Social networks and music: MySpace brings it all together in one virtual community

Technology

Today’s music fanatic interacts with a “community” that is much larger than anyone would have dreamed of before the widespread personal use of the Internet. This social network is changing the way people market and sell music and it is doing so on a global scale.

That is how:

A fan hears a song and “tells” to a dozen people online. Each, in turn, sends the information (and sometimes the entire song file) to a dozen other people, and so on. If the song’s hook is catchy and universal enough, the artist can reach thousands of fans in a matter of seconds. It’s fast, it’s easy, it’s free, and it’s global.

Does this viral communication generate any income for that artist (or composer, publisher, manager, agent, distributor, or record label)? No. But does it provide vital advertising that has the potential to sell singles, albums, concert tickets, and merchandise? Absolutely.

The new marketing media:

This is a quantum shift in marketing. It offers the ability to circumvent physical distribution, while severely restricting the barely legal forms of radio “promotion” that many in the industry openly call payola or commercial station extortion.

All of this is made possible by a growing variety of forms of online communication, including music sites, web portals, blogs (weblogs), music forums, and more. A new site called MySpace.com has brought all of these elements together in one place. And because of his vision, MySpace is becoming an information destination for bands, fans, filmmakers, writers, artists, recording industry professionals, and more.

The MySpace Nation: “Where do you live?” It used to be a question that was said out loud; now it is written. The answer to that question used to simply mean what part of the city he was from, with a suggestion of his socioeconomic status and a hint as to which mall might be his usual hangout; now it refers not only to your city, but also to your state, region or country.

Your virtual “scene” can involve people anywhere in the world. My virtual community begins in Los Angeles and extends to Moscow, Big Bear, Amsterdam, San Francisco, London, New York, Miami and various places that I have not yet learned to spell correctly. In fact, thanks to social networks like MySpace, you can interact with various scenes. People who like my goth songs slightly overlap with the rave-trance songs on my remix album, but are not interested in the music I create for TV and radio commercials (in fact, they may look down on it quite a bit). But each social network welcomes news of new music in its own favorite styles.

MySpace: the future is now

With two million members (and growing), MySpace.com offers a multi-level entertainment opportunity that includes blogging, instant messaging, classifieds, peer voting, special interest groups, user forums, and user-created content. Is popular? You can bet: they have statistics showing that the site receives 35 million impressions per day in an average of one hour online per visit. So far, all MySpace services are free, and the site is fully supported by advertisers who are eager to reach exactly the young, web-savvy, and social-web music fans that MySpace.com attracts.

Created by Chris DeWolfe and Tom Anderson, MySpace is already succeeding to a level that took many industry viewers by surprise. While the main MySpace site leads to a pure social network, the section of the site called MySpace Music is a revolutionary way to reach its integrated web audience of two million networked users, and has the potential to rapidly expand beyond that already impressive figure. As a means of launching unsigned and emerging artists, MySpace Music is a formidable tool.

Inside the minds of the creators of MySpace:

“MySpace Music is what MP3.com should have been, but never was,” Anderson said. “Very few people visit a website looking for bands they have never heard of. MySpace Music allows people to find music online in the same way that they find out about music in person: through their friends. Millions of friends come to MySpace to socialize, and through that process – word of mouth and recommendations from friends – bands expose new fans and fans to new music. ”

DeWolfe continues: “The most exciting use of MySpace Music is the way it is changing the dynamic from band to fan. A band can log onto MySpace and find potential fans across the country just by sending an email and saying ‘Hello.’ “Gangs are developing a following and finding street teams online.”

Offering downloads, band websites, and the ability to connect directly with artists is just part of the appeal of MySpace Music. Each site visitor can also participate through user testimonials and ratings. Artists can also access a wide variety of music business contacts.

DeWolfe Details:

G-Man: What is the history of MySpace?

Chris DeWolfe: We launched the general MySpace site in September 2003. Our vision was to create a portal where our users could mobilize and connect around shared interests, whether those interests are music, television, dating, nightlife, politics, religion or anything else. .

G-Man: How does music fit on the MySpace network?

Chris DeWolfe: Almost from the day we launched, music became one of the main interests of MySpace users. We believe that most people listen to and try new music based on the recommendations of their friends. The network effect of our site (friends who count friends), allows new trends and music to spread very quickly. At the same time, bands began flocking to MySpace as a mechanism to promote themselves, find new fans, book shows, and even secure label deals.

G-Man: What are MySpace’s sources of income?

Chris DeWolfe: MySpace is currently supported by online advertising and sponsorship. We may add premium services later, but any services that we currently offer for free will continue to do so. We have been fortunate to land top-tier advertisers like Sony Music, Interscope, Warner Music, Dreamworks, Napster, and others. The promotion works for these types of advertisers because most of our users are influencers between the ages of 18 and 34 who love music and frequently go to the movies during the opening weekend.

G-Man: What are the benefits for artists using MySpace?

Chris DeWolfe: Artists can sell their CDs on our site. The main use so far has been for bands to mobilize new fans that they normally would not have met. An Iowa band can quickly develop a following in New York or Los Angeles. Additionally, bands use the site to book tours and fill spots. The MySpace social network is international. Because MySpace is an online network, it makes geographic boundaries less relevant.

G-Man: Can you compare the MySpace entity with other networking sites?

Chris DeWolfe: Most sites are strictly focused on business networking, classifieds, or dating. MySpace is a portal that uses a social network infrastructure. MySpace includes games, blogs, music, classifieds, forums, mail, instant messages, and user rankings. Our model has led to an incredibly sticky site where the average user spends more than an hour per session on the site. We have also delivered more page views than our largest competitor in each of the last three months.

MySpace is just extending the functionality around the existing massive behavior. Most, if not all, of those other sites didn’t or didn’t have that luxury – they had the behavior to build around functionality. To put it another way, we are not building it, waiting for people to come. People are already on the site sharing information about gangs; bands are already recruiting fans and local help; users are already clamoring to download music; they are already classifying and qualifying music; They are already showing up at our parties to listen to the music they learned on MySpace. MySpace music works because two million people are already doing what we now make it easy for them.

G-Man: What areas of marketing are involved (or are you planning to get involved) with MySpace?

Chris DeWolfe: Two of our most important marketing partners are Warped Tour and Rock The Vote. The Warped Tour, in particular, is a perfect fit for us. We are sponsoring the Uproar Stage and the MySpace bands will be playing at the Warped Tour venues. This association provides great exposure for MySpace Music and participating MySpace Music bands.

Rock the Vote is also a great partner, fitting in with our mission of enabling our users to mobilize around shared interests. MySpace users can register to vote directly from our home page. We will also participate in several of their music programs.

MySpace phenomenon on the rise:

Strategic partnerships are developing almost as fast as bands meet fans on the site. Los Angeles Music Network (www.lamn.com) will incorporate its membership base and marketing force in a partnership agreement with MySpace.

By linking listeners, crossing boundaries, and matching musicians with fans and industry professionals, the MySpace nation is a phenomenon. Since a passport is free, everyone who works in music marketing is better off paying a visit. It’s at http://www.myspace.com. I see you there.

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