Topic: MySpace vs Website??

MySpace is web training wheels. You can get a bunch of info up quickly and go. Eventually, you need to go to a real website so that you can do more.

But I do agree with Sam - the big problem with having your own website is upkeep. If you're going one, you need to make sure it's regularly updated.

As we've discussed before, there are a lot of things that would be nice to have online - press kits, tech sheets, etc.

Even with all that said, many major musicians have only one-page websites or no website at all.

myspace is the new standard for making a band go public. however some people take a different route, like forever the sickest kids for instance paid for a purevolume promo spot put up a couple demos and got signed not too long after and im possitive that all they had at the time was the purevolume page and a myspace page.

myspace is also alot easier to communicate with your fan base and build a fan base.

plus online store right on your page? its got everything your website probably will never have.

the points that you guys have made here are all the things that it took me a long time to accept. I think, deep down, I was hoping that there would be this big "F the man" movement and all the bands would move to a platform that was more in line with artistic principles. I was a bit younger then, I suppose. What it comes right down to is the MySpace serves a great function for a band. It makes a lot things that were difficult for a band to do online before, a lot easier and with the introduction of MySpace Music many of my current gripes may go away.

But, how does a band reach someone, who is Internet friendly and doesn't use MySpace? If that band only exists within MySpace, then they do force a potential fan to join. And if that potential fan doesn't join MySpace, then have they lost that person? How else do they connect with that person? Believe it or not, there a lot of these people out there.

My only other concern with only existing within MySpace is that it seems to homogenize the artists appearances. And I don't really know where to go with this one. I mean, if a band doesn't have the manpower to create a website, then do they have the manpower to customize their MySpace page?

my 2 cents as a music publicist and dj - When researching a band, I really like and most often utilize the shorthand offered by myspace. Instant tracks by the artist - handpicked by them or their management to represent them, usually very up-to-date tour schedule - band members listed, their choices for influences, quick and short bio - sometimes just their standard bio - sometimes a little looser and more entertaining. All this on one page.

I find band web site music players to be widely diverse and unreliable. Sometimes they don't even have one - sometimes my Mac won't play it and sometimes it plays annoying brief clips over and over. MySpace music player rocks (except for the past week when it's been skipping...)

However, I feel the band web-site is needed too. When I'm researching a band I 1) Google band name and click on band website link that comes up. 2) go immediately to links/contact page and click on their myspace page. 3) listen to tracks and check out all the above on Myspace page. Only then do I go back to the web site to check into "news" section and get into the archive of articles, press clips, longer bios, CD listings and to download photos, etc.

(If you're still with me, I'm going to keep going....) I also like the fact that a lot of small indie bands from around the country have found me and contacted me thru my Myspace page. And, when I find a band i like, I spend some time poaching their friends list. Learn a lot about small pockets of activity around the country.

Summary: Both are necessary. I think services like Myspace allow band web sited to become more static - simple news updates on the home page can give regular visitors something to look at - and a blog linked of all web presences can give people their fix of gossip, etc. One central thing to update.

I was actually kinda happy to see this up here because we JUST had a discussion in our band about building an actual web page just so it would appear more "professional". Seems like myspace is just so full of crud and spam that people don't take it as seriously as they did a few years ago, maybe becuase the amount of music pages on myspace grows exponentially since anyone with a computer and a will to make noise can make a band page. And there is nothing wrong with that, all of us want our music to be heard. But I have to agree being in a band that currently doesn't have a web page, a myspace account has been great to get the word out on net, and it is easy to update, another place that seems to be a myspace but really just for bands is reverbnation.com it's pretty cool, anyone that hasn't been there should check it out. I have a feeling though we are going to bite the bullet and get an actual web page, but for now its just MYSPACE...lol