Is MySpace All That? A Guide to Marketing Your Music On Myspace

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I’ve been in the music marketing game for a little while now, and have conversations everyday with people about all the things that need to be done to get your music heard and albums sold. The only thing I ever hear back from musicians is MySpace this, MySpace that.

Many feel that having a MySpace page IS internet marketing, and that they couldn’t possibly do anything else to garner attention online, right? Then I tell them they are idiots for allowing someone else to own their content!

Now, i am not saying that MySpace music page isn’t a good technique to get those notes into the ears of millions of possible fans all over the world. In fact, it probably is the best way to go about doing it. The doors MySpace has opened for musicians are very large and wide open, allowing any band of any size and any budget the ability to introduce their tunes to all of the world.

The problem I am having is the misconceptions about MySpace; while it is a great TOOL to help market your music, it is only one of MANY TOOLS in a very large tool box of internet marketing techniques that you will need in order to succeed.

First, you don’t own your MySpace page; let’s clear that up right now. While you do own the intellectual property that you put on your MySpace page (assuming of course you do own it), MySpace still owns that actual page itself. They run their annoying ads, and they get the ad revenue. Thats how the whole thing works.

And remember, because they do own the thing, that means they can change how they operate at anytime. They could enforce fees on you, ask you to take down certain types of content, or even boot you off. Now, if you’re asking for it, then I see it as just. I’m just making the point that you don’t own the damn thing, and while all is well with MySpace being a free for all right now, all that can change with a snap of a finger.

Imagine if all of your online efforts were spent just on MySpace. Imagine a scenario where you’ve got 10,000 friends and thousands of plays, you’re selling tracks through your iTunes and Snocap stores, and all of sudden you do something wrong and you get booted off.

And then bam, all your fans are wondering where the hell you went. You don’t have their email addresses cause you were too lazy to ask (or put a damn sign-up box on your page), and you’ve got to start all over again.

SO, that’s one hell of a doomsday scenario, but it’s possible. It also backs up my advice for starving artists to have your own site, your own blog, you’re own cool little streaming players, you’re own music network - ALL YOURS! You own the domain, you own the url. You also own the advertising rights too, which is going to be a big deal in a few years. It’s all yours.

Okay, so what the hell is the point of a MySpace page if you’re going to have your own site?

To help promote the site, of course!

It’s more that that too; MySpace is the first step in building your brand, your audience, getting your music heard, getting messages out, etc. Hopefully you do this well enough that the following happens:

Your MySpace page INTRODUCES people to your music and your website.

People then visit your website where they become more ENGAGED in your band!

The MySpace page is an advertisement for your band, the music, and finally, the website. Use it to entice fans to go to your site. This is accomplished by just teasing the viewer with content, so their mouths get wet and seek out more over at your website.

Now, we’re all hopefully on the same page here. We know, we got it. Good. So just make a nice MySpace page and that’s it right?

Wrong.

The other major problem many bands face is that fact that either their MySpace pages suck or they don’t know how to promote them.

Here are some tips to remember when it comes to creating the perfect MySpace advertisement.

• Create a page that looks pleasing to the eye; this means using a MySpace layout or theme that has readable fonts, complementary colors, etc. No stupid graphics either. You wouldn’t use a My Little Pony MySpace theme to build a page for your death metal band. Keep the themes simple.
• On that note, DO incorporate your band’s logo, colors, branding, etc. If you don’t have one yet, then get cracking; if you want to be serious about this, your band needs a logo, a color scheme, etc. Treat the band like a business and you’ll reap the rewards down the road.
• Obviously, add the MySpace player; add more than one song to it. Someone might hate the first song you have, but fall in love with the next! Also, give the viewer the decision to play the tracks; I personally HATE when someones music is automatic!
• Include pics, art, and other visual representations of the band. Make it unique and stand out, but don’t over do it. Remember the more pics, buttons, widgets, etc., you add to your page, the slower it may load, and the more annoying you’ll be in the eyes of the viewer. Use a photo service like Flickr or Photobucket to share pics and art in one location, slideshow style.
• Use the blog and bulletin to update everyone with news about the band, music, shows, etc. Now, that being said, don’t put all of your content in these places. It’s a much better idea to put the content on your own site, and use the MySpace blog & bulletin to let everyone know you’ve made a new entry on your site.
• Tell everyone about yourself. Give each member of the band a place to add their own bios. Keep the tour dates up to date. Create an Widegtbox RSS widget of your website. Include a Youtube video of a live show. Again, all in moderation.

Finally, after all of this is done, comes the hard part! Seriously, the same concept of building a website applies to your MySpace page:

Just because you built it, does not mean that they will come!

You have to put the work into it, kids. You have to add friends. Offer some cool content, and add friends. Then add more. And keep adding. Until you have mad friend requests every day, then you just have to keep doing the dirty work and adding them yourself.

Leave comments on other peoples pages, especially other bands. Find bands similar to yours and leave them a comment. If they enable html, leave a link or ad. Just be smart about it.

Create nice ads. Don’t leave annoying ads with cute kittens on them. And don’t spam anyone. If anything, spam is the one thing that’ll bring MySpace down, so don’t contribute to it.

If you get messages from fans, answer them! Once you’re a hot shot this will become harder to do; when you’re starting out, it is crucial. You need to reach out to anyone who digs your work or shoots you a question. These are the people that will constantly talk to their friends and family about how cool you are. They’re the fans that will start the grassroots following you’re looking for.

So there you have it, some tips and pointers on how to make MySpace work for you. Again, the monster of all social networks isn’t the be all end all (especially with the powerful emergence of Facebook), but it is one of your power tools in marketing online.

Use it and use it wisely. It will be the beginning of your voyage to the top, whatever the top may be for you.