The popular Web site MySpace has become a popular spot for musicians to start band pages. These pages enable fans to listen to clips of music, find local shows, browse pictures and find out more information about their favorite bands.
ReverbNation.com was launched around October 2006. Its goal is to help independent musicians promote and market themselves across the internet.
ReverbNation is now linked to MySpace and Facebook.
For Facebook users, the site is a completely new idea. It’s different from MySpace because Facebook only allows pages to be created for an individual.
Every piece of information can be packaged and moved anywhere on the Web. It can all be tracked back to who is playing the music and sharing it.
The Web site allows you to add a section to your page dedicated to your music. It enables you to share songs, schedules and a mailing list for fans.
“Musicians need to be everywhere on the Internet where their fans are,” Jed Carlson, the chief marketing director for ReverbNation, said.
ReverbNation is free as of now. It will always be free to fans, but will eventually introduce premium add-on services to help musicians promote their music. ReverbNation has about 50,000 musicians registered through the site as of now, with a steady increase of about 30 percent each month.
“For fans, the site is a great way to discover new bands,” Carlson said.
Jeremy Lev is a solo musician using the tools of ReverbNation to help launch his career. “It’s very musician/artist friendly,” Lev said.
Lev resides in Chapel Hill, N.C. His style of music is alternative pop. Lev describes his music as a “jazzy Ben Harper” or a “more alternative John Mayer.”
Lev joined soon after ReverbNation started when he heard about the site through a fellow musician.
Lev really enjoys the listserve that is offered by the site. When one joins the listserve, your name and city are taken, so bands can e-mail strictly to people who are located near their town instead of annoying people who aren’t anywhere near the band’s gig.
“It’s great because the song links are detachable in its own window. So, you can click on the song and keep browsing through different pages and still have the music playing,” Lev said.
This application is different from most music players attached to sites which only allow you to listen to the music on the pages while you’re still visiting it.
Neal Moody works for ReverbNation’s customer service and artist feedback.
“Bands want to be there,” Moody said.
So far, Moody says they have received excellent feedback from artists and fans.
People seem to be particularly excited about the application with the music player.
“You can listen to music and still browse other peoples profiles,” Moody said.
Facebook has been great for artists and fans with its recent developments. The only complaint is bands are unable to create their own band pages.
Moody also encourages people to send in their requests and comments because they are definitely taken into account.
Ulf Oesterle is the owner of Aux Records, an independent record company, based out of Syracuse, N.Y.
Oesterle is also a professor at Syracuse University, where he teaches anything from media to advertising classes.
Oesterle has also promoted shows and festivals in Syracuse and beyond.
Oesterle actually head about ReverbNation through one of the companies bands, Merit.
Aux Records currently has five bands signed, including: Merit, Anorexic Beauty Queen, The Pilot Lies and the For the Horizon.
“ReverbNation really works to get the music out there,” Oesterle said. “It’s tremendous for any band.”
So, if you’re looking for an expensive, but productive way to promote your sound, ReverbNation might be worth checking out. It could be a great opportunity for your band.
Most students are familiar with Facebook’s applications, and ReverbNation is just as easy to add as the rest of them.
This type of media is a great way to get a band’s name out that you like, or better yet, a way to publicize your own band.
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