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Where are the MySpace superstars?


georg79

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I think we have waited for a long time since the MySpace-helps-music urban myth spread around the world.

 

So, where are the MySpace superstars?

Where are the bands that can publicly claim that they have sold thousands of albums DIRECTLY because of MySpace?

Where are the musicians that can publicly claim that they got a well paying gig DIRECTLY because of MySpace?

 

All I see is a multi million business exploiting the fear and the ego of artists.

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There aren't any such people really. No one has ever utilized the internet to become a nationally or internationally recognized artist, despite all the hype. Mainly because people don't come looking for you, you have to put yourself in front of them, and that's what those evil labels did on behalf of their artists, and that's why all of the artists we all know even now came through them.

 

I don't know if Myspace is exploiting fear per se, though ego I can see. But mostly it's just the world's largest high school talent show, and a huge self-promotional circle jerk in a lot of ways with people trying to game the system to make themselves seem bigger than they are.

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actually one band in town sold about 5,000 cds with the majority of those sales coming from myspace as they only played a few open mic nights they've since relocated to another state and have no idea what they're doing now http://www.myspace.com/rainsband another band in town has sold a ton of cds, with a decent number of them through myspace. http://www.myspace.com/sickshot

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I think you guys underestimate its potential...

 

Here are a few Colorado bands that have recently experienced quite a bit of success and Myspace popularity had a lot to do with it.

 

Meese - Did half a tour with The Fray last summer, just signed to Atlantic.

 

Single File - Just signed to Warner/Reprise.

 

OneRepublic - Signed to Interscope last year, recently had a #1 single that was remixed by Timbaland.

 

Tickle Me Pink - Just signed to Wind-Up Records (Finger Eleven, Evanescence, et al) last week. Hell, my band played with them last month and drew more than they did; that's ALL myspace popularity.

 

I could keep going, but you see my point. I've seen all these acts go from chumps to champs in a pretty sort time-span and their online presence was key to their success.

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Well, they got signed to a major label in order to actually make the move. That's pretty much exactly the opposite of MySpace making them. It's MySpace getting them to the attention of a major label, and they sign because they know that's how they will make the jump (if they do at all), not by staying on MySpace. I think that the question was who has made that jump via the internet, not by using it as the farm leagues to get noticed by a label.

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Well, they got signed to a major label in order to actually make the move. That's pretty much exactly the opposite of MySpace making them. It's MySpace getting them to the attention of a major label, and they sign because they know that's how they will make the jump (if they do at all), not by staying on MySpace. I think that the question was who has made that jump via the internet, not by using it as the farm leagues to get noticed by a label.

 

 

Ok, then check out this list. It outlines the top myspace bands at any given time in three columns: Unsigned, Indie, and Major. There are unsigned bands on there with 20+ million plays; I'd say that's pretty impressive.

 

Now do a search on the biggest unsigned bands in your state. I bet there's somebody garnering some serious attention...

 

Click Here

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Don't necessarily trust those play numbers on youtube. There are various scheme to game the system and falsely inflate them. Maybe they are real, but I wouldn't put too much stock in them unless they were backed up by some other metric.

 

And the other issue is, are plays translating to band revenues? Or are they just plays? This is one of the big questions being asked. If you get on the way up by giving it away, are you going to have to keep giving it away because you are basically making your music valueless, in return for attention. But you can't eat attention or pay the rent with it.

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I'm seeing myspace as a tool, not and a means. It's likie a band making one TV commecial and expecting to hit it big, or putting an ad in a magazine. I don't think most bands go on myspace expecting to make it big from that alone. I think they see it as a tool to get from point A to point D. Which it is, if you doi it right.

 

FWIW, I don't have a dog in the hunt; since I'm not trying to promote myself, I don't need a myspace page.

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Lets not forget Colbie Cailat. Myspace very much attributed to her success.

 

Who?

:confused:

 

I'm always amazed at the "successes" no one has heard of.

 

EDIT: I meant that in a good way; she's a great singer and songwriter, it's just too bad thaqt people like her don't get more mainstream exposure.

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All I see is a multi million business exploiting the fear and the ego of artists.

 

The intense and uncontrollable fear that some "artists" have of not becoming huge rock stars and thus having to continue living ordinary lives. :eek:

 

(btw: Check out my myspace ;) )

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I'm always amazed at the "successes" no one has heard of.

 

 

Yeh, when I challenge people to come up with anyone who has achieved the kind of success that many label artists have achieved, I mean someone whose name everyone knows. I'm sure she's good but I've never heard of here and probably most people haven't. But almost everyone would know who Alanis Morrisette or Nirvana or Bruce Springsteen or The White Stripes and so forth are, even if they aren't into their specific genres of music personally.

 

These folks, and many, many more, have achieved the top ranks of success, both because they are good and because they had a marketing organization (the label and it's various marketing adjuncts) to keep people aware of their work. The internet, being a passive medium (they have to come to you) can't really take the place of that.

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I don't think usiing myspace to actually get somewhere is a very good ambition to behold. It's a good place to use as a promotional tool and to just get your work into the public, but aside from that it's hopeless to think anyone will get discovered on there.

 

I dislike myspace and have avoided it for a while, but I finally gave in to promote my band/music project and I did so to connect with other bands that have a similar sound and mindset, certainly not to make money.

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Noone seems to care that MySpace doesn't share a single dollar of its profits with the artists. This is a multi million dollar company that profits directly from the royalty free contracts it signs over the internet with the artists.

 

The lowest fee you can get for a license for a low budget commercial is around $150 dollars. That is, if you are just starting in the business and you are not a well known writer.

 

Take five minutes of your time to find how many million dollars did MySpace make in 2007. Then divide it with the musicians who have given their music for free in exchange for....NOTHING.

 

It is simple mathematics.

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Wait a minute... I'm no particular fan of Myspace but they are hardly providing nothing. They have a huge subscriber base and what they are giving in return is access to that enormous chunk of eyes. Whether you can actually get many of those eyes is another problem, but it's your problem not theirs. If you don't think you can, don't sign up or don't buy any commercials.

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If you don't believe myspace can create success for a band, you're an idiot, and I'm leaving it at that.

 

Bands such as The Medic Droid, Hollywood Undead, Forever The Sickest Kids, Sky Eats Airplane, The Devil Wears Prada, and tons more noone would even know of, and would still be playing local crappy shows in their respective towns if it wasn't for myspace.

 

But each of these bands are, or have been embarking in full National tours, backed by their record labels(In the past year, The Devil Wears Prada has been on FOUR national tours, each completely payed for by their label)

 

I realize to some of you that huge success equates to moving huges sums of album sales in one show, but that's idiotic. In this day and age how many albums you sell mean NOTHING.

 

To me, going from being a crappy local band to touring non stop year round around the US is a big sucess.

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Bands such as The Medic Droid, Hollywood Undead, Forever The Sickest Kids, Sky Eats Airplane, The Devil Wears Prada, and tons more noone would even know of, and would still be playing local crappy shows in their respective towns if it wasn't for myspace.

 

 

Most people still don't know who they are. Sorry, but it's true.

 

 


I realize to some of you that huge success equates to moving huges sums of album sales in one show, but that's idiotic. In this day and age how many albums you sell mean NOTHING.


 

 

You're right, album sales have come to mean nothing (a very recent development, BTW, and one that hasn't so far proved to be for the better). That doesn't mean it's a good thing. Selling CDs may not have been the focus recently, but you still have to sell something in the way recordings -CDs, downloads, whatever-and do it in large numbers, or the labels that are subsidizing these bands won't be doing it for long.

 

 


To me, going from being a crappy local band to touring non stop year round around the US is a big sucess.

 

 

Any assclown band can tour the US. I did it for three years plus, six nights a week, pushing an album. Big deal. Thousands of them are doing it as we speak. The question is, are they earning any money? I mean more than just gas and a cup of Top Ramen every day. Although fame has apparently become the new currency du jour, unfortunately, it takes money, and lots of it, to keep a touring national act on the road.

 

The new myth seems to be that you give away your records and make your money touring. And that may work for a few bands. But when you have to pay an agent, a road manager, pay for motels, a bus, a driver, fuel and maintenance, production, book keeping, road staff, food, laundry, gear maintenance, etc etc, even 5-10 k a show disappears very fast.

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Noone seems to care that MySpace doesn't share a single dollar of its profits with the artists. This is a multi million dollar company that profits directly from the royalty free contracts it signs over the internet with the artists.


The lowest fee you can get for a license for a low budget commercial is around $150 dollars. That is, if you are just starting in the business and you are not a well known writer.


Take five minutes of your time to find how many million dollars did MySpace make in 2007. Then divide it with the musicians who have given their music for free in exchange for....NOTHING.


It is simple mathematics.

 

 

Myspace lets artists essentially create a website for free. It's all about exposure and not making dividends when you're creating a myspace account.

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