Since starting Crenk a couple of years ago I have written a lot about the music industry. The music industry has been a real fascination of mine and when I finally thought things were getting sorted out a lot has changed. In recent months Imeem was purchased by Myspace and then Myspace themselves really lost their way about what the site is actually about.
On Crenk we have written about the Top 5 social networking sites, World best music streaming service, but our key music article was the Attack of the Music Communities. Today I want to revisit that article and run through these leading music communities and recap their current situation (remember the previous article was written on the 8th April 2008).
- Myspace – Myspace was once the leading social networking site online, but in recent times they have really lost their way. Myspace is now a place for crazy glitter webpages done by 16 year old kids claiming they are really 18, either that or people trying to spam you with stupid messages and comments. Myspace’s biggest disadvantage is that it just has no focus! Myspace doesnt know if they are a social network, if they are a music focused site, or even an entertainment hub. Every band seemed to be on Myspace, but it has quickly become an empty space for music.
- Bebo – Bebo was once focused on being a music community, but after being sold to AOL it just seemed to lose direction all together. Bebo is now a social network that is largely in the distance behind Facebook. Music community Bebo is no longer!
- Last.fm – Last.fm was purchased by CBS and has been growing pretty constantly as a music community. However, Last.fm is more focused on music streaming and discovering new music. Last.fm doesnt allow musicians to chat with each other in a transparent environment and nor find new gigs, selling their tickets and merchandise and even sell their music.
- Purevolume – Purevolume has stayed pretty steady. Purevolume has really released anything new, they have just focused on giving bands a website and showcasing their music. I find Purevolume an interesting site with a great amount of potential, but has never really lived up to it!
- Imeem – Imeem was the darling of web 2.0 music startups. However, quickly the site turned into a weird music social network that just couldn’t pay the bills. Imeem ending up having no choice and sold to Myspace recently, losing huge amount for all investors involved.
- MOG – MOG has transformed several times and is now heavily focused on providing a music streaming service to USA only users. Previously MOG tried focusing on music news, but that seemed to only be filling the site while they got their music streaming licenses setup. MOG is no long a music social network, its just about listening to music online.
- iLike – iLike is a great music service, but focused very much on providing music streaming and discovery. iLike can fit in nicely with a music larger music service, but as a standalone service it really doesn’t grab the worlds attention.
- JamNow – Shut down.
- Haystack – Shut down.
- Sonific – Shut down.
- Sellaband – Sellaband has been a great success for helping unsigned bands fund their new albums. However, this community has not been gaining that much attention from around the world. Sellaband has a very limited appeal that will soon most probably be sold and added to another service.
- iJigg – iJigg is a music service in which users listen to music. Its that simple, nothing more, nothing less.
- Flotones – Flotones has to be the ugliest site in the list, plus they just don’t have any traction or users. I pronounce Flotones dead!
- ReverbNation – ReverbNation has grow into the leading digital marketing platform for musicians. ReverbNation tried to provide the best marketing solutions for bands while at the same time make revenues from their affiliate services. ReverbNation has a great platform, but it would be good to see them develop into something more than just providing digital music tools.
- Jango – Jango has developed into a very interesting online radio service. I think Jango has a lot of potential but the site itself isnt very pretty, plus they are playing head on with services like Pandora (which are just so much better). Jango needs to lead in the markets Pandora isn’t in or soon they will be behind and struggling for survival.
Conclusion:
There doesn’t seem to be anyone taking music social networking seriously at the moment. There are a lot sites that focus on specific areas, but seem to be to scared to launch a much larger initiative. Someone needs to launch a open platform which promote bands to build their fan base, pushes new music to users, while also adding in the other features within the music industry. If someone can work out a service that has all these features, then they could be a force to be reckoned with.
Supernova has to announced the launch of their new music social network, featuring over 180,000 integrated band and listener profiles, song, photo and video sharing, event promotion and publicity, plus exclusive music industry opportunities and insider news. As the only social network that brings new music artists to play on the live concert stage, in front of thousands of listeners and fans, Supernova.com is the premier destination to discover emerging music talent.
With the new launch of Supernova.com, the social platform now offers enhanced features for both artists and listeners in the new music community. New music listeners and fans can be the first to discover and share new talent through the music explorer, and through exclusive industry news, artist interviews, and access to the Supernova.com artist network. Supernova.com’s music experts also use these music, photo and video sharing features to help find the hottest new acts on the music scene.
After the great response I received from my articles a couple days ago titled, Attack Of The Music Communities, I thought I would write a quick note about some of the communities I left of who deserve a mention. These two music communities were mentioned in the comments of the previous post, so if you do want to have your say then Crenk is the place to get heard.
Reverb Nation – Reverbnation is a social network mixed with widgets. Depending if your an artist, label, manager, fan or venue, Reverbnation has options to help you achieve your goals. Artists can promote themselves in a similar way as they can on myspace, but artists can also receive 50% of the revenues generate from advertising on their own Reverb pages.
Jango – Jango is a mixture between social networking and customising your own online radio station. Just type in an artist and your first station starts playing right away. The service is a little like Last.fm in the way you can customise your own online station, but it lacks the feature of allow you to find new artists. Still the interface is nice and sexy.
If there are still any music sites I have left out, then please let me know and I might even produce a Part 3, to this ever growing Attack Of The Music Communities series.
I also just wanted to thank everyone who either Stumbled or Dugg our last post. Participation and help to spread the word of Crenk actually existing it really appreciated.
These days there are so many music communities out there it is hard to actually choose which ones are worth choosing or not. We have compiled a short list of the music communities out there and finally we will give you an idea of which communities are actually worth joining.
Myspace – Myspace is the king of all social networks and is leading the way in the music space. Everyone knows how myspace works, you sign up for a profile and then your able to upload 4 songs to your profile. Simple yet effective, because of how many artists are on the system. Additionally, myspace will be launching a new music feature in the coming months.
Bebo – Bebo who just got acquired by AOL for $850 million, is a big player in the social networking space. Currently, they are 3rd in the USA but leading the way in UK. The has the ability for bands to customise their profiles, and can even add songs to their profiles. However, doesnt have a music player at all and is very limited in so many ways.
Last.fm – Last.fm is a service that is growing every day. It is a service that keeps track of what music you listen to, and then helps you discover new music based on your preferences. Last.fm can be used to find new music, listen to music you already like, and get in touch with people who have the same taste in music as you do, discover new gigs in your local area. Last.fm also allows artists and labels to upload their own music and videos and promote them for free. As far as im aware only selected artists can now actually receive royalties from Last.fm when their music is played via their site.
Purevolume – Purevolume is probably the oldest music social network of the lot in this article. It has a sleak design and it is tailored just for artists. Unlike most other social network there arent poor quality ads all over the place and Purevolume is actually still strong when it comes to traffic stats and user participation. The site itself is still missing several features that are need by artists, but the overall feel is still top notch.
Imeem – Imeem is a new social network which allows artists to upload their music and actually make royalties via plays on the Imeem site. Currently artists need to have an agreement with Snocap, so that Snocap can track the amount of plays done on Imeem and then Imeem pays artists a percentage of the advertising revenue they receive.
MOG – is a social network that helps you “discover people through music and discover music through peopleâ€. Basically MOG makes it easy for you to find new music to listen to by using custom filters and personalized suggestions. The site is very similar to Last.fm, but has a few twists in their algorhythm. MOG also provides users with reviews, news and streaming audio. MOG also features a music TV that continuously broadcasts videos taken from YouTube.
iLike – iLike is another service that is similar to Last.fm, but has a nice twist that allows you to also organise your music. It lets you share music libraries with your friends, browse and sample their most played songs, and compare your compatibility scores. iLike will also send you music recommendations directly in iTunes.
JamNow – is a social network aimed at musicians that allows them to create audio content online in real-time. JamNow isn’t a site that simply makes you “post and listen†to audio content: its platform enables real-time music collaboration and lets you schedule live jam sessions and listen to musicians that are playing right in that moment.
Haystack – is all about finding new music through your friends and the people you think are taste makers or cool. You can browse music, pictures, videos and reviews of artists as well as build your own profile and personalize it with images and videos. They encourage artists to sign up directly or even through their labels.
Sonific – is a social network that offers a great way to promote your music, if you are an artist. It lets users put a free music widgets with your music on their sites and promote it to their own audiences, for free. In exchange, Sonific users get free music to use and listen to (download is not permitted) and make their site look cooler – while you get free advertising for your music.
Sellaband – is a music social network that turns the fans and listeners of bands into their producers, asking them to invest in a band or artist they support so that they will be able to get a recording opportunity. Every single investor that supports a successful band will take home a small cut of the profits made by them. Artists not only get financial support but also share 50% of the ad revenue coming from the free downloads of their music.
iJigg – is a online community that lets you comment on music and share songs. You can rate music and influence what becomes popular, as well as upload your own music to share it with the community and make new fans. You will need to decide whether to open a “listener†or “artist†account, which will give you access to different features (e.g. listeners can download free mp3 of their favorite music, while artists can upload their own music).
Flotones – is a monetized social network for artists and their fans. The best features is the ability to promote and distribute content via mobile phones. For example a band can do ringtones and mobile wallpapers. After registration you will be able to promote your content at your gigs and even on your social network profiles. You’ll be asked to sign a contract before getting paid.
Overall:
Out of the list above i think the key sites to sign up to are Myspace (overall largest reach), Purevolume (music specific), Last.fm (but only if you have royalty agreement with them), Imeem (royalty collection on streams and growing in traffic) and Sellaband (potential to receive investment money).
Pitchfork TV is now live. What are my first thoughts! Well the site itself has a very simple design (as you can see from the image below), it has a main window on the left side to actually show the videos and then a scroll bar on the right for navigation. What does annoy me though is that the scroll bar size is limited on the page. At the moment the site is just like a basic YouTube channel. It doesnt have actual live shows or interviews, it is just basic recorded performances from selected artists and also recordings from live events. So nothing too special here.
Pitchfork,tv launches this Monday. Yesterday, the regular Pitchfork site offered a few behind-the-scenes segments as a primer, and it announced that Monday’s lineup will include an exclusive Radiohead performance. Listening Post got a preview and has a thorough post on the upcoming site.
