You're stuck with MySpace, for a while yet

This is a great article on DigitalMusicNews that I only spotted thanks to @Buzzsonic.

I'd urge you to read it but don't miss the comments as there's a lively debate about the article's conclusion going on all the way down the page.

Even with the rise of artist service companies, few are positioned to replicate what is perhaps MySpace's biggest asset: its role as the musician's calling card. The myspace.com/bandname URL is a common convention most bands adhere to and more consumers recognize. Chances are good that the piano man at your neighborhood bar has a MySpace page, as do the world's most successful acts. While combining a number of APIs and widgets on an artist's homepage can achieve the same functionality of MySpace, few have the potential to achieve the URL ubiquity that MySpace has.

Read the piece and the comments here.

Although I wish it wasn't so - I agree that all sensible artists should retain a MySpace presence, even now. It needn't be much more than an up to date information page that points back to your own site, unless your act knows that it's fans would still want MySpace to be the primary point of contact (true for less and less artists today). 

I think it will become less important in the next year as it's SEO usefulness dies away, but the new ReverbNation tools mean that you can at least try to maintain a relationship with the fans that want to visit you there.