It used to be that the Guardian’s Technology section (previously known as Online) understood the internet while the Media section, by framing it within the bounds of existing paradigms, patently didn’t. A recent article in the former, Making a song and dance, shows the emergence of a new mutant strain of article in that it kinda gets it but ultimately fails miserably.

The basic premise is that when you look in detail at all the bands and artists that have “made it big” on the back of “the MySpace revolution” it’s really all about old fashioned major record label activity and thus is nothing new. Therefore the online revolution in music discovery and promotion is the same old system in new clothes.

Which is correct. If you only look at the artists that have signed deals with the major labels. The rise of the Arctic Monkeys, regardless of their musical abilities, is not at all interesting as it all boils down to word of mouth which has fueled the discovery of new non-manufactured acts since pop music began. Their management seized on this buzz and got them signed and the record company exploited it, which is great for them and those that like their music, but it’s got nothing to do with “the MySpace revolution”.

So, at the risk of banging my head against a brick wall, this is my final say on what MySpace and other online music-related social networking services are all about.

It’s not about MySpace specifically

One day MySpace will be replaced by something better, probably when the next generation of teens emerge onto the online realm. To understand its success you have to understand the appalling state of band websites. Invariably built in Flash they were impossible to navigate, obfuscated all the important information, were never updated and often made you register before you could hear any music. By contrast a MySpace music page has everything you need on one page – band members, influences, biography, tour dates and, most importantly, the actual music. You could cover it in shit and it would still be an improvement, but that doesn’t mean it’s the ultimate way of doing this sort of thing, just the first time the information has been vaguely standardised in a manageable format.

It’s all about the Long Tail

So Madonna has a MySpace page. This isn’t interesting. What’s important is every band you see at every venue in the country also has one and they all exists on a level playing field.

Success is relative

Not every band or artist wants to be famous. At this stage in the game most people are aware of The Problem With Music and while some don’t know or don’t care there are many who are quite happy with a small but significant number of fans who will buy their albums and fill out their gigs. Previously this middle ground was hard to get established in but MySpace has provided a backbone making it all a lot easier to DIY.

It’s how the bands use it

Social networks like MySpace are, by their nature, about social networking. I’m kinda surprised I need to say that but within the old paradigm of broadcast it seems to get forgotten. What’s interesting about MySpace is not what you see when you visit someone’s page but what’s going on behind the scenes. People are talking to each other, sharing information and getting connected. Bands are finding gigs, managers, labels and other like-minded artists through MySpace in a manner that dwarfs he previous methods of doing such things.

There’s a halo effect

Tying in to this are all the other actors on the music scene – the promoters, small labels, badge makers, photographers, bloggers / zinesters, etc. The barriers to setting up your own operation have been lowered significantly by hooking into the relevant MySpace communities as all the contacts and information you need is there – it’s just a matter of doing something with it. The end result is an ecosystem which, while it may not replace the major labels, provides a viable alternative.

The death of bullshit

There are a lot of wankers in the music scene and their currency is cool. When everything you could possibly know came from the NME and Melody Maker it was easy to get away with pretending you knew the cool. Now, with an infinite number of MySpace music pages out there, it’s impossible. You’ve never heard of the bands I like, but I’ve never heard of the bands you like either – shall we share links while we laugh at the hipsters?

Nobody cares what you think

So what happens when you’ve got a large number of overlapping communities of artists forming a vibrant and self-sufficient means to produce and disseminate their works? The traditional means of getting music to fans becomes less and less important. In the past a band might have said “fuck the labels, fuck the journalists” and been left with nothing. Now bands and their fans don’t even notice them. Music journos and A&R men used to hold the keys to the Rock Castle but no-one wants to get in anymore. I don’t care what you think of my favourite band. Who are you anyway?

Most importantly a band on MySpace is not a “MySpace band”. This should be obvious, but then so should this whole post.

Yes, MySpace sucks big hairy balls. Yes, it’s full of the rather annoying variety of teenager. But when it comes to music it’s possibly the only place to go, not because it’s a great service (it patently isn’t in so many ways) but because of what it allows musicians and those who like music to do. Understand this and you understand why “the MySpace revolution” is important, and remember, this is only the first faltering steps. Just wait to something decent comes along.