I do not like Myspace. The people at the Swedish independent record label Service probably felt the same way when they described Myspace's deficits in an eloquent post one week ago.
I can understand that artists may appreciate Myspace as an online community which offers them direct contact to some of their fans. But I do not play in a band, I will not play in a band in the future, and I find Myspace just awful.
I looked through the websites of my favourite bands. The Essex Green are perfect to illustrate my point. The Essex Green gave up their website and moved to Myspace instead. Gone is the The Late Great Cassiopia mp3 link. Gone is the option to view the album covers side by side. Sure, The Essex Green have pimped their Myspace page nicely, but it is not enough. There are too many things that I hate with Myspace:
1. I go to Myspace to get some news updates by my favourite bands (most of them refer to their Myspace pages as they no longer update their websites). Myspace greets me with a song that automatically is played in horrible sound quality. The feeling of the song that simultaneously is played in my media player is ruined. I do not want political propaganda in my mailbox. I do not want a program/script (or whatever it is called) to randomly select a song that is forced upon me. I would like to choose to listen myself, when I feel like it. I should not have to mute my media player just because I want to read some news updates on a band page at Myspace.
2. Myspace allows only four songs on each profile. The mp3 links at the band websites have often ceased to exist and it is no longer possible to listen to the songs the way they should sound. I listened to Katie Goes to Tokyo's Unbelievable at her Myspace page. I felt that the song had potential, but it really sounded dull compared to Until She Breaks. Then I heard Unbelievable on Katie's website and fell in love with the song. It may seem like a case of double standards to complain about the automatic playback at Myspace and then praise the same thing on Katie's website. In the latter case, however, the sound quality is as good as on cd and then you just say thank you and take a bow. Moreover, Katie's website allows me to navigate freely without having the music turned on or off suddenly. That is exemplary.
3. Myspace is ugly. The Essex Green have made an effort to get their page nice, but most bands stick to a standard template. Let us compare the website and the Myspace page of one of my absolute favourite bands, The Arrogants. Their website is true pop music love. The Arrogants allow us to download their first two EPs for free, they put up lyrics, and they upload several exclusive recordings plus cover songs by their friends. Their Myspace page on the other hand seems to exist more as a necessary evil. Admittely, I soften considerably when I hear Jana's voice when she says Nobody's Cool take five though.
4. Everything looks the same. I understand the concept, but it also makes everything aesthetically standardised. The Snow Fairies have really tried to make their Myspace page look fine but it still falls short. The Snow Fairies' website on the other hand feels truly special. To welcome the visitor with a big cover of the album Get Married makes a big difference. The Snow Fairies make one thing to separate themselves from everything that look similar on myspace...
5. Influences and sounds like make it all seem like a questionnaire. The Snow Fairies clearly give the best answers. But all the home, browser, search, invite, movies, email, blog, etc at Myspace disturb me.
Now you may wonder why I even care about Myspace if I hate the site that much. Would it not be better to avoid Myspace? Unfortunately, there are too many bands that have stopped caring about their websites while referring us to Myspace instead. I understand it when a band does not bother to update their website, but I become sad when they spend time on Myspace instead. Take a look at the websites of Belle and Sebastian, Language of Flowers, Looker, Lucky Soul, and Stars. They all show that Myspace can never replace a good band website.
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