28 October 2008

MySpace and the Netherlands part company

In recent years, many individuals worldwide have become immersed in social networking site. In particular, Facebook, Bebo, LinkedIn and MySpace have enabled people to stay connected with friends, family and colleagues across the globe. But, despite its widespread popularity, MySpace has failed to conquer one European country - the Netherlands.

The News Corp owned site only opened up an Amsterdam-based office in Februrary of this year. However, after nine months in operation, MySpace has announced that this office will now close down. Furthermore, its Dutch operations will now be moved over to its Berlin office. The decision was reported to be related to MySpace's inability to compete with Dutch social networking site Hyves, who are market leaders in Holland.

It was reported in early 2008 that MySpace originally attempted to acquire Hyves, but that this deal fell through. Despite bravely trying to go it alone in the Netherlands, battling against Hyves' dominance has ultimately proved too great an effort, with more than a third of internet users in the country already registered on the site.

In addition, Derek Fehmers, MySpace's Dutch manager, stated that entering the market so late was another major factor as to why MySpace failed to match its competitors. In fact, further attempts to connect with the Dutch also fell short, when MySpace Holland organised parties with local bands to try and increase its popularity. Now, Hyves' main competitors in the Netherlands are Facebook and Netlog.

Despite MySpace failing to capture the Dutch market, it has not given up hope in becoming the market leader in several other countries. It has been reported by MySpace CEO Chris DeWolfe that the site will now redirect its focus towards the nine countries that bring in 95% of their advertising revenue, including the US and the UK, as they attempt to build on their international strategy.

MySpace is also set to continue its efforts to launch MySpace Music, an Apple iTunes-like feature, across Europe. Having recently announced its joint venture with four of the world's largest recording companies, its new music service will see music libraries of the record companies made available to users.

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