That's what Rupert Murdoch has paid for him, buying his Intermix Media and its prime asset, MySpace.

UPDATE: Techdirt is pointing out that Intermix, the parent company, is also a notorious producer of adware and spyware.

Fox has never had an Internet strategy. This was partly because Murdoch wouldn't pay top dollar for Internet assets. But it was also because he has kept his Internet operations on a short leash.

By spending big to get MySpace, which has taken over the business of social networking around music in the last year, Murdoch is changing his tune.

But it doesn't matter unless DeWolfe, who launched MySpace just two years ago with Tom Anderson, has a second strategic act in him.

There is a continuing myth out there that Internet leads can't be overtaken. They can be. MySpace, which itself emerged from a pack that included outfits like Friendster and Ryze, thanks to its unique strategic direction, is going to be under enormous pressure under the next few months, mainly because of Murdoch's ownership.

Music lovers, especially those who follow independent acts, are very leery of potential control from "big media," and Murdoch is just that. Bands, and their fans, are going to be lured away by things like other music companies creating "me-too" sites, sometimes underneath their existing sites, by their attempts to force groups to support those sites, and by the bands themselves wondering where they should go.

MySpace may survive that.

But Murdoch is still drastically over-paying unless DeWolfe, and Anderson, can get their arms around the rest of Fox's Internet assets and make something growing and profitable out of them.

Fox has proven incapable of keeping its TV audiences when they go online. The Fox News audience goes elsewhere, the Fox Network audience goes elsewhere, the FoxSports audience goes elsewhere.

If DeWolfe can find a way to keep that from happening, either through killer software, ironclad contracts, or something else, Murdoch has a bargain.

But if Murdoch pushes DeWolfe into overplaying his hand this could get very messy very fast. DeWolfe is rich now. He doesn't need the aggravation Murdoch is likely to bring with him.

And if DeWolfe and Anderson leave, Murdoch is going to find he just bought $580 million in air.