He played the shrewd Facebook investor in The Social Network but now it seems J Timberlake is doing it for real.
Music artist Justin Timberlake is part of a group set to buy ailing social network MySpace off Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, who is looking to shed the loss maker from its media portfolio.
And Timberlake won’t be taking a backseat in the business either and will be playing “a major role in developing the creative direction and strategy for the company moving forward”, says Specific Media, the company partnering with the pop singer on the purchase.
The US singer played Facebook investor Sean Parker in the hit film The Social Network released last year, which chronicled the birth of the social networking sensation from its early days in a Harvard student dorm.
Parker owns seven per cent of Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook.
The MySpace deal, said to be worth $35m, News Ltd reports suggest, with News Corp retaining less than 5 per cent interest in the venture, which is said to be finalised today.
The pricetag pales into comparison to the hefty $580 million News Corp coughed up for the social network just six years ago.
Established in 2003, MySpace was one of the original social networkers and was popular with bands and artists showcasing musical talents and was credited with launching the career of British songstress Lily Allen.
However, things took a turn for the worse following Facebook’s arrival of the scene in 2004.
MySpace may still retain its niche as a music focused site but with fresh input from Timberlake.
This news comes as Google launched its own answer to Facebook’s ‘like’ function with +1 recommendation tool on its Search engine.
