HOW CAN ENTREPRENEURIAL MUSICIANS USE ELECTRONIC SOCIAL NETWORKS TO DIFFUSE THEIR MUSIC

The music industry has been transformed by the digital era resulting in enormous fragmentation. This has lead to the emergence of new entrepreneurial opportunities for independent artists. Social online networks like MySpace.com and Facebook have created a range of possibilities for independents artist to build fan bases and market their music. Some argue that social networks are the answer to the future direction of the music landscape, others argue that social online networks are a pure waste of time. Using multiple sources of data, the current paper applies the concept of the individual-opportunity nexus to explore which musicians exploit opportunities provided by online social networks. We develop a schema of musicians based on both their attitudes towards the business of music and their internet usage habits. We also draw on social network theory to identify some critical network characteristics