[Archive 2011-03-27] MySpace loses over ten million users in one month

Historical archive — originally published 2011-03-27. This report records what was known on that date. It is not current news; subsequent events may have changed the situation. Wikinews closed in May 2026.

Social networking website MySpace lost over ten million users between January and February 2011, according to comScore. In February 2011, the Internet website had less than 63 million users, down from a previous total of approximately 73 million. In the same month, 2.3 million individuals were on the site in the United Kingdom.

In the space of one year, MySpace has also suffered a number of user losses approaching fifty million. Earlier this year, MySpace announced their intentions to eliminate five hundred jobs around the world, which equates to half of its employee total.

MySpace has contributed to the success of British music artists, including Kate Nash, Lily Allen and the Arctic Monkeys. In 2005, News Corporation purchased the social networking site for £330 million (US$529 million, €376 million). Five years ago, the site was proving to be largely popular, according to Newsbeat. Recently, the website has been facing difficult competition from other Internet websites, such as Facebook and YouTube and has now been modified to be more significantly based on the music industry. Newsbeat has reported that the value of MySpace at present may be £50 million (US$80 million, €57 million).

MySpace's Chief Executive Officer Michael Jones has claimed that the website is "no longer a social network anymore" and that it is currently a "social entertainment destination". Zack Whittaker, of business technology news website ZDNet, has commented that he "would be surprised if MySpace survives the year".

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