Futuristic.

What does the future hold for the bloomin' technology age of boomin' music? My guess is as good as the next persons but the possibilities are endless. 


If I were to take one guess, I would say that viral marketing will only increase in the social networking realm. So far, social networking has worked wonders for the music industry. It has cut back advertising costs drastically - there is basically no need to advertising the actual music anymore and only a low need to advertise the music media players. Music is forever. 


If it were up to me I would request one major, dominating social networking site that has all of the major players essentially all in one package. Think about if you only had ONE login and ONE password, life would be even more simple. This is the direction I think we are headed in. Each network (as you have seen throughout our journey) connects and intertwines with one another, so why not combine them and be the ultimate knockout? Music would absolutely prosper even more so.


Where do you think the music industry is headed with the nonstop growth of technology? It is hard to say but will definitely be interesting to watch. I know ten years ago I did not think that the music industry would be anything it is today.

Keep plugged in.

Social Networking is Taking Over

Now that we have taken a good hard look at the top social networking sites for music, I would like to emphasize the point that while yes, each one is individual, they all intertwine and connect with each other.


YouTube, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Ping and SoundCloud. Could you even ask for more?

Each social networking site allows for interaction in another, if not multiple. 
Lets take a look:

• YouTube: Tell me who doesn't love to watch their favorite artists latest videos? Everyone. YouTube is all over Facebook, Twitter and MySpace. People love to interact with each other and share their favorite videos. The three social networks listed allows for YouTube to do just that.
• Facebook: The ultimate social networking site obviously has connections to just about everything. People share music videos from YouTube millions of times a day, use it to connect to their Twitter accounts like crazy, Ping literally taps into your Facebook profile to find your friends in order to fully function and SoundCloud allows you to post your music straight onto your Facebook page.
• Myspace: Though MySpace has fallen behind some of the newer networking sites, it is still hanging in their with the help of other networking connections such as YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and SoundCloud.
• Twitter: Twitter is compatible with Facebook and MySpace through widgets, which allows you to access your Twitter account at anytime.
• Ping: In order for Ping to properly function, it accesses your Facebook page to allow you to see what your friends favorite music is, what they are listening to now, and their recent downloads.
• SoundCloud: SoundCloud is a social networking site specifically for music. You can upload or download straight to your computer and share directly from the site to Facebook, YouTube, MySpace and Twitter.

With all of these social networks interacting, it allows for the music industry to truly prosper. This is all completely free and user generated, which is the ultimate goal of any business. The music industry is at an advantage because people will continually seek out new music and new artists but with all of these tools it makes it less time consuming and much less expensive than in the past.

What if there was a website available to the public, by the public, which allowed people to access, upload, share, and download music all from their computer? Guess what, there is. It is called Sound Cloud.

SoundCloud is a platform that puts your sound at the heart of communities, websites and even apps. Watch conversations, connections and social experience happen, with you sound as the spark (SoundCould, 2011). Once you add your sounds to SoundCloud they are free to go anywhere on the web. You can share it on social networking sites such as Twitter or Facebook, You can email your tracks to your family and friends, or just leave them on the website for others to enjoy. This takes advertising to a new level - a level that is not even seen as advertising to the general public. At this point, it becomes fun and adventurous exploring. 


SoundCloud has contributed to the downfall of the recording industry because it allows for an individual to record a song on the fly and immediately update it to the web, making it hearable by any and everyone. This is the fastest and cheapest (free) way to get your music heard. 


You want an application you say? Get this, there are over 100 apps that are SoundCloud compatible which increases the range of people your music has the potential to access. What musician could ask for anything more? This is "advertising" on steroids.

Ping. Ping Pong? Nope, just Ping.

Ping is a relatively new addition to the amazing line of Apple. Ping is a social networking site specifically for music. It runs directly through iTunes, which allows for it to access you iTunes library directly. With access directly to your personal library, Ping gets a feel for the type of music you listen to according to what you already have and makes suggestions based on it. According to Apple, Ping allows you to follow your favorite artists and friends to discover the music they are talking about, listening to and downloading (Ping, 2007). 
Similar to Twitter, Ping allows you to visit your favorite artists profiles to view their latest status updates, pictures, and of course, music. Ping allows you to access your friends profiles to see what type of music they are listening to so you can find some hot new tunes that you otherwise would not have been able to discover. 


Conveniently, Ping is accesible through the iPhone, iPad and iTouch application making it easily accessible  and user friendly (for those of you that are familiar with Apple products, which is seemingly everyone these days). THis allows you to stay updated on who, what, when and where in the music world at the click of a button. 


If this is not a prime example of music and technology working together at it's finest, then i don't know what it. This has taken music over the edge especially since it came from the technology giant Apple.

#NowTrending

Let's talk Twitter, the best way to discover what's new in your world. People all around the world are getting their Twitter on. Twitter is the newest (and maybe most popular, recently surpassing Facebook in popularity) social networking site. The idea is surrounded around text-based posts, which allow up to 140 characters per "tweet". The network is compatible with SmartPhones and iPhones, making it readily available to its users at all times of the day and night in the most convenient way possible.

You may be wondering how sending out 140 character tweets and the music industry are related, I don't blame you. The beautiful thing about Twitter is that it is not only used by your average, everyday people but celebrities of all types follow and update their Twitter accounts daily. Twitter certifies the account to ensure the public that it is indeed the real person. Twitter allows you to "tweet" at specific individuals, including celebrities. Many artists have twitter accounts therefore making the general public available to actually interact with them and build relationships - which is the key to getting a truly positive reaction from the public. 

Twitter has opened up a whole new world. It makes it seem as if celebrities are regular people just like you. They tweet about their daily lives, friends, family, you name it, they have probably tweeted about it. By now, I am sure you could have guessed that musicians utilize this unique tool to promote, sell, and advertise their latest and greatest hits as well. You can communicate with the artists, which has helped artists hone in on exactly what it is that their audiences expect to see from them.

I personally follow a number of musicians on Twitter including Nicki Minaj, a hot new artist on the rap scene. Here is one of her latest tweets to give you a better idea of how this tweet deal works:

NICKIMINAJ Nicki Minaj 

Cleveland, Ohio are u ready?!?!?!?!?! See ya tonite!!!!!#iamstillmusictour

Time to go out and experience twitter for yourself. Connect with your favorite artists and get the latest scoop on their music. Don't miss out!

MySpace, MyMusic.

Oh my MySpace. What ever happened to MySpace after the creation of the ever-so-popular Facebook? Advertising happened. Advertising has hit MySpace in an unthinkable way - via music. MySpace, which was first created as a social networking site such as Facebook now has its very own Music website, www.myspace.com/music. If you are in a band or are a musician of any sort and you do not have a MySpace account, you are missing out on a whole new world of opportunity.
MySpace Music offers the music industry an amazing opportunity. It allows the world to access the musicians page, which typically contains their songs, pictures, blogs, tour dates, essentially any piece of information that one would be seeking to find. 
My cousins band, Flawless Escape, has their own MySpace page and is the very first thing that comes up when it is google searched. It is a great example of how MySpace can be used to a musicians full advantage. Please visit the Flawless Escape MySpace page. 
What a better way to get your music heard? MySpace Music features up and coming bands and artists, has hot new artists, charts to check the current industry rankings, etc. 
If you are interested in music, you better get a MySpace music page to brag (advertise) about yourself because it works. This is the future.

let's FACE the MUSIC.

If you have not heard of Facebook by now, it is probably due to the fact that you have been living under a rock for the past couple years (specifically since 2004). Just kidding but really, Facebook is THE number one social networking site in the world with over 600 million users. It started out as a way for college students to interact with one another but has evolved into so much more. Today, Facebook is open to the general public, which allows for a great range of activity to take place among a great range of people.
With the expansion of Facebook, came a great business opportunity. It is no longer only used to reconnect with old friends or create a profile about yourself showcasing your life through pictures, posts and comments. It is a great way to communicate messages to people without using hard sell tactics. The idea behind "Facebook advertising" is brilliant. It requires the consumer to seek them out from a wide range of other similar products or services due to an already established interest in the consumers mind. The consumer seeks out brands, services, etc. on Facebook and can "Like" the page so everyone knows you are interested in it, creating buzz.
This consumer generated buzz is essential to advertising. The music industry has gained exponential benefits through Facebook. It allows for the musician to create their own page with information about themselves, the band, their music, etc. and basically advertise for free. The best type of advertising too, consumer generated word of mouth (or rather word of Facebook).
My cousin, Ryan Vyner, is in a band and I interviewed him about his experience with getting their name out there using Facebook as a key tool to their success. "Facebook has really helped Flawless Escape expand our listener base because it is available for everyone to see and interact with," Ryan Vyner said. "Facebook brings the band to life allowing us to comment and update our listeners on anything and everything, it is a great tool to use for any business venture".
There you have it folks, Facebook IS advertising for music.