myspace...the way forward for bands???

[Matt Till]

The bands you listed are fairly big (well, Indie big). I like Myspace for unknown bands who use it without cheating. The only friends requests my band has sent out were initially to friends and to bands who inspired us so we can put them in our top whatever to be cheesy.

People hear us at shows, remeber the band name, check myspace, friends request... we build a fanbase.

But when a 10,000+ band friend requests and have ads and junk all over their page... it's pointless, nobody listens to those bands, they just add them so EVERYONE can have more friends. Because the most friends on myspace = you win. Cheeezzzeeeyyyyzz.

[tplyons]

I find that it really waters down a band's image if not done properly (and improper means what many bands do: bad formatting, awful backround, 6 things streaming at the same time... basically bad web design because whether you like it or not, it IS a web page afterall) and I think having the guitarist do a myspace and fancy it up without knowing a darn thing about web design really makes the band look unprofessional and cheesy.

Also there's the bands who are myspace only. Says "I want you to listen to me, but I'm too cheap to spend money on a website, so don't respect my band"

Granted it's a great tool if done properly, but there are so many things that water it down.

[Gubna]

yeah, I have a couple myspace pages for my music
and my band Gunpowder has one at
www.myspace.com/gunpowderband

But we also have www.gunpowderband.com

I've even set them up for old bands of mine that are no longer around, but I wanted to put some of the music up, songs I wrote - they can be good if you are looking for a new band - to direct them to mp3s.

http://www.myspace.com/leftoutlamont

and
http://www.myspace.com/randomeye

[daveyfunk]

opivy...surely thats the point of having a band space though. this is where it differs from a website. you can generate a spce fanbase and know exactly who your talking to (like a mailing list), unlike a website where people will visit but cant directly interact with the band. so it makes sense to generate as many 'friends' as you possibly can, its all about networking, its not competition. it would be silly to dismiss myspace through petty jealousy...who cares about what other bands have its a great way to promote YOUR band...like matt says, myspace creates a great advantage to check out unsigned bands without having to search round endless clubs for that half hour of something your gonna like...

we have a mysapce and a website and i personally prefer the myspace. you know exactly who likes you and can can aim at promoting your band to those people

[BuffaloBass]

I agree with Matt ( although I slay satan daily). We set up a myspace page just for exposure, and its on our "gig banner". Too easy for someone who wants info on the band, upcoming shows, etc.

www.myspace.com/paththe

[AJ Brown]

I hate myspace. The concept is great... as someone stated earlier, you can form an opinion of a band in about 2 minutes. However, half of the band pages are unreadable due to the structure of the customization options and background graphics that camoflage the text.

For the love of God people, LIGHT text on a DARK background color and DARK text on a LIGHT background please!!

[iamlowsound]

Myspace popularity is declining. Although it is great for band exposure.

lowsound

[SlavaF]

Personally I'd never get a personal Myspace account, but I can see the benefits it has for bands, especially for networking with other local bands and booking gigs and stuff like that... Besides bands though, I can't see why someone would want to have a myspace account.


http://www.myspace.com/blackauroraband

[basses5]

MySpace works for my band check us out at http://www.myspace.com/olmusky1

[Zappstorius]

Originally Posted by opivy3056

I like the idea of myspace. But I hate "myspace" bands. You know exactly what im talking about.

The ones with 20,000 friends and a sweet layout and hundreds of comments per day and shows out the wazoo.....but their music is completely unoriginal and they're undeserving of the credit they get.

That also sounds like 90% of the bands that I hear on the radio everyday-but I doubt they were all made it by myspace!

The way I look at myspace is this: it's a cool (and free) way for people to hear your music. Post your music, shows, pics, bio etc. All major bands use it as a 2nd site. Sure, it dilutes the market (too much available music out there-most of it crap) and sure there are lots bands who are successful though myspace that wouldn't be otherwise. But how is that any different then the old days, when record execs controlled everything? If you fit the look and sound...you're golden. If not, good luck because there is no way for anyone to hear your stuff (other than coming to a live show and distributing CDs yourself).