How Myspace Is Reinventing Itself With Secret Concerts.

This past Wednesday, I was invited to what appeared to be a “secret concert” organized by the Myspace social network. Held at the Regency Theater in San Francisco, this concert series was perhaps the first time I heard something cool coming out of Myspace. Yes, I’ve heard that Myspace has become pretty much the de facto social network for those in the music and entertainment space, but not much else. I was waiting to see what would happen from the former #1 social network that would give people a sign of its revival.

A glimmer of hope came from the concert. I could see Myspace producing through their Myspace music brand a larger extensive series similar to the one that I saw earlier this week. Myspace users who were part of the secret concert series list were notified within mere days of the actual date and given a time and place. They lined up and those lucky enough to get in were treated to a show by an opening act and also the headliner – which in this case happened to be Weezer.

TechCrunch contributor, Paul Carr, took an interesting view on the Myspace concert:

A little before 9pm on Wednesday night and I’m standing on the ‘VIP’ balcony of San Francisco’s Regency Ballroom, holding a can of something called ‘MySpace Buzz’ and waiting for Weezer to take to the stage. It’s a weird scene, all told, and not just because I thought Weezer was dead…

As befits their demographic, the kids are using their Nokias as cameras – pointing them at the stage in anticipation of their heroes’ arrival. And as befits our demographic, we grown ups are using our iPhones to tweet that same anticipation, but only – of course – after we’d checked in to the venue on Foursquare. “Wow. The real-time web is awesomeâ€�, I remarked, to no one in particular…

And Weezer, to their credit, agreed with my sarcasm. After their first song – Hash Pipe, if you’re interested – Rivers Cuomo came to the front of the stage to talk to the audience. For a man who has been doing this longer than most of the crowd have been alive, he was oddly ill at ease. Still, he had the measure of his fans: “remember,� he said “this is a secret gig, so shhhhhh, no writing about it on Facebook or Twitter.�

Somewhere across the room, a MySpace PR groaned, and threw herself off the VIP balcony.

Just this observation of the Myspace party gives you an interesting glimpse into how Myspace can approach the music and entertainment scene in a whole new light and give people a more interactive experience with bands, artists and composers. With the numerous tools that we have at our disposal, both as marketers and consumers, there should be a way for Myspace to integrate this all into their own property.

Imagine the potential to be had with these secret concerts. I recall when I was there a time when I was sitting in the VIP section of the concert snapping photos with my camera, I was pondering whether or not to stream the concert using Qik on my Blackberry. Yes, the concert was probably already being streamed, but why not have people post other things from their experience on their own Myspace page? Myspace should be enabling the fans to participate further using all sorts of social media – centered around Myspace, of course – rather than preventing them.

With more integrated technology letting those fans who can’t physically be at concerts or performances, Myspace might be able to capture that interest and attention and bring back people who are truly interested in music. Obviously there are some features that would be really great to have that Facebook and other social networks have, but the business plan that needs to be implemented should be created first…and hopefully by having more of these concerts, Myspace will start to reinvigorate itself and bring people back to using their social network.