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Is Justin Timberlake bringing Myspace back?

By KATE STANTON, UPI.com

It's been more than a year since Justin Timberlake became an investor in fallen social media giant Myspace (and two years since he played one in "The Social Network"), and now the former boy-bander has finally tweeted out a preview to Myspace 2.0.

The video overview, which begins "This is Myspace," delves into the mock profile of a David Croft, zooming through an interface that looks like a cross between Pinterest and Spotify -- heavy on the clean graphics and photo display that's ideal for mobile devices.

As Slate's Will Oremus puts it, the clutter-free redesign "makes Facebook look stodgy and dated by comparison." Though it looks pretty, we'll have to see how the service actually performs once it hits beta.

Considering that Myspace's strongest area has always been it's connection to artists and music fans, it's no surprise that the service will boast a heavy emphasis on music. There's a playlist feature called "Mixes" and interactive and in-depth artist profiles. Musicians will also be able to engage with their audience in a new way -- a whole section of artist profiles will be devoted to "top fans."

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In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, Timberlake said he sees the new Myspace as a more comfortable way for artists -- who feel pressured to use social media -- to connect with their fanbase.

With every obstacle comes an opportunity and I see this, as it speaks to somebody like me, as bridging the gap. 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.

“In a single sentence, it’s a social network for the creative community to connect to their fans,” Tim Vanderhook said in the interview.

“We’re going after artists, right after this we’ll be talking to various artists to come on the platform," he added.

So will musicians actually want to use Myspace 2.0?

“I know some artists," Timberlake said.

Though there's no official schedule for Myspace's public launch just yet, potential users can sign up for an invite here.

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