Early 2000’s Alternative Musicians: Building the Scene on Myspace

Early 2000’s Alternative Musicians: Building the Scene on Myspace

Popular alternative musicians such as Panic at the Disco, Sleeping with Sirens, and Black Veil Brides, began their journey on the social media website Myspace. A blog style social media platform, akin to Facebook and Friendster, with peak popularity in 2007. Musicians would post and create profile pages for their bands. Users could then follow pages by friending, sending support via messages and profile graphics. Myspace positively impacted 2000’s alternative musicians by increasing publicity, such as advertising, and creating a fostering environment to generate new music genres.

With the introduction of the digital age, advertising methods changed drastically. Camden Rudgers graduate, Priscilla Pujols explains that “Before Myspace, artists and bands used different means of promoting themselves and their music, such as radio, MTV, and street teams,” (1).  Finding those methods difficult for entry to beginning artists without funding, the emergence of free online promotional ability encourages growth in new musicians. The ability for musicians to promote themselves without financial obligation allowed for an emergence of many new artists. Promotion to a band is arguably the largest drive for reaching success in a difficult to enter industry. Social media creates a platform that is easily accessible for fans to find musicians at all levels of distinction. Myspace operates with the ability to find forums dedicated to discussion of new music, but also to find others with the same favorite musicians. With the emergence of music on the website, Myspace launched their own record label, Myspace Records. Even in current times, publicity via social media is pivotal in forming a platform, “A consistent and professional online presence builds trust and helps fans, collaborators, and industry professionals understand who you are and what you offer,” (Wares). Social media is an effective and necessary means of promotion during the digital age. Many musicians today still focus on publicity through social media. With information now majorly presented solely on digital platforms, traditional means of promotion can be disregarded. Many people don’t buy physical media, such as CD’s and records anymore, many don’t even listen to the radio. Social media presented a free alternative method of advertisement and publicity that was accessible to anyone with internet access.

Social media, being available for people to connect across the internet, could very much as well lead to dangerous interactions. Sexual predators, cyber bullying, and graphic content are part of the downfalls to social media. With sites like Myspace and Facebook, anyone was able to sign up and create posts. For Myspace, “As a space that was both heavily frequented by minors and was lightly moderated, the site became a breeding ground for sex predators.” (Aarushikrishnan). With the site’s main demographic being teens, this is obviously a concern. In 2009 They launched an effort to remove sexual predators and ultimately removed 90 thousand+ accounts, double what they initially believed, (Robinson). Moderators increased on the website to prevent exposure to further explicit content, but the site was forever tainted by that image. Myspace and Facebook now hold stricter account requirements, by not allowing any convicted sex offenders from creating an account. Along with the emergence of Facebook, Myspace began to slowly fade from popularity. The final nail on the coffin being during a server data transfer, when it corrupted and deleted “12 years’ worth of music uploaded to its site” which is effectively “a loss potentially amounting to 50 million songs,” (Robinson). Anything posted before 2016 was permanently lost forever. Music from emerging bands to photos shared between friends, all gone. Myspace is still active today but only a shadow of what it used to be after being sold to an ad company. With the downfall of Myspace, many musicians express their disappointment with the situation. Lead singer from alternative rock group LostAlone explains that “This makes me really sad, so much of the start of my band came from the exposure and community Myspace had,” (Batelle qtd by Robinson). Further stating how the platform was perfect for musicians and fans to come together, part of a community that encouraged growth for different musicians and genres to flourish.

Using the ability to find so many different music styles all in one location, musicians were able to start blending and breaking out from conventional genre norms. Screamo, a combination of scream and emo exploded into the scene. Artists were able to independently decide their own paths without structuring themselves to fit in commercial genres. Creating authentic and bold new sounds. The Myspace music group BrokeNCYDE were ridiculed in the rap genre for their funky techno beats, pushed into the sceamo category. Wildly renown as the most hated band on Myspace. With profane lyrics and sexual messages, “Surely, casually misogynistic songs like “Scene Girls”, and “S*x Toys”, couldn’t have been written with an entirely straight face,” (Noise Addicts), many people believe this band not to be taken seriously. At the time the band was ridiculed, sent death threats, and even gained a notorious hate page- Mothers against Brokencyde. “I know there’s been other mixtures of music, but I don’t think there’ve been many that have caused so much controversy, chaos and happiness at the same time,” (Shea, qtd. in Enis). People now acknowledge the humorous spin but also appreciate their pioneering through genres. A bold flagellant break from genre stereotypes compared to the encouraged ‘underground is cool’ way of thinking now.

With defiance from conventional music genres also creates ostracization within the scene. Many independent bands were funneled into genres and then labeled to follow the guidelines for that genre. At the time, musicians were almost discouraged from trying new things. Cliques were very popular within the alternative scene; the word poser was thrown around from punks. If you didn’t conform to the rules, you would be rejected. Ironic coming from a social movement about breaking from society. Notorious rap rock band Hollywood Undead began on Myspace with their crunkcore party beats and daringly bold lyrics. When looking for record labels, “Myspace Records pressured the group – whose members wear menacing masks and rap about a Hollywood stricken with poverty, crime, drugs and prostitution – to alter its lyrics because they were seen as controversial,” (Lauria). Despite early setbacks with censorship, Hollywood Undead stood their ground and are wildly successful under a different record label. Since the event, they have been touring with big names such as Falling in Reverse, Black Veil Brides and Papa Roach- the band had created a name for themselves. “The fact that they went from some guys dicking around on the internet to touring with some of the biggest rock bands on earth is nothing short of impressive,” (Wills). Their ability to rebound, maintaining their bold and controversial style is what sets them apart from other groups. Their defiance, which initially was holding them back, allowed them to grow in ways other bands were unable to. An encouraging fanbase supporting their creative confident expression.

Myspace ultimately created a perfect platform for emerging and renowned musicians to build publicity and kickstarted the defiance against commercial music genres. Co-Founder of Myspace, Chris states that “In a certain way Myspace has been somewhat of a backbone in providing that talent and experience, fueling a lot of the incubators and new businesses,” (DeWolfe, qtd. in Kozlowski). Myspace fostered a creative space for musicians to publicize their music worldwide. While the website is no longer, the impact is long lasting. Some musicians will forever reminisce about their humble beginnings on the platform. Myspace, despite its downfalls, had a major impact on the growth of niche genres and held a space for musicians to advertise their musical creations.