Independent Malaysian Bands at i-Bands.net
August 18, 2007 by Jo Minor · Leave a Comment
Where do independent bands in Malaysia go to get more exposure for their music? It happens at www.I-bands.net among other places, but the website itself seems to be a half-baked idea.
According to the site:
i-bands is basically a free band/artist website management and audio hosting service for Malaysian independent bands & artists. i-bands allows them to upload and manage their songs, news, profiles & contact information via a user-friendly interface which requires no prior knowledge of HTML at all (it will help but it’s not necessary).
Don’t get me wrong; their forums seem to be active but there are many parts for the site that seems to be “under construction”. Considering that the site was up since 2004, that’s a hell of a long time!
i-Bands has their own music charts which features the top 20 most played songs on the site. It also features the top 20 songs in individual genres. The charts however have no online streaming capabilities. Instead, when you click on the songs you’ll download an iTunes playlist that streams the songs in your iTunes. Not a real big problem, though it would be better to have an integrated online player.
They also have an online space for Malaysian bands, but most of these are empty. i-Bands should consider NOT offering a Myspace-like service and instead focus on the music distribution / advice niche.
There’s a message on the forum that says “A brand new i-Bands is coming your way” - but no information on when or what to expect. I sure hope it’s soon, cos this is an example of a site with a lot of promise.
See: www.I-Bands.net
