MySpace is taking over the music world.

For bands not signed to a label, MySpace helps get their music heard and helps them book and promote shows.

Sometimes, however, a MySpace page can act like a double-edged sword.

While bands get their music to the masses, it can become difficult to discern a “real” band from a group of dudes jamming half-heartedly on instruments they just began to play.

Chicago Tribune music critic Greg Kot said that while MySpace has become a “portal for checking out music on the Web,” it has created an environment that makes it more difficult to get noticed than before.

“How do you stand out from that?” Kot said.

Kyle Prillaman, drummer for the Champaign-based band, The Signal, said the “MySpace condition” hinders legitimate bands.

“With so much music available at the fingertips of anyone with an Internet connection, computer and speakers, many listeners seem to ignore local music and small time bands,” Prillaman said. “(They) write them off as ‘just another one of those bands on MySpace.’ Unfortunately, the listener is partly true in this assessment.”

He said some bands get their music online and then think the money, phone calls and fame will start rolling in.

“(They think that) after writing some halfway decent songs, recording some demos and putting them up on MySpace, all the work is done,” Prillaman said. “They think they just have to sit back and wait for the president of Sony Records to stumble upon their MySpace page and offer them a multimillion dollar recording contract.”

What bands that have the ‘MySpace Condition’ don’t realize is that although a Web site increases exposure, the band must still work to update it so it stays fresh in people’s minds, Prillaman said.

“The big trouble spot is bands thinking that’s all they have to do,” Kot said.

While Prillaman would rather promote by word-of-mouth, The Signal still uses MySpace to book shows and send out fliers.

“Probably close to 70 to 80 percent of the shows we book are through MySpace,” Prillaman said.

Jackie Lawson had just finished her Web site and had been proud of it when fans kept approaching her after shows about her Web presence.

But they didn’t ask what her Web address was. Instead, they asked about her MySpace page.

“I started my MySpace page kicking and screaming,” said Lawson, who is a country singer from Charleston and will perform at this weekend’s Rock ‘n’ Bowl event for Family Weekend. “It’s great. It’s just this whole spider web of people meeting people.”

Some bands use other Web sites such as PureVolume.com and ReverbNation.com, but most of their e-audience comes from MySpace because of its prevalence.

“Right now, (MySpace) is the only way for fans to hear our music,” said Nash Bruce, lead vocalist for Dramatic Habits, a band with members who have previously attended Eastern and Lake Land College.

“(It’s) affected our fan base drastically. I’ve been playing for quite a while, and I’ve seen it take control, especially on a grassroots level,” Bruce said.

Bruce said that although MySpace has been a great way to connect with listeners, it still puts a middleman between the band and the audience.

We, as individuals in the band, have a love/hate relationship with the Internet,” Bruce said. “A vital part of music is interaction and the Internet kind of severs that into these half-cocked, weird situations.”

Not only does it put distance between the band and the audience, but with Web sites like file2hd.com, it also takes money away from CD sales – money the bands need to afford gas and food while touring.

“I think there’s a lot of money to be made with the Internet and music. Apple’s figured that out already,” Bruce said.

While Apple seems to hold the monopoly on Internet music sales, MySpace is fighting back.

On Sept. 17, rollingstone.com released a story about MySpace opening a music store on the Internet where listeners can stream and purchase songs.

“The idea behind it was to sort of create the ultimate music experience,” said Chris DeWolfe, the site’s co-founder, in the rollingstone.com article.

“You’ll be able to see the top songs your friends are listening to. Eventually you’ll be able to buy tickets and merchandise and ringtones,” DeWolfe said.

Verge Editor Marco Santana contributed to this report