Rupert Murdoch's massive News Corp. has added a surprising asset: Intermix Media, the parent company of the ever-growing MySpace.com. The social networking site has only been around for about two years, but has seen its profile grow at an amazing rate as the site has added more and more features and content. MySpace has also become an increasing force in the music industry. Not only have superstar acts like Nine Inch Nails, Audioslave and Black Eyed Peas used the site to stream their new albums ahead of their release, but countless lesser-known and unsigned artists use MySpace as a tool to build their fanbase and get their music heard. Murdoch even acknowledged the music factor in MySpace's growth, according to the New York Times, saying, "It swept past all the other people in this space, in particular by embracing music."

News Corp. purchased Intermix for a total of $580 million. Analyst John Tinker told the Times that the MySpace business model works because "They haven't spent a penny marketing - it's all viral. And they haven't spent a penny on content. It's a good model."