For MySpace’s organic purpose as a social networking site between individuals, O’Leary offers this description:
"MySpace is based on individual profiles; each is a member’s personal web site and blog containing the member’s pictures, personal information, and bloglike ramblings. The profile is linked to the profiles of the member’s online friends that form a vast, intertwined network among MySpace’s enormous membership.” [3]The recent phenomenon of allowing musicians to create similar but also specially catered profiles as a way for them to increase their exposure and promote their music, on top of the social networking aspect, has indeed synergistically evolved into a phenomenon of its own. At the moment, the vast majority of artists from every corner of every scene in every geographical location will have a MySpace profile. A lot of artists who ceased activity long before the advent of this technology also have profiles in the form of fan-created tributes.
Ideally, it is aimed to provide musicians with an outlet to promote themselves without compromising their artistic integrity (something the record industry is notorious for), but this comes with its own drawbacks. Independent musicians could potentially lose some of the appeal and exposure that refinement from the record industry could have helped secure. Although there will be a small population of musicians who deservedly reach MySpace’s massive audience, cited to be roughly 90 million unique worldwide during December 2006, one third of those originating outside the United States [4], the elimination of a refinement agent, or what I will refer to as a kind of “gatekeeper”, means that any subpar musical candidate who fancies themselves as an artist can upload inferior amateur recordings, reach the same massive audience and crowd a space that was ironically supposed to provide greater exposure.
One of the most crucial elements in an artist’s success is indeed exposure. Analogous to the film industry, Garnham emphasises the importance of distribution, as opposed to production, in an industry’s success and prosperity [5]. Distribution is the one barrier that determines exposure in the market, which is why film corporations such as Paramount and Universal have since invested excessively in its distribution sectors. Likewise, record labels can coordinate production, manufacture, promotion, and copyright, but most importantly, they control distribution. Without a label, the distribution (and hence, exposure) independent musicians receive is grossly limited, which is why services such as MySpace are significant in providing a platform to counter this current situation: “...the focus is on small, little-known local and regional bands; it’s an energetic and vital platform for local music, which is quite a contrast to the commercial media, which only cover big-name acts.” [6]
It also extends possibilities in terms of the ‘networking’ aspect: like-minded bands can find each other, establish friendships, and allocate time to play gigs or perhaps even collaborate. There is also the ability to influence and shape one another aesthetically, which will be illustrated in the case study of post-rock later on. The networking aspect also extends to consumers—in this case, listeners and fans. New bands are discovered much more easily, and each band having a relatively standardised profile structure with general information such as news, information, gigs/events, music samples and release dates is advantageous for listeners because they can collectively ‘befriend’ them and subsequently organise their tastes.
The fact that MySpace artists are capable of instantaneously reaching an audience that vastly outnumbers those seen by any sort of media prior to the internet means that artists who strike a chord with these audiences will be in a position to increase their popularity dramatically. Lara says “bands that have been extremely popular and have done big venues only through MySpace promotion,” and predicts that artists “can start using MySpace as a real driver for sales” [7]. Four-piece Britpop outfit, the Arctic Monkeys, US pop-punk group, Panic! at the Disco and English pop singer, Lily Allen, have all experienced major hikes in their popularity as a result of MySpace. The catalytic effect that MySpace has for artists already destined to be popular (the Arctic Monkeys claiming that they had no idea what MySpace was at the time and that their profile was set up by fans) renders the need for timing, overexposure and longevity redundant.
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3. O’Leary, 2006
4. Ben-Yehuda, 2007
5. Garnham cited in Kerr and Flynn, 2003:97
6. O’Leary, 2006
7. Lara cited in Ben-Yehuda, 2007
