IS MYSPACE DOOMED?

Once upon a time, a distant era in internet terms, 2 years ago every band under the sun had a myspace site. In a crude hark back to the infancy of social networking bands would accrue as many ‘friends’ as possible on myspace as some badge of coolness. “Wow are they really mates with The Buzzcocks?” Well no, not exactly – just some geek who set up a fan site run out of his bedroom in Birmingham. Visually myspace had a look of a Salvador Dali painting, cluttered, but bands put up with its flaws like slow-loading  because it was the place to be seen and heard. The process of being heard and connecting with fans has now well and truly been superseded by Facebook and Twitter, so myspace is left pushing the immediacy of the artists music. Behind the scenes myspace was a friggin’ nightmare for those who hadn’t studied computer science at varsity or those over 30. Music fans can now by-pass myspace and go to Bandcamp, listen and download music which has a much more traditional web-site format. Unlike myspace bands can also upload and sell their music and sundry merch over Bandcamp – so artists prod their Facebook fans off to Bandcamp to listen to the latest single in the hope 1 in 10 buys a copy. Many new bands now by-pass myspace altogether and set up a Bandcamp site. Without tempting a letter from Rupert Murdochs lawyers in its current format myspace is doomed to wilt away.