About 6 months ago somebody high up in the biz told me, “If you don’t have a MySpace account, you’re missing it. When it comes to a web presence for bands and musicians, MySpace has all the credibility.” I hadn’t looked at or updated my group, the David Thom Band’s, MySpace page in over a year. I was seeing much more traffic and interactivity through our Facebook page.
I kept quiet about my opinion (a rarity) and assisted them in getting their MySpace and YouTube pages set up. Six months later, the battle is clearly over, and Facebook came out the winner in the social networking world. But for a band, it doesn’t stop at Facebook. Using Twitter and hash tags are now a must, as well as a maintaining a website; in addition, an up-to-date online calendar.
There are companies out there that can help you consolidate all of your online promotional efforts into one interface. Outfits like ReverbNation offer their ‘one-stop shopping’ solution, but to me it feels clunky, and at the same time, relies heavily on subscription-based ‘widgets’ that seem like anyone’s guess as to their effectiveness.
BandRx is one that seems to be on the right track. They offer an app for Facebook users, as well as an event/tour date plug-in, both of which are gaining major traction in the online community. According to their press office, “Nearly four million active users are on board with both products, right behind household names Spotify, Pandora and Vevo.”
Here are the capabilities of BandRx, as listed on their web site:
- Banner Image – Upload a banner image to display on your tab.
- Audio/MP3s – Add audio MP3s to your tab for users to listen to.
- Videos Module – Add videos to your page from YouTube.
- Upcoming Events – Display upcoming tour dates and events on your tab.
- Page Wall – Display recent posts you’ve published to your Page.
- Info Module – Display your band’s info and/or social media links.
- Store Module – Display your band’s merchandise and/or releases on your tab.
- HTML Module – Display custom HTML content on your tab, such as a promotional banner.
- Twitter Updates – Display recent band Twitter updates on your tab.
- Email Collection – Display a button prompting users to join your mailing list.
- User Comments – Allow fans to comment within your tab using the Facebook Comments plug-in.
- Live Streaming Event – Display an embedded live video player for streaming events.
- Contest Module – Easily create a contest within your Facebook Page.
I am most interested in checking out the Store and Live Streaming Event modules. Maybe the latter will allow talented acts to avoid the lonesome bar scene in the years to come?
