MySpace Tracking Services

As MySpace.com continues to act as an important communication tool for independent artists and their fans, it is becoming increasingly easier for artists to gauge their popularity through the number of hits on their pages or the number of plays of their posted mp3s. However, it is now becoming possible to collect even more information about the visitors that MySpace pages receive, information that can help artists learn more about the audiences they are attracting. A variety of websites have begun to encourage the flow of information between bands and fans by offering new tools to aid in communication, and through a simple copy-and-paste, bands can access information about their fans while fans learn about their favorite bands in more fun, detailed and interactive ways.

Trakzor 2.0, available at Trakzor.com, allows artists to keep track of the fans who visit their page, not only by recording the number of visitors per day, but also by tracking the locations from which the fans accessed the site. After registering with Trakzor and pasting a simple code into their page, artists can view visitor stats in a number of different formats. Both new visits and old visits are recorded by date, and Trakzor displays the location of each non-Trakzor user. However, if a user is already registered with Trakzor.com, the artist will be able to identify the fan specifically, not only by location, but also by the information provided, possibly including a picture and a name or alias. Stats are also available in the form of bar graphs that depict fluctuation of visits per day. Yet, the most interesting feature offered by Trakzor.com is a Google map of the United States that pinpoints the locations of visitors, allowing artists to visually grasp the geographical reach of their music by identifying fans from all over the country.

Gruvr.com is another site geared toward helping artists communicate with their fan bases. Gruvr offers codes on their MySpace page that allow artists to post links to interactive tour maps they’ve created through the site. Putting a Gruvr interactive map on a MySpace site allows fans to keep track of show dates and locations and users can subscribe to receive updates when bands set dates to perform in their area. Linking Gruvr.com to MySpace allows the server to know it has permission to read the data, and fans can track their favorite bands through Gruvr’s “Band Radar” feature.

In the same vein, Yahoo’s Upcoming offers codes for MySpace pages and blogs, allowing artists to keep their fans up-to-date with upcoming shows and tour schedules. Artists can register with Yahoo.com and visit upcoming.yahoo.com to obtain the necessary codes. Fans who visit the Upcoming main site will also be able to view posted information about upcoming shows in their area.

Event site Attendio.com recently announced that a number of major bands, including Gwen Stefani, 311 and Third Eye Blind, are using its services to help keep their fan bases well informed about their tour dates. With Attendio, bands can not only create tour schedule widgets for their own pages, but also allow fans to automatically add information to their calendars or sign up for mobile reminders. Fans can also use the “grab” feature to post tour schedule widgets of their favorite bands on their own sites, generating even more publicity and increasing ticket sales.