Since when did MySpace become a force for good? From the founder's claims of a MySpace sale scandal to MySpace-related pedophilia and a desire to crush the developer ecosystem forming around it - not to mention countless crimes against good web design - it seems that MySpace is getting a bad rap. But they're doing a lot of good things, too. Today they're announcing a series of concerts to be held on October 21st to raise awareness and funds for humanitarian relief in Sudan. With 2.5 million people made homeless due to fighting between the Sudanese government and rebels in Darfur, MySpace wants to use its massive reach with the music community to make a difference.
Concerts will be held in 20 cities, including Philadelphia, Seattle, Sacramento, San Francisco, Atlanta, Washington, D.C and a Canadian event in Toronto. The bands include Alice in Chains, Insane Clown Posse, TV on the Radio and Ziggy Marley, with a cut of the ticket sales going to Oxfam's relief efforts in Sudan. News Corp will leverage its other properties, too: a public service announcement from Samuel L Jackson will appear on TV and in movie theaters before films made by 20th Century Fox.
With MySpace already encouraging users to vote through their Declare Yourself campaign, it looks like they're actually doing some good in the world. Fellow social network Facebook is doing a similar thing with the Facebook Election 2006 promotion. And even if you think it's all an attempt to get good press, it doesn't really matter: any work for social causes has to be a good thing.