MySpace to outsource Australian ad sales and axe half its staff
Rebekah Horne
MySpace boss Mike Jones has confirmed that the company is cutting around half of its global staff and signalled that the site’s Australian operation is likely to be dramatically scaled back with advertising sales and content management outsourced in what may mean just a skeleton operation remaining locally.
Mumbrella also understands that MySpace Australia boss Rebekah Horne is likely to move to the US as part of the shakeup although the company has declined to comment on this.
In a statement issued early this morning Australian time, Jones, CEO of the News Corp-owned company, said:
I guess this was inevitable, but that wouldn’t make it any easier for the Myspace AU team. What a shame – wishing everyone there all the best with whatever happens with their jobs.
MySpace is a casualty of online natural selection, could we be witnessing the first major social media extinction?
Sorry to hear wants happened – take care OZ team, best of luck for the future.
Each of the aspects of social media are rapidly changing and MySpace is really one of the first to clearly define what it wants to be in the future. I think the same is happening for Facebook and Twitter as well.
While we don’t have enough roles for everyone, if anyone is looking for a sales role in the social media space, we are currently looking.
Trish
My question presumes much without really asking anything, god-forsaken whipper-snapper that I am.
Trish is right, MySpace is simply redefining itself. I still use MySpace to suss out under-exposed bands, even sourcing an excellent jingle from an artist who’d never done commercial music before. Its also been a great platform for local fashion at http://www.myspace.com/fashionau
If those two industries weren’t presently embattled, MySpace would be in an enviable position. MySpace may be going through a process of natural selection, but to say its going the way of the dodo is unfairly presumptuous.
very sad, i thought myspace’s repositioning in ‘social entertainment’ was a smart move…but maybe they are just too tarred from the old myspace music brush…3.5m new fans since relaunch sounds like alot, but when you compare what FB puts on in a day, something like 2 million a day…
I wrote a post about my 4 years there, along with my reflections and perspective on the current news.
Hope you find it vaguely interesting 😉
http://www.coloursandlight.com.....of-an-era/
The whole mindset, personnel and management ethos of News Corp is unsuited to running an outfit like MySpace.
Slashing staff worldwide is an advance ? Sure, sure, we believe you. It’s also a sign of how well the latest changes are going too, right ? And a partnership with Fox is a good thing ? Um, yeah, ok. Doesn’t sound so much like an understanding of the market as a directive from New York on leveraging corporate assets.
Can’t wait to see the next big advance.
Their losses suggest the whole place was bloated and over spending. No need to over complicate what this is … It’s a badly run business that has finally had to the reality most media businesses already adhere to.
The comments around being thrilled and delighted to outsource their UK sales to fox on the same day they boned hundreds of people show the incompetence evident In the place.
A now cashed up facebook could potentially buy myspace? Now THAT would interesting!
Facebook may be poaching the talent of myspace and that could be its demise?
Ironic isn’t it? The management responsible for it’s failings keep their jobs but the little guys get the chuck. Good work News, classic nepotism!
MySpace: What, a News Ltd. web operation that’s badly run?
Surely you jest!
Its not “Myspace” anymore its every other person space on one account and its confusing with all the adverts flying about, getting rid of personal things from each and everyone of us….