but the personal user part of the network needs a sleek overhaul. while all that html code may be freedom for kids to create a page with whatever they want, most pages look like crap. garish and painful. probably need to strike a balance between the straightness of facebook (which looks pretty boring and you can't 'pimp' it, and the expression of personality myspace can offer. I only use myspace for music and rarely go to official band website, and i think most young folk are the same, so bands really should be focussing on their myspace page. it;'s pretty clear many are cottoning on.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely right Bones. Bands should be utilising MySpace for their band profile and I dare say there is not one successful band without one.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of the creativity I think the Myspace page design platform works really well for its market of cretive and innovative users. Although in your eyes (and mine) these pages are garish it works as a platform for ones expression which is so important for both those going through transformation into adulhood and those in a creative fields such as music