ShareMyGuitar – Social Network For Guitar Players

Name: ShareMyGuitar
URL: http://www.sharemyguitar.com

Check this site out if your New Year resolutions included one that went “Learn to play the guitar like John Petrucci”. ShareMyGuitar is a social network that will let you see to that. The only people who use it are guitar enthusiasts. By signing up for an account, you’ll be able to share pictures and videos of your favorite guitars and players. You’ll get to read interviews and news. And you’ll also be able to create polls and post questions for more knowledgeable folks to come to the rescue.

Alternative guitar tunings, chord charts, rare tablatures… you can request (and get) all that through this site.

And when it comes to polls, you can ask whatever you want. You can ask who’s the best rhythm guitar player under the sun (pointless – everybody knows it’s Pete Townshend), what’s the most famous guitar in history (pointless – everybody knows it’s Lucille), who’s the hottest chick who’s ever played a guitar (pointless – everybody knows it’s Orianthi)… all these things you’ve always wanted to ask but kept to yourself can be elucidated here. Continue reading

Now It’s Time For Napster To Get Its Own Movie: “The Social Music Network”

At Long Last, Napster Is Getting Its Own Movie

“The Social Network” was one of the greatest surprises of 2010, what with the movie being nominated for 8 Academy Awards (of which it won 3, including one for Best Original Score). So, it comes as no surprise that filmmakers are looking for other sites that would make for great movies.

And one of the few websites that can lend itself to a movie rivaling “The Social Network” in dramatic content is Napster. Created by 18-year-old college student Shawn Fanning in 1999, Napster was the most disruptive music service of its age. It marked the birth of peer-to-peer sharing, no less.

The service was forced to close down in 2001, following a string of virulent lawsuits. And although Napster remained around as a 100% legal music service and it changed owners several times, its 15 minutes were basically over.

But it’s a story well-worth sharing. And it will be told in documentary form soon. The as-yet unnamed project is going to be directed by Alex Winter (Bill from the “Bill and Ted” films), and this is a story he’s been wanting to tell for a long time – he once signed a deal with MTV films to create a scripted version of the story in 2002. But that came to nothing. Continue reading

FuseTrade – Social Network For Artists

Name: FuseTrade
URL: http://www.fusetrade.com

When reviewing social networking sites on MusicKO, I usually focus on the ones which are centered on musicians, and that let them interact among themselves or with their fans (or both). These sites let musicians and their punters start building the kind of communication that is necessary for music to become an integral part of everybody’s lives. But something which is every bit as important in order to accomplish that is taking a good look at what the artistic scene around one is like. Which plays are being staged, which exhibitions are being held, which new galleries are opening… A lot of opportunities for further spreading one’s art lie there. Not to mention that visual artists are something every musician ends up working with when releasing an album. Finding those that are in one’s wavelength early can but be a wise move.

That’s exactly what this new social network is all about. It lets artists from all over the world connect with each other, share all that they are doing and promote their creative work collectively. News on events can be spread, and the site has a gallery for uploading original work to. And a forum for conducting organized discussions regarding art and events is likewise featured.

Membership to FuseTrade costs nothing, and registration is quick and painless. And if you already have a Facebook, Twitter, Google or Yahoo! account then you can use that to log in instead, and skip registration altogether.

Jazz Cypher – Social Network For Jazz Musicians And Enthusiasts

Jazz Cypher Is A Social Network That Jazz Lovers And Performers Can Join At Zero Cost.

 

Name: Jazz Cypher
URL: http://www.jazzcypher.com

Jazz Cypher is a social network which is aimed at jazz musicians and connoisseurs. It enables them to create their very own profiles, list their likes and dislikes and post on a wealth of jazz-related topics. For example, the site makes it very easy for performers to promote upcoming shows, and also to find other musicians to play with. And these venues that feature combos playing live can spread the word about the acts they are to feature next through Jazz Cypher, in a cost-effective way (IE for free).

And what would a social network be without photo albums? Jazz Cypher enables users to upload all their images and group them in the relevant collections. These can then be seen by all their contacts and friends.

So, the site gives jazz musicians and lovers the chance to do what social networks let people do in general: connect among themselves, and share these things they are enthusiastic about. Only that here everything is kept within well-defined limits and boundaries, and no discussion is careening off-topic.

Personally, I feel it’s important to mention that even someone like me (who is neither a jazz performer nor someone who is overly-keen on the genre) found the site quite interesting. It actually made me feel like playing the CDs by Diana Krall I have in my possession. I have no doubts that if you’ve got the genre under your skin, you’re certainly going to fall for something like Jazz Cypher.

Tonall – A Social Network For Those Who Can Play An Instrument

Name: Tonall
URL: http://www.tonall.com

Tonall is a social network for musicians, but the instruments are the real stars of the show here. Why? Simply because connections on Tonall are made based on which instrument one plays.

If you become a user of Tonall you will be able to review the instrument you play, and wax romantic on its sound, its appearance and all these things that makes your eyes go misty when you think about it. The idea is that others will both get to know you better thanks to such reviews, and (which is every bit as important) get to realize if such an instrument would be a good fit for them.

And as it is only suitable, users of Tonall can buy and sell gear – a marketplace is provided to these purposes. It is browseable (and usable) by any single person who signs up for a Tonall account. That costs nothing, by the way. As long as you can speak English then you can jump aboard.

We Love Your Songs – A New Social Network For Bands And Fans

WeLoveYourSongs

Name: We Love Your Songs
URL: http://www.weloveyoursongs.com

We Love Your Songs is one of these community sites for new musicians that I have reviewed before, and that I will keep on reviewing until the end. I mean, such resources are terrific – young performers get a chance to nurture their talent, and fans get a chance to become familiarized with the ones who might as well become tomorrow’s stars today, when they were mostly unknown numbers. Plus, those who support a band locally get a chance to show their allegiance online more than easily

As in any other social site, users (IE bands and punters) have to sign up for their own accounts to interact among themselves. Once accounts have been created, it is very easy to upload media, and interact one-to-one both by commenting on what’s being shared.

And in order to elicit the best from bands (and to encourage fans to become even more involved) lots of different competitions are held on the site. Continue reading

The “Music On Facebook” Page Relaunches

Musiconfacebook

Back in 2008, Facebook launched a page for musicians. There, both established and up-and-coming acts were promoted in a bid to make new convert along the way.

At least, that was how things looked on paper. The truth was that MySpace was still the prevalent social site for musicians and music lovers to interact.

Fast forward to the year 2011, and the landscape has been drastically modified. The future of MySpace looks grimmer than ever, and Facebook is going from strength to strength. Its latest incursion into the world of email has met with interest and even outright enthusiasm in some quarters.

And now that MySpace is sinking in the rear view mirror, the Palo Alto company is aiming for the one trophy it could not only take from it back in the day: being the network of choice for musicians. Continue reading

How To Use Social Media To Become Famous

famous musicianIf used correctly, social media can break you into the music industry not only faster but also far more notoriously. Rebecca Black is the latest example of Internet stardom, and when you know the full facts and how much money it actually took her to get the video for “Friday” together ($ 4000 – her mother paid for it) then the one conclusion to be reached is that just anybody can do it.

And Rebecca Black is also a perfectly illustrative example if only because she has fallen prey to the derision that always besets such artists, with her “hit” quickly becoming the most-hated song on the Internet (it has almost 2 million “dislikes”, as opposed to 250,000 “likes”)

So, how could these pitfalls be avoided? How can a social presence be established and nurtured in the healthiest way of all?

I think that a basic analysis would let us agree on the following points:

1) Make sure you are picking the right social site.

Should you go for MySpace or Facebook in order to begin promoting your art? Up until now, MySpace used to be the social site of choice for musicians. Yet, the network has recently withstood one blow after the other – its userbase has been dwindling (owing in no small part to the proliferation of platforms like Bandcamp and ReverbNation), and key staff has been rotating to the point it’s downright difficult to keep track of all comings and goings. The coup d’ grace came last week, as owner Rupert Murdoch announced that he was putting the site for sale (and for a pittance of its real value at that).

When pressed to make a choice, Internet artists like Lady Gaga have always gone for Facebook. Just compare Gaga’s 1.5 million friends on MySpace to the more than 31 million “likes” she has on Facebook. And Gaga actually makes extensive use of her Twitter account, just like Justin Bieber does. Doing cross over content is an integral part of the game, and micro-sharing platforms like Twitter are always used in tandem with social networking sites to truly connect with audiences.

2) Know how to market your music intelligently.

Upload tracks for your fans to listen at no cost. If you are an unknown, not many would be willing to pay for the privilege of listening to your songs. By letting them listen to what you do for free, you will be giving people the impression that all you really want to do is spread your message, regardless of monetary considerations. And that’s all the encouragement many would need to try your music out. Continue reading

GigValley – Like Facebook, But Only For Bands

GigValley

Name: GigValley
URL: http://www.gigvalley.com

I can’t help but wonder what’s in store for rock & roll biographies. I mean, up to today every single one I’ve read (from Dave Marsh’s “Before I Get Old” to Chris Twomey’s “Chalkhills And Children”) devoted a copious amount of pages to how the band members met, and how they fought against all odds to pinch a record deal.

But today, social networking sites have everybody rocking to a very, very different beat. The trials and tribulations musicians used to go through (and that we read about time and again on bios) are going to disappear for good.

Trying to get a band together? A couple of posts on Facebook will get you started, and in 8 out of 10 cases take you more than halfway through.

Looking for a way to contact some record execs or A & R men directly? A handful of updates on Twitter might just put you face to face with the right industry names.

And a visit to a site like this one is going to get you ahead even faster than that. Continue reading

Music Lunge – Social Network For Indie Musicians & Performers

MusicLunge

Name: Music Lunge
URL: http://www.musiclunge.com

Music Lunge is a new social networking site for musicians. Although the title of this post suggests indie performers are the ones that would get the most out of it, the truth is that this network is also going to be of help to all majors who want to promote their art.

On Music Lunge, just anybody can create a profile and become discovered both by the public and by other performers. What’s more, those who use the site can find music industry professionals that much faster. This includes not only managers and music editors, but also attorneys and promotion agents. Continue reading