How does MySpace plan to stop the outward flow of traffic to Facebook and Twitter. Apparently,  by connecting with them and an ongoing series of launches rather than a single splashy makeover. And today's announcement might have actually given artists and music marketers a reason to keep their MySpace profiles more up to date.Late on Wednesday, the social networker unveiled MySpace Events, a calendar and ticketing platform that allows artists and fans to create and share events. Each event appears inside the user's MySpace calendar, including any from Facebook thanks to a growing implementation of Facebook Connect; and  they can be shared on their MySpace Stream, Facebook pages, on Twitter, and via tiny url.

Ticketing & Targeted Event Ads

The tools to create concert listings are fairly robust and allow linkage to third party ticketing, which also provides MySpace with another revenue stream. Advertisers who want to promote an event can now also purchase a new special ad format that displays sponsored events directly inside the social calendar. When a user RSVPs "yes", they then also promote the sponsored event to their friends.

Myspace says in the coming months…

“Ultimately our goal is to create a destination that allows users to manage their entire social calendar online through MySpace,” said Marcus Womack, Director of Events and Ticketing for MySpace. “Also, we’re providing artists with advanced tools to help connect with fans and promote their shows while conversely enabling fans to quickly and easily discover, share and purchase tickets to those shows.”