Is RootMusic Bandpage now the best option for Facebook?

RootMusic added some new features to their BandPage app last week.

See the video below.

We are just working on a post that looks at all the options for this kind of 'Music Page' for your Facebook profile but this is seen by many as the market leader.

Certainly, it works very well as a page on which to host your music, video, images and more and the latest upgrade promises clever 'gating' options - that being where a fan has to 'Like' your page or give up their email to get some kind of freebie - generally tracks.

But, in this post on Hypebot it seems that some users think that some of the functionality is a little convoluted - mainly because to make the tracks downloadable after gating you will need to make them publicly available on SoundCloud and because of the Facebook permission pop-ups that are displayed when people offer their email address.

Read the comments here to see what users think.

Some of these may be legitimate concerns, but it is still a very slick offering and one that I'd urge every band to consider. I'd also look at ReverbNation's Band Profile and DamntheRadio.

Here's the list of the update's features from the BandPage blog.

Lite Customization Options – We thought your BandPage could use some spice, so we’ve added a banner option as well as limited colorization features to our free package.

Mailing Lists – Yup! You can start collecting email addresses straight from your BandPage and export the contacts to a CSV.

Like to Listen or Download – Want to build your fans? Easy! Use the like to listen or download feature – non fans will have to like your page to gain access to your music.

Banner Link- Simple but effective. Provide a click-through link on your banner to point to your store, webpage, or other promo materials. Don’t forget to tell your fans to click!

And for our BandPage Plus subscribers, along with the full advanced customization editor, we have added some powerful tools!

Gated Content – Content is locked until the user likes the page, joins the mailing List, or tweets. Want to do a fan only download campaign? Tweet to download? Email address to listen? You got it!

Fan Only Banner – Build a different message for non fans and fans. Create a call to action in your banner space and tell non fans to like your page for access to exclusive streams and downloads.

Banner Video – Give your fans an engaging welcome with a custom YouTube video right in the banner space. It works great for featured music videos or calls to action for the fan. Flexible and powerful – you have full control over the size and positioning!

And here's their video.