MySpace started a revolution for musicians. When it launched, suddenly there was an easy way for people (and then bands) to create a simple website and find their friends. Up until that point in time, a website was under the purvue of technically-inclined graphic designers, or graphically-challenged technical programmers. With MySpace, you could quickly create a web presence, put up some photos and then tell all your friends.

As more and more people grabbed on to the network and started linking to (friending…) each other, the effects of the network grabbed back. And, once the ball started rolling, it was impossible to stop.

The big music players have already taken notice. And they are trying to take advantage of the situation. (I don’t mean that as defamation, I mean - literally - they want to use the network effects of MySpace.)

So, what’s my problem? Well, for one thing, MySpace isn’t the only kid on the block anymore. Facebook is another player for connecting to fans. So is BeBo and Hi5. Yet, musicians aren’t taking advantage of it. There is a reason to be taking advantage of it, the least of which is that decision makers are using more than one social networking platform to find artists. I, personally, use several different platforms for connection. They are listed below.

My other concern is the unrest that is beginning to occur from the artists using these sites. I still believe the small groups get greater benefit from these social networking sites when compared to the larger bands, but once the dissatisfaction starts, it will quickly spread through the web. It won’t matter how big or small your band, you’ll be pissed.

But my biggest problem is that MySpace is creating a false sense of accomplishment for bands. First and foremost, if a band is only looking at a single channel for distribution or for revenue, then there is a huge risk. Secondly, as the growth of MySpace goes up, so does the noise level. At some point, the cachet of the platform will reach zero and you’ll have very little advantage to being on MySpace.

For those interested, this is a side effect of the network effect. Both fax machines, video (tape and DVD) players, and email all went through this progression.

My issue isn’t really with MySpace, but it’s related to it. My main problem is with the slow numbing of bands as their friend counts grows. As MySpace grows, you’ll need to accelerate your marketing efforts, not relax them. If you don’t, any gains you took from MySpace will be lost just as quickly as you gained them.

–

Here are just a few of my networks. Feel free to connect.

MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/mkylecraig

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/kylecraig

Twitter: Twitter.com/MKyleCraig

Facebook: