MySpace: The next hot social network?

Don't call it a comeback, but MySpace's new owners may actually be breathing life into the late, great social network

Don't call it a comeback, but MySpace's new owners may actually be breathing life into the late, great social network.

Specific Media, which bought MySpace from News Corp. in June is expected to announce Monday that it has added one million new members since December. Specific Media CEO Tim Vanderhook says MySpace went from having zero new signups per day to averaging 40,000, according to The New York Times.

MySpace told the Times its newfound growth can be credited to integration with more popular social networks such as Twitter and MySpace, as well as its large music library. Music has always been MySpace's biggest selling point, especially as a hub for independent artists looking to make their music available to a wider audience. The site also has a catalog of popular tunes available for free such as a playlist featuring Sunday's Grammy winners or the greatest hits of Whitney Houston, who died on Saturday.

MySpace TV

MySpace's new owners are also hoping to bump the network's popularity by moving into the living room with MySpace TV, announced in January during CES 2012.

The social network is partnering with Panasonic to put a MySpace TV app onto Viera connected HDTVs offering music video and audio streaming alongside social features such as online chat and virtual viewing parties. Plans for MySpace TV include movies, news, sports, and reality programming. 

Fluke or Trend?

While a million new members is an impressive milestone given that MySpace lost the bulk of its audience to Facebook, the social network is still on a downward trend overall. MySpace lost its position as the second most popular social network in the U.S. in June, according to metrics firm comScore. It has since sunk to fourth place behind Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter with more than 24 million visitors in December.

One of the lowest points for MySpace came in July 2010 when comScore reported the social network lost half its monthly visitors in just one year.

Despite its past struggles, if MySpace can keep adding users, there might be life left yet in what was once the world's most popular social network.