Facebook changes band pages to Timeline format March 30

[NelsonG]

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Musicians ranging from struggling local acts to international superstars will wake up to big changes in their public identity March 30.

That's the day Facebook will flip the layout switch on all of its "Pages" -- the identities created for all non-person entities -- [url="https://www.facebook.com/about/pages/"]to its Timeline format[/url]. This will de-emphasize the scrolling "wall" of posts and status updates in favor of the more graphic-intensive and topically organized new layout.

For musicians, it presents a significant change that might not be so welcome. Timeline prohibits a band from using popular third-party apps like BandPage, FanBridge, ReverbNation as their landing page.

Many acts used those features, as they allowed a curious fan's first encounter with a band's page to be a posted video, an email sign-up list, streaming tracks or other features. Those apps, while still available, will now be accessible only via a secondary tab.

The wide range of second-party apps did lend a certain scattershot MySpace-ness to the layout of Facebook's music sites, and the new format is a step toward uniformity and away from a band's ability to choose how to present itself.

Timeline does offer some useful features, like the ability to have a post top your Timeline for a week. Whether the switch is a step toward a more enjoyable experience for users, or a blow to a band's control over its Facebook presence, is to be determined. But for now, if you're a band and still attached to your Wall, start saying your final valedictions.

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[i]Photo: Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg at the headquarters in Palo Alto. Credit: Paul Sakuma / Associated Press
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