SchoolOfRock.mov

I'm sure everyone has seen School of Rock with Jack Black and Sarah Silverman.

If you're one of the few who hasn't, here's a short IMDB summary:

After being fired from his own band, guitar player Dewey Finn needs to raise some money to pay for his rent and his bills. When his friend and school teacher Ned Schneebly is called to a temporary work in an expensive private school, Dewey pretends to be Ned and accepts the job. He finds talented young musicians in his class, and he decides to form a rock-and-roll band with the students and win a competition called "Battle of Bands" to raise the prize and be recognized in the show business.

When Dewey was kicked out of his band, he let people know he was looking for new band members by posting up flyers on posts in his neighbourhood. While this paper-wasting strategy may have worked in 2003, it surely does not in 2010.

A few years ago, INXS started a reality show competition to generate publicity and ultimately find a new lead singer for the group. While a reality show is likely too expensive for your average struggling rock star 'wannabe', there are a few cheap ways to get your music heard using social media.

MySpace is a popular choice for musicians because the site allows bands/artists to upload free mp3s and connect with new fans. Creating a Facebook Page and Twitter account is becoming as natural as breathing. Artists use the sites for real-time conversations with fans and media to promote tour dates, conduct live chats, develop contests, share music, pictures and videos.

Justin Bieber is an excellent example of a YouTube success story. A small-town kid from Stratford, Ontario puts up a few music videos to showcase his talent. The videos receive millions of hits and he gets discovered by a producer in Atlanta who also happens to work with Usher. Shortly thereafter Justin signs a record deal. Bieber is now one of the most listened to artists in the world.

Whether or not Dewey received 50 or 5000 hits, chances are likely that someone in the world that would have liked his music. If he emulated the competition format using YouTube, Twitter, Myspace, and Facebook he may have been able to find more eligible rockers to join his band.