2010-02-16dated from the article

Is MySpace Dead?

Written February 16, 2010. Platforms and services described here have changed. This is kept as a record, not as current advice.

A musician emailed me recently and asked a questionabout MySpace and Facebook. It’s a great question and one I hear all the time: I’m just wondering what your opinion would be on using MySpace or Facebook to connect with fans….. which would be more valuable for me and my band to put our time and effort into? Myspace was the original social network for musicians, and a lot of bands have had great success with it.

When people point out that it’s not dead yet, they’re right ….. but it is dying. For that reason, we always recommend that artists concentrate of their Facebook pages first and foremost. Some music industry folk (DJs, labels, promoters etc.) will still look for a MySpace page, so it’s important to have one, but if you can only pick one to concentrate on, we’d always recommend Facebook.

With any online promotion you do, the goal is to build up a lasting connection with fans who will support you and your music. You want the work you do now to keep paying off in 5 or 10 years time, with real fans supporting you every step of the way. With that in mind, you want to make sure that any connections you make are on sites that will actually be around in 5 years time! For current rights and policy context, see U.S. Copyright Office.

So right now, even though MySpace has 100 million users, we still ask all artists the same question when thinking about building their fanbase – In 5 years time, would you prefer to have 50,000 MySpace friends or 50,000 Facebook Fans? Which social network will have more real people, more active accounts and be more likely to help you sell albums and concert tickets?

When we ask ourselves this question, we pick Facebook every time. Do you invest much time and energy in MySpace? Do you think the connections you make on MySpace will be as valuable as those you make on Facebook?