Well, if you aren't new to social networking, you most likely had (or still have) a Myspace page at some point. Most people I know use Facebook, and now Google plus, and rarely check their Myspace anymore. You might have gone to the site once or twice in the last year and noticed "everything is all fucked up." or "it's just gotten way too complicated." True, right now it's a total turd... I can't even stand the new interface, and all I get for messages anymore is spam, spam, spam... you get the point. One thing Myspace was always the leader in, and still is in some regards, is the ability to connect and listen to your favorite bands. The first thing most of us do when we get a new project going is sign up a page, upload our tunes, and start sharing. Since Facebook came along and swept MS out of the way, there has been a major decline in user traffic, and I think bands are hurting. Sure, FB has "fan pages" which I find redundant, and quite simply useless. They are a mess, the same way Myspace was a few years ago. And Reverbnation?... please. You may or may not realize, that due to dwindling traffic, NewsCorp., who bought Myspace in 2005, recently sold the company to Specific Media. Also on board, none other than Justin Timberlake (you know... of NSYNC...) as a creative consultant. I've recently read a few articles about Specific, and JT's, plans for the already crumbling site, and it actually sounds promising. So far they have been in competition with sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, and ancient SN's like Friendster, and GeoCities. Even as the company fell out of NewsCorp's control, they had openly "submitted" to the Facebook's reign, by adding 'Like' buttons to EVERYTHING. But the direction it's going now is taking aim at things like iTunes, Spotify, and Turntable, to name a few. If you think about it, they have already integrated in to everything else, so there is no further threat from Facebook, etc. Myspace is the new threat to everything else, putting focus back in to social music sharing. Also, I'm guessing there will be a live interface where you can rate what your friends are playing, and it will start acting as a big talent show, all over again. Of course, you should be skeptical, but I have faith in the new direction, and much needed return to it's roots. So what else is there? If you're like me, you probably aren't satisfied with any music sites, but I think these free sites are great alternatives to that tired Facebook fan page that nobody goes to...
Soundcloud is my favorite. They even have embed players that you can put anywhere!
Last.fm is also awesome... You can scrobble tracks, and listen to countless radio stations with your favorite music.
Bandcamp is the place to be if you just want to show off your catalog. You can also recommend music you like to your audience.
