Benefits of MySpace Music: Pandamysterium Speaks

It's Saturday night in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and three musicians are in the middle of a photo shoot. The group's drummer, who is a photographer, is meticulously stationing his tripod for the perfect image. He's tested the lighting, he's positioned the other two band members, he's even let one of the guys open an umbrella in the house. No, all this work is not for a magazine, the local weekly, or even for a flier. These guys are posing for My Space Music.

The three My Space Music entrepreneurs are Pandamysterium -- two lead guitarists and a drummer -- who have played together on front porches and several Carolina venues for the past two years. They say their main means of advertising to friends and fans is My Space Music.

"All the good bands have a My Space site ... even Motley Crue has a My Space site," said John Truesdale (a.k.a. Beater, the drummer). "I've gone on two dates via My Space."

The process of uploading to the My Space bandstand is simple. A member creates a My Space account under the band's name and begins uploading information for others to view. The site asks who influenced the bands, which bands the musicians like/dislike, and for biographies of the members. While interesting information about bands in view, this data does not increase traffic to band sites. If a band lists Van Halen as an influence, for example, they will not be linked to fans of Van Halen via My Space. It's just for fun.

The more computer-savvy the band members are, however, the better the site becomes. Pandymysterium -- who derived their name during a conversation about pandemonium and it's mystery -- have already uploaded four pictures, and they've had less than a dozen practices. They plan to add video and audio after their next gathering.

Two of Pandamysterium were recently a part of another My Space feature, The Blasting Concept. The Clemson group even has videos of local concerts uploaded ... and a stalker in Texas. While active, they gained 143 My Space friends.

The good, the bad, the weird, it's all part of the beauty of free advertising, explained Truesdale.

Not only can fans find new music from around the world, growing bands can also easily communicate with potential venues via My Space, he added. In the past, bands had to compile tapes and CDs to gain access to a place to play. Now they only have to direct bookers to My Space pages.

"What's cool is the sheer democracy of the whole thing," Truesdale said. "There is no record-company hierarchy to it. It's just there."