Social networking site Myspace has admitted to a massive loss. The company has reportedly lost more than a decade’s worth of music uploaded to the site due to an error that occurred during its latest server migration. According to estimates, the mistake may have resulted in the loss of songs from 14 million artists. The exact number of tracks lost has not yet been confirmed.
The first indications of an issue with the music on Myspace emerged on Reddit, after a number of users began to post that they couldn’t play or download music. A speculation swirled, another Reddit user reportedly uncovered an apology related to the issue in a post from Myspace. The post indicated that any music that had been uploaded to Myspace from its inception to 2015 may no longer be available.
The post from Myspace reportedly read: “As a result of a server migration project, any photos, videos and audio files you uploaded more than three years ago may no longer be available on or from Myspace. We apologize for the inconvenience and suggest that you retain your back up copies.”
The loss of music on the site is just another damaging blow to what was once the most popular social media site and one of the world’s leading music sharing platforms. Founded in 2003, the Los Angeles-based company reached its peak between 2005 and 2008, but has failed to really compete with other leading social media and music-sharing platforms since then. News Corporation, headed by Rupert Murdoch, bought Myspace in 2005 for $580 million. In 2009, the platform had roughly 1,600 employees. That number has since fallen to about 150 staff members. In 2011, News Corp. sold the company to digital ad firm Specific Media for just $35 million, losing $545 million on the deal.
