by Kate Conlow

On most warm summer evenings in Des Moines, the Vaudeville Mews is a reliable place for a social scene. Blazed hipsters and buttoned-up metrosexuals lean against windows where unique posters promoting upcoming shows are on display. Mingling between the Converse All-Stars and the espadrilles, unwanted promotional fliers, all designed to reflect the styles and personalities of various bands, litter the street. For Brandon Foley, guitarist and singer of local band Mondo Cane, nothing is more beautiful.

Despite the fact that there are hundreds of flyers and multiple posters, these notices are not what bring in the eclectic crowds. The digital flyer, sent out to people through MySpace, is the new way that bands are communicating with their fans.

MySpace features

Often associated with the bad reputation it has received from the people who use the Web site in a perverse manner, MySpace is a phenomenon that started in 2003 and has grown to become one of the most clicked-on social networking Web sites in the world. MySpace is similar to Web sites like Friendster, LiveJournal and Facebook, in that it allows people to create public profiles for themselves. Profiles usually include basic personal facts like age and gender, as well as individual interests that can include favorite movies, music and hobbies.

Another feature of the MySpace profile is the blog, which is used to distribute messages to a person's list of "friends." There is also a space on the profile where "friends" can interact by posting comments. A "friend," on MySpace, is by no means confined to the standard definition. "Friends" can be anyone, from your best friend to someone you have never met before. The way it works is that one person asks another person to be a "friend." Once the request is made, it is up to the second person to either "accept" or "deny" the friendship. There is no limit placed on the number of "friends" that an individual may have, so many profiles boast thousands of "friends." These basic features foster easy communication among people all over the world and have made MySpace's popularity what it is today.

MySpace as a marketing tool

For numerous businesses, MySpace serves as an excellent marketing tool. Popular television shows like "Project Runway" have created MySpace profiles to entice new viewers. Many movies and magazines have also created MySpace accounts to promote their products.

In Des Moines, the use of MySpace as a promotional tool is becoming very popular among local bands. One of MySpace's most popular features is MySpace Music, a space designed specifically for bands and musicians, with an mp3 player that allows people to listen to songs. For Foley, MySpace is a free and easy way to gain exposure, meet fans and book shows.

"MySpace has created an equal opportunity for every band in the world to expose themselves to anyone in the world," he says.

With the greater and more equal opportunities that MySpace provides, it is becoming the new way to promote bands. MySpace is also fostering a new form of interaction between bands and fans, one Foley thinks is so important that it will create a lasting impact on music in popular culture.

"I think that music and MySpace will coincide in the future's memory of this generation's music," he predicts.

The experiences of some other local bands suggest that Foley may be right.

The Autumn Project

The Autumn Project, a Des Moines band that describes their music as "something without words... something soundless," originally joined MySpace with the hope that, at the very least, they could expose their music to a larger audience.

For The Autumn Project, MySpace has proven to be "a great tool for people to 'stumble' across [our] music and become interested in what [we] are doing, thus spreading the word," says drummer and keyboard player Mike Gustafson. There are now more than 650 people from as far away as Latvia declaring themselves as "friends."

MySpace has allowed The Autumn Project to meet people as well as keep in touch with fans that they meet on the road. MySpace's mp3 feature also promotes The Autumn Project's music by allowing fans to sample songs, ultimately persuading many to purchase their records.

"We have noticed a big increase in the 'I am going to buy your new record!' comments [on our MySpace wall] and most actually follow through," Gustafson says.

Since joining MySpace to promote their music, Gustafson has also noticed a greater turnout at shows, although he believes that more traditional marketing efforts are still essential to a successful show.

"You still can't beat a good ol' fashioned poster or paper handbill," Gustafson says. "If you have a show on Saturday and you send out a MySpace bulletin on Friday afternoon while people are browsing the Web and slacking off at the end of a work day, I can guarantee you that those people will likely come out to the show if they like you. It is not so much a great promotion tool as it is a great reminder tool."

However, for The Autumn Project, the biggest benefit of MySpace has been a greater ability to book shows. Gustafson explains, "You can book through bands or through people that really like what you are doing."

By using MySpace, The Autumn Project has gotten better shows and better turnouts.

When The Autumn Project books shows through MySpace, they usually don't contact the venue directly, but rather local bands or fans. The Autumn Project's recent show in St. Louis was set up through a fan who contacted them through MySpace. When they played in Kansas City, a local band set up their show. Gustafson says that other bands contact him to book shows in Des Moines as well, but booking through other bands is not completely simple.

"If someone wants help with booking a show in Des Moines, they better be able to offer us something where they live," he says. "It is bartering, I guess."

Booking a show through MySpace involves a long process of coordinating schedules with different bands and hoping both the bands and the venue are what they expected, based on MySpace information.

"It is a gamble every time," Gustafson says. "You never know what you are going to end up with. Sometimes it is great, and sometimes it truly is not."

Patience is a virtue

Venue gambles and long booking processes aren't the only downsides to using MySpace. Networking with solid contacts takes time and patience - a patience that for The Autumn Project is paying off as they book better shows in bigger venues.

Gustafson, however, encounters a lot of bands on MySpace that just want to use other bands to get shows without offering some sort of return.

"I see a lot of bands out there on MySpace that are just getting started, and they are utilizing other bands to book their shows for them," he says.

The Autumn Project has experienced some of these bands firsthand. Gustafson explains, "I get three or four messages a week about some band trying to put together a show in Des Moines, or [asking] 'Can you slip my band on your bill?'"

Gustafson has learned to ignore these people and focus on more redeeming opportunities. For The Autumn Project, MySpace has created a more democratic way to book shows and expand their network of fans because it allows them to show their music as well as their personality. The Autumn Project's MySpace is in no way a marketing panacea, but the fact that it is free and easy to maintain has made it an invaluable networking tool.

Cantus Firmus

Described by fans as having a sound that is similar to the bands Muse and Weezer, Pella band Cantus Firmus uses MySpace to share what their profile describes as "efforts to make unique and interesting music."

Like The Autumn Project, Cantus Firmus joined MySpace to introduce their music to a larger audience; however, this band has taken a bolder approach to promoting their music by requesting hundreds of people from specific demographics to be their MySpace "friends," putting their total number at more than 3,000.

According to Kellee Van Hemert, the singer and guitar player for Cantus Firmus, this promotional method has been successful.

"We had a show in Sedalia, Mo., so we added like 150 kids from there," he says. "Probably at least half of them accepted the ad, maybe 10 of them commented on how they liked our music, and like six of them came to the show purely because of what they heard on MySpace."

Six may not seem like a lot, to some, but for Van Hemert, using MySpace is the easiest way to increase the number of people at their shows.

As a result of their success in Sedalia, Van Hemert says that he and his band mates will continue to add people in the towns where they have shows in order to increase their turnouts.

Using MySpace has also fostered better fan interaction. When Cantus Firmus posts new songs to their MySpace, they send a mass blog informing their "friends." In response, fans will post comments about that new music.

One fan writes, "I just love to come here [MySpace] and listen to you guys! Ahh!! I want a CD!!"

For Van Hemert, "MySpace is a great way for us to get our material out there and get almost immediate feedback from people that aren't our relatives or real-life friends."

Promoting demos

One of the MySpace glitches is that bands are allowed a maximum of four songs on their MySpace pages. When Cantus Firmus reached their limit, they still wanted a space to post the songs that they had been working on, so they created another MySpace account titled Cantus Firmus Demos, where they post their demo songs.

According to Van Hemert, this concept is fairly unique for MySpace. Cantus Firmus contacted all their "friends" and asked them to become a "friend" of their new MySpace, Cantus Firmus Demos. More than 100 of their "friends" joined. For Van Hemert, the Cantus Firmus Demos page only strengthened the band's following.

"I think that for those kids who take the time to listen to the demos, they are becoming more of a fan because they've been let in on something unique and special," Van Hemert says. "They can comment on our demos and give us feedback on the new ideas. They can actually help shape future songs. So it gives them some input on what we're doing."

Gig-swapping

Like The Autumn Project, Cantus Firmus uses MySpace to network with other bands and music venues in order to book shows.

Van Hemert describes "gig-swapping" or "trading shows" as a common practice "where one band offers another band a show if the other band can do the same in return."

Cantus Firmus keeps in contact with at least 20 Iowa bands with which they play shows and "gig-swap," something that Van Hemert feels would be impossible without MySpace. For Cantus Firmus, MySpace is the primary way that they book their shows, conducting roughly 95 percent of their shows' bookings through MySpace and very rarely scheduling solely through telephone or even email.

Even though MySpace is great for booking shows, Van Hemert says, press kits are still essential tools for some venues and all record labels. Van Hemert says handbills and posters are unnecessary.

"Since MySpace has the ability to make virtual posters for shows, we just put those in 'comments' and/or 'bulletins' and the word gets out just as fast, and most of the time even faster than the traditional poster," he says.

The convenience and ease of networking and promoting through MySpace makes it an essential tool for Cantus Firmus.

In Van Hemert's opinion, "I think it'd be insane for a band to not have MySpace. It's the new medium. It's what makes our band, Cantus Firmus, possible."

Local venues

The swelling number of bands and fans who use MySpace as a networking tool is also affecting local music venues. Both the Vaudeville Mews and House of Bricks have created MySpace accounts. Although these do not replace their business Web sites. It is clear that the profiles are well visited, with each claiming nearly 1,000 people as their "friends."

For Ladd Askland, the booking agent at the Vaudeville Mews, MySpace is a great way for the business to receive "positive and constructive criticism" from bands and fans. On the Vaudeville Mews' comment space, one fan writes to suggest a possible lineup for a show: "You know what would kick ass? A Mondo Cane and Peaches show."

Askland says that the Vaudeville Mews uses these comments to better their business.

"We take [the comments] all in and try to improve to make The Mews the best place to see live music and, flatly, have fun each and every night," he says.

MySpace party

Both the Vaudeville Mews and House of Bricks say they generally don't book shows via MySpace. However, Askland says that many bands initially ask to set up shows by sending a message through MySpace.

About a month ago, J.C. Wilson, owner of the House of Bricks, used the popularity of MySpace to create an innovative concept, new to Des Moines: a MySpace party and show. Wilson says that he sent out invitations through a mass blog to members of the House of Bricks' MySpace community. Members were told that if they brought printouts of their MySpace pages, they would receive a discounted rate at the show. The event ended up drawing a crowd, and Wilson deemed it a success. CV

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