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Once upon a time there was a little website called MySpace.com.  The overall attitude of MySpace was confidence and longevity.  Every band in the world was using their platform and there weren’t any viable competitors to worry about.  If you were making music, you had a MySpace account.  Oddly enough, it started out as a social networking site to share updates with friends, post pictures, and write blogs.  The growth exploded when bands started taking advantage of the built-in music player.  MySpace became THE destination for bands, and if you liked music, you went there to connect with those bands.  Seems like a simple concept.  Then came Facebook.

As Facebook started growing, people jumped ship by the hundreds of thousands.  The exclusivity that Facebook had in it’s early days was genius.  It created a supply-and-demand scenario that set it up for huge growth.  Suddenly, all these fans of music were relocating their primary online residence to Facebook, leaving their empty pizza boxes and dirty laundry at MySpace.  The bands, however, needed the functionality of MySpace.  Facebook didn’t offer anything comparable to the built-in music player and the ability for fans to embed the band’s music on their own profile.  MySpace used music as part of the person’s profile.  You had your picture, a tag line, and a song that visitors heard when they visited.  It was expected as well as accepted.

Facebook on the other hand does not have a feature anything close to this.  There are third-party plugins (BandPage & Reverbnation offer a couple) that allow visitors to listen to your music.  While this is great and all, there is no standard.

So here we are: all the fans have vacated MySpace for Facebook, and the bands are left to fend for themselves with no great alternatives to MySpace.  Facebook has the fans but not the music.  Soundcloud and Bandcamp have the music, but not the fans.  Where’s the in-between?

It’s Everywhere

With social media spanning the internet these days and not being confined to one or two sites, your fans are spread throughout hundreds of platforms.  Cross-platform integration is the new standard.  There is no end all be all.  There is no “MySpace” where the band and fans are all centralized.  Here’s what you need to succeed as a band online.

Website (and blog)

Get over it and shell out $10 for a domain name and less than $100/year for hosting.  (I recommend Hostmonster.com for domains and hosting*) You need a personalized address that fans can visit for exclusive content.  Not to mention having your own domain helps you rank in Google by offering a place for custom content, back links, and more SEO (search engine optimization) possibilities. It is a place that promoters can go to download your press kits, sees videos, and more.  Having a blog hosted on your site is huge.  Write.  About everything.  Write about your time in the studio, time on the road, a new song you’re working on, and everything else.  Update fans on your progress, and they’ll feel like a part of something special.

Twitter

There isn’t an easier way to get up-to-the minute information out to your fans.While writing a blog post might take an hour or more, writing a tweet only takes as long as a text message.  Being limited to 140 characters isn’t a limit if you look at it from a text messaging stand point. Twitter allows you to send out quick updates about where you’re at, what you’re doing, and what you’re thinking.  You can post pictures, links, and more.  It is a great way to send out links to the rest of your content.  Retweeting allows your fans to then send it to all of their friends on Twitter.  Twitter offers great potential for a ripple-effect.

Soundcloud.com

This is a great place for bands to upload their music.  The music players offer a great way for fans to interact by commenting at different parts of the song and then displaying these comments visually.  Soundcloud is on to something in the social/music realm.  The embedding features of the music players also go a long way.  You can even make certain tracks private to those with a password.  Want to make your fan club or email list feel special?  Send out an email with the password to your newest, unreleased song.  Exclusive.  It’s like gold to your fans.

Facebook

- Yes, I’ve explained why Facebook isn’t the only place for bands, but it’s where a large portion of the fans are.  You need a presence here if only to post links to your website and other accounts you have.  That’s the integration aspect of all this.  Every chance you get y0u should be promoting your content (and other’s you appreciate) on all the other sites.

Bandcamp

So you’ve got your music recorded and now you want to make money off it.  Check out Bandcamp.  You set the price, and the site takes a small cut (15%) of the profits for offering you great analytics and free hosting of your music.  Not a bad deal if you ask me.  Check out their explanation of how the sales process works.  By taking the middle-men out of the equation and basically just paying on a “use” basis, you aren’t having to worry about complicated payment schedules, complex sales agreements, and whether or not iTunes is worth it.

Google+

This is the latest newcomer to the social media boxing ring.  Google is doing a great job building a very multi-functional product.  It is a big contender with Twitter and Facebook, though not the Facebook/Twitter killer some have touted it to be.  Instead it is quickly coming into it’s own, offering Hangouts, a very social way to interact via multi-user video chats.  Don’t have a camera (or your hair isn’t looking that good)?  Even users with no camera and/or mic capabilities can join these chats and type their input to the rest of the group.  Many bands are jumping on this opportunity to host pre and post-show Hangouts directly with their fans that aren’t at the show.  Will.i.am from the Black Eyed Peas has been killing it on Google+ since day 1. This is going to expand beyond the megastars and photographers.  Get ahead of the curve.

YouTube

This ties in with the Google+ and blog accounts.  Anytime you are generating video content, make sure you’re uploading a copy to YouTube and then adding a description so people can find it.  For the people that aren’t searching for you, bring the video content to them.  Post links to last night’s Google+ Hangout on Facebook, or Tweet you most recent video blog from the tour van.

So you’ve created the accounts and are generating content.  But you’re also busy working your day job and then practicing with the band before hitting the road of play your next gig.  While your music is front-and-center, do not let your online presence suffer because you think you don’t have enough time to maintain it.  If you absolutely can’t handle the added workload, consider contracting a social media consultant to handle it for you.  If you have a tech-savvy friend (with good grammar and writing skills!) this person could fill in and handle your online needs.  Whomever you go with, make sure they have a clear vision of the band, a decent understanding of video production, digital media formats, some HTML skills, and most importantly, outstanding communication skills.  If you’d like some more direction and one-on-one help with your social media presence, let me know.

You can follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and you’re obviously here reading my blog.  Share it with your friends that are in bands by using the buttons to the left or below.  We’re all in this thing called the music industry together; let’s continue help out!