The Music SociaList

by Scotter Bragg

April 30th, 2008 in Entertainment, Lifestyle, Music, Newsletter, The SociaList Issue

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The internet has rocked the music industry. Radio has given way to iTunes and MySpace - and bands and fans benefit with more music offerings than ever before. Through social sites, local talents are finding larger audiences, music fans are finding others who share similar tastes, and blogs are turning some fans into tastemakers.

1. MySpace - With more than a million members worldwide, highly customizable pages, and free bandwidth to post MP3s, there simply isn’t a better place to promote your band, venue, or event than MySpace. MySpace offers high levels of customization that allows for sleeker designs with all the inherent usability of the basic page. Oh, and bands, let us download some of your songs directly from your page. A few free MP3s can bring a lot of new fans.

2. Last.fm - The next best thing to MySpace for music is Last.fm. Touting itself as “the Social Music Revolution,” Last.fm’s original contribution is the Audioscrobbler, a plug-in for your computer music player that tracks the songs you’ve played and sends the data directly to your Last.fm dashboard to connect you to “neighbors” with similar tastes, suggest new music, and rank your favorite songs. Last.fm plays well with MySpace and Facebook too.

3. Detroitcity.com - Perhaps like politics, all social networking is local. Featuring all the same tools you’ve used on Facebook and MySpace, Detroitcity’s goal is to “create an online environment for people to connect in the Michigan music industry.” That’s Michigan, not just Detroit, so westsiders and Yoopers should feel just as welcome as D-Town scenesters.

4. Detroit Club Scene - If you enjoy dressing to the nines for a sweaty night of clubbing and carousing to some of the best electronic and techno music around, then you’ve probably dropped by Detroit Club Scene before. The site’s very active Forum is the place for Michigan DJs to talk shop, for promoters to get the word out, and for the rest of us to plan our nightlife and tell all about it the day after.

5. Webvomit / Five-Three Dialtone - Webvomit’s Jasper and Five-Three’s JRC didn’t create their blogs with the intention of becoming authorities on the Detroit music scene, but these two constant concert-goers and dedicated music fans deliver daily with commentary (sometimes insightful, sometimes snarky) on what’s happening in the scene, and the scene shows up daily to comment with opinions, attitude, and jibes. Also check MotorCityRocks.

6. The Impact 89FM - The rise of satellite radio has forced local stations to utilize websites and social media applications to draw listeners, adding features like live streaming, message boards, video, podcasts, and blogs. One of the best in Michigan is East Lansing independent college radio station The Impact, which plays a wide-range of new music and offers a variety of shows, all with their own MySpace pages.

7. The Hype Machine - So many music blogs, so little time! Luckily, The Hype Machine is here to help you find out what bloggers are saying about your favorite bands. Search for a song or artist and you’ll get a list of blog posts, streaming audio, and the ability to let other Hype Machine members know if a blogger is right on or dead wrong.

8. Muxtape - Do you love making mix CDs for your friends but are finding that they don’t have time for dingy plastic discs with their fancy iPods and Zunes? Muxtape lets you post your mixes online for a wider audience than the girl you have a crush on or the friend that you want to cheer up. Why not share your most recent break-up mix with the entire internet? It’ll make you feel better.

9. iLike - iLike is a social networking site that connects people solely by musical tastes. You can discover your musical compatibility with others, share playlists, and recommend songs. And iLike offers lots of free mp3s to download. It’s a great place to discover new music and meet people who dig what you dig. There’s also a nifty widget available for your Facebook profile.

10. Michigan Music Festivals - Although the internet can bring music to your fingertips, sometimes you just have to shut down your laptop, get in your car, and immerse yourself among hundreds of people to discover new music. And Michigan boasts a number of renowned music festivals every year. Sometimes, dancing in a sweaty crowd of people is much better than sitting alone in front of a computer screen.

Any music communities you use that didn’t make the list? Leave a comment and let us know.

Scotter Bragg was born and raised in the suburbs of Detroit and moved to Washington, DC, for four years after college. Returning to Michigan in 2007, he also writes for the music blog The Post-Rockist and Metroblogging Detroit. He enjoys and writes about green living and sustainability, the Detroit music scene, and the arts in Michigan. He currently lives in Detroit.