So, we just created a Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/bandoverboston
But I wrestled with it for a little while. Good idea? Bad idea? Waste of time? Is Myspace still used as a networking tool?
The more cutting-edge online band spaces seem totally customizable and clean, almost transparent platforms. Blank slates. Which make Myspace and Reverbnation look more like rigid advertising spaces. Square.
And with a new emphasis on content, lots of bands seem to be embracing the blog. The “holy grail” that was getting signed by a label isn’t such anymore (it isn’t even the brass monkey these days), and traffic seems to be king – new content, fresh fronts; writing, singles, EPs, videos, show recaps (and more shows!). Myspace and Reverbnation just don’t seem geared towards this. The blog section isn’t neat or visually organized. It even takes longer to access, as if they allocate more bandwidth to streaming music and loading pictures than to accessing blogs and show details. (And don’t even get me started on the Myspace show information uploader… it makes me actually want to play less shows.)
But is there enough of a community there, and have web fronts like Myspace and Reverbnation branded themselves successfully enough as “A place for bands” to keep a monopoly of sorts? Although they’re less customizable and far clunkier, there’s something to be said for their familiarity – people accessing a band’s Myspace know what to expect, generally – they know they’ll find easy, streaming samples, schedules, press bits, bios, and they know more or less where to look for them. They’ve already seen dozens, hundreds, thousands of Myspaces, so it’s an easy click for them to make to see one more.
I think the future lies in customizable blog and webpage fronts with widget players (if not made-from-scratch players). Beyond that, when there’s an easy platform that lets you drag and drop website boxes like “WordPress blog here,” “Bandcamp music store here,” “Myspace schedule here,” “Facebook personal connectors here,” and “Sonicbids EPK here,” the diplomats behind it will be kings. And things seem to be moving that way. Traffic-as-revenue seems to keep one website from controlling all these pieces, but time will tell – startups are already providing a one-stop place to upload music and information, and having all the strings pulled in the background to get that information up on all these different fronts for you.
But, for now, it’s just so damn easy to create a Myspace, upload some music, and let the platform take care of the nitty gritty. In ten minutes you can have an easy front for your music. And what’s more is that people already know how to use it and feel comfortable visiting it.
So is it mandatory to have a Myspace if you want a future in digital music? What’s the next space? Frankly, I haven’t done that much research into Facebook’s band pages, mostly because, again, they don’t seem to offer the customization options I’d prefer. But is Facebook the next face of digital music profiles or just their attempt to cash in on them?
Feel free to comment with your opinions. While the technology behind www.bandoverboston.com is being strung together, line by line, I’m curious to know exactly which is the best way to face as a musician or, in this case, showcase of local music.
