What do Lady Gaga and Justin Timberlake have in common? Well, apart from appearing on SNL together both of these sizzling stars are “social media” investors albeit not in the same company. According to the Huffington Post Lady Gaga has just got herself a 20 percent stake in a tech start up called “The Backplane”. As for Justin Timberlake, a press release issued by Specific Media reported that the singer has an ownership stake in their acquisition of MySpace.
What exactly do these companies do? Well, most of you may already know about the “grandpa” social media outlet/FaceBook predecessor MySpace but allow me to acquaint you on Gaga’s venture. The BackPlane (apparently no one has yet advised Gaga that “removing the “the” will make it sound more cleaner) will definitely be among the new breed of social media outlets which will take “celebrity fan” interaction to galactic levels. How exactly? Beats me, but the cherry on top of the start-up cake is; former Google CEO Eric Schmidt’s firm tomorrow ventures is seeding the company as well. Officially speaking, though, The BackPlane is not Gaga’s venture, but rather her manager Troy Carter’s. Lady Gaga is just an investor, and an informal consultant. .
Many people are doubting the sudden leap made by Gaga and Timberlake, I for one think that both of them will pull it off considerably well. Given that MySpace wasn’t exactly bought in the best of times but Justin Timberlake does have prior experience as an entrepreneur as he co-founded William Rast (a denim brand), Tennman Records and the award-winning Mirimichi Golf course. Plus, there is nothing a few slick dance moves can’t fix anyway.
Lady Gaga is undermined due to her notorious bankruptcy claim at the start of her Monster’s Ball Tour, but it is lesser known that she recovered the $3 million debt and made an extra $223 million when her tour ended. Plus, if even one half of her twitter followers join her website I think Backplane will take off (pun intended) to success. It is a good thing, she herself is a member on popular social media sites, it will no doubt help her to “suck” the traffic off her competitors.
I must also mention here that I smell a potential law suit in the making as there is another company named “BackPlane”, registered to a Matthew Dillon (not the movie star). If it so happens, that there really is a media debacle over this issue I want it to be known that I spotted it first! Also, The Backplane is hiring mobile and Web developers, so if you think you have got that potential (and a linked-in account) feel free to apply
MySpace and The Backplane both fuse music, celebrity and technology which may indirectly mean that Timberlake and Lady Gaga will be competitors once The BackPlane launches. As for the fusion of celebrity and technology it is a well accepted premise that birds chirp, and celebrities tweet but will the Gaga and Timberlake entourage be able to change this phenomenon before we can say ’40 characters or less’? Only time will tell.