Justin Timberlake's Hip New Myspace Looks Awfully Familiar

It's been more than a year since Chris and Tim Vanderhook bought the floundering Myspace for $35 million from Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. (remember Murdoch paid $580 million for the site in '05), and we're finally getting a peek at the brothers' investment.

The duo and investor Justin Timberlake debuted the new site on September 24 in Los Angeles delivering a sleek, much-needed makeover to what once was THE go-to social venue. The design falls somewhere in between a marriage of Pinterest mixed with the new USA Today redesign.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the Vanderhooks and Timberlake said one of their main focuses with the Myspace makeover is artist integration.

However, with Twitter, Ricky Gervais' new app, Instagram (the list goes on and on), will big name celebs sign on?

Timberlake thinks so. He told THR he sees it as a chance to truly marry the world of music and social media.

"I see this ... as bridging the gap," says Timberlake. "It’s just bringing the connection that much closer while still making the artist feel comfortable that they can make their art, lock themselves in a room and torture themselves as they do, and still find a way to comfortably connect with their fan base.”

So, is it worth all of the hullabaloo?

Here's the old MySpace from back in the day.


And, the new Myspace. Say hello to a reformatted homepage devoid of clutter. It practically looks like a desktop background.


Going over the "latest" bar will give you the following stream of updates in a scrolling panel. It really reminds us of ...


the Pinterest homepage.


Wait. Let's see that again.


Yep. One let's us scroll up and down, while the other allows us to go side from side.

Granted, that's the only main similarity. The rest of it feels like an elaborate iPad app. Here's where you can share your playlists ...


What we like: Whereas Facebook allows you to share photos of individual events, this allows you to share both photos and songs from any particular occurrence to help re-create the same experience.

... and your photos.


As it has been for the past few years, the platform will continue to be a home primarily to artists.


And, you'll be able to access all of an artists' music. Timberlake is reaching out to musicians he knows to be Beta testers.


Remember the top 8 which highlighted best friends?


Artists will also get the opportunity to promote their top fans and artists, too. Think of it as an artist's "top 8." Is this what it may look like?

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