Time to quit MySpace? Reasons for and Against…
Friday, January 21st, 2011Since Andrew Dubber introduced “Quit MySpace Day” over 1 year ago the view of MySpace as that indispensable tool in the independents arsenal has been been coming increasingly under fire. Dubber unflinchingly rains a tirade of criticism on the failures of MySpace, calling it not just “irrelevant ” but “utterly poisonous”. Many have followed suit and together a compelling case has been made for the inadequacies of MySpace as a place for independent musicians (or social networking altogether for that matter). At the same time, others have put also put forward compelling reasons for staying on.
So, just why should we leave, and what are the reasons for staying?
In the blue corner - Quit now.
MySpace was never designed as a music platform. Dubber makes the point that MySpace was never designed as a music platform - a sober look at the actual features, integration with other services and a lack of effective revenue generating tools for independents is still a testament to this. Dubber says though you can manage your day to day independent music career on MySpace “its like trying to dry your hair with a toaster - it isnt really fit for the purpose”.
MySpace have failed musicians. Dubber also says that despite having the “greatest untapped asset on the Internet right now” (pretty much EVERY band on the planet) they have failed to innovate and deliver real opportunities for them. MySpace need to do better, much, much better. The new makeover doesnt impress Dubber one bit. In this view, MySpace had their chance - but they blew it. No point waiting around when there are other opportunities to consider.
