Moderators BATCAT Posted May 20, 2010 Moderators Share Posted May 20, 2010 An amusing note to start out, I just went into my bands MySpace profile and clicked on the option to see which of my "friends" were currently online. We have 2093 friends. 22 are currently online- 8 bands, one radio station, one indie record label, two venues, ten individuals. I still keep our MySpace current because I know a lot of people who still use it as a quick "go to" to hear a few snippets of songs and/or see a band's upcoming shows. So it's still worth it, even if the social networking aspect is dead. Also a lot of venues still book through MySpace. So for us now the main thing is Facebook. It's confusing, you can use your personal profile to make a "page", "a group", or you can now add a "my band" tab to your personal page... which lets you include a music player, store, and more. ("my band" can be added to pages, but not to groups) "My band" is hosted b Reverb Nation, so you'll need to create and maintain an account to use it. We do all three. Or you can go renegade and use a personal profile as a band page, but I'm too paranoid if I did that I'd get deleted for breaking the rules, likely after spending 10 hours working on it.) The good part is that FB is pretty good for creating "events" and inviting people, and there are actually people on there. We maintain a Twitter account and try to update it a few times a week. Also, we keep an email list and send out occasional news emails. And finally we use Tunecore to make our music available for sale on ITune, Rhapsody, etc. Whew! Ok, what about you? (You might want to say if you're mainly an original or cover band; we're mostly originals.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TrickyBoy Posted May 21, 2010 Members Share Posted May 21, 2010 We're a cover band. We use Facebook exclusively as our "social networking" medium. I know not a person that has a MySpace account that isn't in a band, I know not one person that DOESN'T have a Facebook page. Then we have a website. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bnelly428 Posted May 21, 2010 Members Share Posted May 21, 2010 FB, Space and Website. We're phasing out myspace and transitionaing everything to the website. We'll use the FB page for updates etc, but all our promo stuff and the meat and potatoes are on the website. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vito Corleone Posted May 21, 2010 Members Share Posted May 21, 2010 Cover band. We ditched MySpace completely. We use Facebook to notify local fans of upcoming gigs, but funnel all promo stuff through our website. Too much trouble to maintain 2 sites of pictures, audio, video, etc. But I would think Facebook and the networking aspects would be much more important to an original band than a cover band. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wheresgrant3 Posted May 21, 2010 Members Share Posted May 21, 2010 Cover Band... Well... this is very topical since we're working on a new website design. The fact is MySpace was once responsible for most of our regional success as a band... however these days (as you pointed out) the only people still using MySpace are probably the same people that are on AOL dial up. We still maintain it however we don't promote nearly as much as we should. Facebook has been a constant source of frustation. It find the entire platform a disappointment. A few years ago we tried to create an artist page for "Nuts In A Blender" and was denied because "Nuts In A Blender" was deemed as offensive. We have a Facebook Group however I hate the fact that posts are tied to your personal account and it doesn't populate news feeds. So now we are left to spam our frriends as individual members of the band about upcoming shows. So that's the last thing I want my high school classmates and former co workers to receive... spam about my band. So that leaves us to our websitewww.nutsinablender.com. Although it's badly in need of an update, we've had it for 8 years and we'll keep and maintain it for another 8 years to come. The pro's: we have our own url... it shows up with a full page of search on Google (because of traffic)... it's easy to navigate... there's no flash, pop ups or other junk... we have a gazillion pics loaded from more than 300 shows (we post between 45-50 galleries a year) that keep people coming back again and again. The cons: It looks old and sterile. It doesn't really reflect the new band lineup or image. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mstreck Posted May 21, 2010 Members Share Posted May 21, 2010 Facebook has been a constant source of frustation. It find the entire platform a disappointment. A few years ago we tried to create an artist page for "Nuts In A Blender" and was denied because "Nuts In A Blender" was deemed as offensive. We have a Facebook Group however I hate the fact that posts are tied to your personal account and it doesn't populate news feeds. So now we are left to spam our frriends as individual members of the band about upcoming shows. So that's the last thing I want my high school classmates and former co workers to receive... spam about my band. Temporary thread hijack: I signed up for the NIB facebook so I *could* be spammed by you guys. Why not create a "ghost" account and only post to the group from that? More OT, this is what we use: 1. Facebook - best for updating fans, uploading pics, networking. We update/interact with this constantly.2. Myspace - best for "displaying your wares" - music, schedule, etc. (although all of this can be done on facebook).3. MyPPK - because it was quick and some places only want an electronic press kit.3. MDparty.com - more to stay visible to venue owners and agencies. Got a few gigs out of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JailTime Posted May 21, 2010 Members Share Posted May 21, 2010 I thought myspace was a dying breed not that long ago. Posted a thread about it a while back. But then I talked to the booking guy at one of the premier locations in town for my originals band's style of music. He said that he uses myspace exclusively - and that many other venue booking managers use it exclusively, too. It is just too easy to get a quick glance at a band and their music. Facebook for actual networking and website for downloads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators BATCAT Posted May 21, 2010 Author Moderators Share Posted May 21, 2010 We have a Facebook Group however I hate the fact that posts are tied to your personal account and it doesn't populate news feeds. So now we are left to spam our frriends as individual members of the band about upcoming shows. You could send "event invitations" to members of your group. That's what it seems a lot of bands do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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