Compared to Myspace, it’s initially difficult to see how bands can use Facebook – vastly popular though it’s becoming – to promote and market their own music. There are a few apps that help you post your own music to your profile page (as noted yesterday, ReverbNation’s is probably the best of a small bunch right now). But what’s the point of uploading tracks if your friends are the only people who will hear them? (I have to assume you’ve already told your friends you’re in a band!)

One resourceful unsigned band recently tried a somewhat sneaky marketing tactic that gained them notoriety on Facebook, and some modest press coverage in the process. Leeds band The Bribe set up a Facebook group ostensibly protesting the hideousness of the London 2012 Olympic logo. After gathering more than 4000 members, the band hijacked the group to promote its upcoming new single. You can read more about the stunt – including some revealing comments from the band themselves – over at Brand Republic.

This was a risky move. The Bribe not only risked alienating more people than they intrigued, but they are also in danger of being seen as gimmicky. It’s a good story for the press, but how many actual listeners will it drive to their page?

This is the difficulty any artist faces when attempting press stunts. You have to be always offering incentives to your potential fans. The way the Bribe used Facebook is clever, but it was essentially utilizing a web 2.0 platform in a web 1.0 way – they made you notice, but they didn’t give you much reason to participate, and participation is the key to this kind of opportunistic approach to promotion. The argument they sparked was one about whether it was right of them to hijack a Facebook group in this way – it crucially wasn’t about the music.

Spank Rock – Spank rock live in london 1

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