Check out our band on MySpace! wk 4

Last Tuesday I went to a show in Columbus to see one of my favorite bands (MOTION CITY SOUNDTRACK) play at the Newport Music Hall. Of course, especially among the bands I love to listen to, it's important for their image to be marketable to the younger generations. So what's the trend for bands who want to reach the masses?

MySpace.

According to an article on the Redwood Technology Consortium Web site, there are roughly *1.4 million band pages on MySpace. (*though I'd expect this number to be larger now since the article was published in 2006) Band pages on MySpace allow for bands to better connect with their fans by posting new music, upcoming shows and special promotions.

Bands aren't the only ones taking notice of this new trend. The article also talks about how some radio stations even use MySpace to seek out new talented musicians to play. Also, once a band is spotted online, the radio deejay's can even conduct interviews through the MySpace messaging system.

There are also programs especially designed to help bands reach fans who may never have otherwise had the capability of hearing about them. A company called NumberOneMusic specializes in marketing bands to audiences based on musical preference. The company will automatically generate a friend request for MySpace users who have showed an interest in a certain type of music, thus directing people to bands they may not have considered before.

I personally have discovered several new bands by visiting their MySpace pages, and I also use MySpace to check if there is anything new going on with the bands I already like.

So in the spirit of Social Media, enjoy this video from Motion City Soundtrack, called My Favorite Accident.