Myspace

Chances are that you many of you will already know far more about Myspace than I ever will. You've probably got your own page and have about 1637 digital friends, all of whom you chat regularly to on-line, none of whom you would ever want to spend a second with in the real world. Myspace is the most famous of the 'social networking' sites on the web; online meeting places where you can chat, blog, upload videos, photos and music, and basically 'hang-out'. (The inverted commas are to denote that I know nobody actually uses this phrase. Irony is slippery to pin down on the screen.)

In 1996, powerful media honcho Rupert Murdoch (owner of the Sun and SKY TV in the UK) splashed out approx £300 million to buy Myspace. Suddenly people over the age of 18 were aware of its existence.

So what does all this have to do with music magazines? Well, Myspace is another threat to the supremacy of music magazines. Why wait to hear the views of your favourite artist in an interview in NME that might be out of date by the time it actually goes to print, when you can read what they blogged that very morning, and without any interference from a pesky journalist poking their nose into your private business or wanting to know why your new album's a bit on the ropy side? Not only that but you can hear their new songs, watch their video and even make 'friends' with them.

These days, setting up a Myspace page is a compulsory act for all new bands, many do it before they've even finished writing their first songs. It allows you to reach your fans directly, sidestepping the traditional media in the process. In other words, another smack in the face for a music press that is already on the ropes.

To learn more, check out trusty old Wikipedia's entry on Myspace:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myspace

Lily Allen is often referred to as the first star to be created by Myspace. This might be a bit of an exagerration, but Myspace definitely stirred up a lot of hype for her, particulary her blog in which she tends to be rather rude about other pop stars. Check out her site as an example of what the music magazines are up against.

NB Don't bother trying the link in school, Myspace is blocked. Spoilsports.

http://www.myspace.com/lilymusic

Pitchfork

Scan the list of links on the left on this page and you will be met with some familiar names - NME, Q, Kerrang! - that kind of thing, and then you will meet the word 'Pitchfork'. Click on the link and you will be welcomed into a strange land where bands have names like !!! and PAS/CAL, and where nobody seems to care about Coldplay. Full of weird and exotic sounding bands it may be, but Pitchfork is actually one of the most influential of music web-sites, responsible for giving bands such as Arcade Fire (what do you mean who?) their first spot of media attention.

It's likely that the exam will ask you to show some awareness of the fact that many print publications are struggling to keep up with their on-line competitors. Take a look at how busy the Pitchfork homepage is and bear in mind that it's updated on a daily basis. You may want to visit our old friend Wikipedia to find out what it has to say about Pitchfork. Click on the link at the end to do so.

And who knows !!! could be the band that alters the course of your very existence...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitchfork_media

Testing 3,4,5

So what if we're not yet cooking with gas, we have at least located where the oven is, we've mixed the pastry, and we've almost prepared a sumptuos filling. The TMAC GSCE Media Studies Blog pie will be yours to savour in 5, 4, 3, 2...