When was the last time you checked out your Myspace page? If you’re like a lot of musicians, it’s probably been a few years, ever since Twitter and Facebook became the dominant social networking platforms, with Pinterest coming in a distant, but respectable, third.

But now, Myspace is back and trying to regain relevance. No easy task considering the behemoth those other sites have become. This time around, Myspace is focusing on music, musicians and music fans. It remains to be seen if this newest incarnation will take hold. Myspace has become a throwback joke to the early aughts. Justin Timberlake is one of the backers behind new Myspace, which is ironic, since he was a star in a film about the rise of Facebook. But seemingly everything Timberlake touches turns to gold, so maybe they got it right. Or maybe they should’ve just started over with something fresh and new, and a new name.

Everybody’s old friend Tom, whose visage former Myspace users are intimately familiar with, is no longer around, presumably sitting on piles of money somewhere after selling Myspace for $580 million to Rupert Murdoch in what has to be one of the more money-losing media buys in history. Timberlake and Co. picked it up for a cool, bargain basement price of $35 million.

The new Myspace is absolutely nothing like the old Myspace. It looks better, it loads better and the new pages aren’t nearly as clunky as the old ones. It’s like Pinterest meets Ping — the failed Apple service that tried, unsuccessfully, to cater to music lovers on a social
networking level.

The question remains for indie acts: is Myspace worth going back to? Since it’s a free service, perhaps yes. The larger question is, has Myspace done enough to warrant a mass returning of musicians? An informal poll of indie musicians on Facebook asking for opinions concerning the new Myspace offered the following responses:

–“I tried logging in but my account doesn’t seem to exist anymore. They said I had to create a new one.”

–“People are saying the music and artist pages are making a comeback. I have old bands on there. We are no longer together, so no point in paying for a website. Also, I’m glad we made those pages. Recently, I was contacted because of it, but I’m not even sure of the passwords!”

–“I just tried to update my old account to the new Myspace and it says I am not eligible to have an account. This will just piss off old, dedicated users and they will not take the time to figure out the problem.”

–“It wouldn’t allow me to sign in and add the old individual page to the new Myspace. I couldn’t create or add any account whatsoever no matter which email I used.”

The inability to access an old account or carry over an old Myspace page to the new Myspace is the most common complaint, so far. Former users must now start all over again, it seems.

For those who want to be complete-ists with their online presence, perhaps you should jump through all the new hoops and give new Myspace a try. It couldn’t hurt, because it’s another way to connect with fans. For those who never were on Myspace to begin with, definitely create a new account and let us know what you think. By all accounts, the new, improved Myspace is great for music lovers, but a lot of old users are likely to get frustrated and avoid it, given the feedback we’ve heard. What’s your experience with the new Myspace?