Do you remember Myspace? If yes, then you probably remember bands. They assaulted you with nonstop friend requests, event invites, and constant messages to “check out our new song produced by someone else you’ve never heard of.” If, like me, you were in one of those bands, then you got it worse. Every time you posted your own show, twenty other bands from six states away would want to jump on the bill. Or you’d get the weekly “Hey, we’re on this DIY tour and wanted to see if you’d book a gig next Tuesday at the club you guys just played this past weekend … should be a blast.”

Thank goodness Facebook killed all that. Bands, usually jumping all over the next promotional vehicle, have been slow to adapt to the Facebook environment. They shouldn’t feel bad; most giant corporate marketing groups still haven’t quite got it figured out yet either. Right now, it’s still all about just being on it. There are a few vehicles to help fledgling rock stars promote themselves on FB, such as ReverbNation and iLike, the latter being the most robust tool. Both give you the ability to upload songs, videos, pictures, and keep fans up to date with concert dates and tour schedules, but iLike gives you the ability to do it across a number of channels like Facebook, Myspace, iGoogle, and iTunes.

My favorite hub for bands and fans of new music is PureVolume. It’s languished as an also-ran for years, but managed to hang around and has been gaining ground. It’s always been the best designed tool and gets better. Clean and easy to navigate, it simplified the process for fans to find what they want and for bands to share their information and product. And just like the old days, pay a little money and you get pro-level membership and increased visibility.

All of these still require you to get someone to “like” you on the front-end before they can listen to basement tracks, thrill over your latest news, and then share with their friends. So please, instead of figuring out how to stalk me online again, just slide me a CD at another band’s show or give me a code to redeem a free song download at some other place I might be. If I like you, I’ll be your fan for life and follow you on whatever there is to come.