MySpace ad rates set to triple

Advertising rates on popular social networking site MySpace could increase threefold with the introduction of MySpace Music next year, the firm has announced.

Jeff Bermann, president of sales and marketing at MySpace told New Media Age that the cost per thousand page impression (CPM) - which is currently around £2 - may rise markedly in the year future.

MySpace US needs to raise its CPM rate from $3 (£2.37) to $10 (£5.40) in order to pay its partners Sony BMG, Universal and Warner Music the one cent fee for each time a user listens to a track, according to reports.

US industry figures speculate that the CPM rate increase could even exceed 300 per cent, which is fuelling fears among UK advertisers.

Daryl Bowman, director of sales and marketing at Experian Interactive, which books ads directly with MySpace and through media agencies for Credit Expert told New Media Age: “As a major advertiser we always want advertising as cheap as possible.

“If the media owner can prove to us that it’s worth paying the premium then we’ll create a long-term relationship. We’ll test anything but if it can’t be proved to create uplift then the CPM will have to move to a more realistic level.”