It’s finally hitting the mainstream in a big way, and you just can’t escape it: Twitter is being talked about everywhere. Regardless of what you think of the technology, it can’t be denied that it’s having some very real and fascinating impact on the way we connect, network and communicate with each other. Politicians, celebrities, bloggers and now everyday people have started to turn to the system as a means to update and communicate their network in greater numbers than ever.

Unsurprisingly, musicians and artists are among these people turning to the system – and it seems to be having a lot of success, especially in ways that musician blogging never seemed to manage.

Part of Twitter’s success may lie in its simplicity, but it’s also emerged to become a surprisingly diverse application. Some bands are using purely to talk with their fans, others are using it simply to offer updates, others offer a snapshot into their personal lives, while others are doing a mix of all of the above.

Want a few examples? Here’s a small sample of overseas bands that are using Twitter: Ryan Adam & The Cardinals, YACHT, Dave Matthews, ?uestlove, Muse, My Brightest Diamond. All somewhat different approaches, all fascinating – and all getting broadcast straight to mobile devices, computers, aggregators, you name it.

A number of Aussie music bloggers have got in on the action. Australian bands are beginning to get it. Record labels are certainly beginning to jump on the train.

So why this post? Basically, I’m hoping to compile a master list that will serve as a starting point for people to get their music sources set up on Twitter. Hopefully you’ll be able to find various people that will provide you with succinct and instantaneous coverage of musical topics of interest.

I’ll eventually move this list to a fixed location, but for now I’m going to update this blog post. Please leave comments with suggestions on Twitter accounts I should include here, and hopefully you’ll find getting started on the Twitter train really straightforward!

New updates appear at the end of each section and are highlighted in red.

Australian Bands / Musicians

• The Grates - @thegrates
  A highlight. Lots of photos and observations on tour and at home, frequent interaction with the Twitter community. Just like their music would have you believe, these guys are good fun to be around.
• The Mint Chicks - @the_mint_chicks (thanks Geoff!)
  Occasional updates on band activities, mostly promoting their new album.
• Muscles - @musclesmusic
  Vewwy vewwy quiet…
• Bertie Blackman – @bertieblackman
  Sydney artist makes her first foray into Twitter. Early days.
• The Devoted Few – @thedevotedfew
  Sydney band, frequent updates, good community interaction.
• Yves Klein Blue – @yveskeinblue
  Brisbane band tweeting mostly about tour announcements.
• Red Riders – @redridersmusic
  Presently focusing on the band’s return to the studio.
• Expatriate – @expatriateband
  Sydney band recently relocated to Berlin, infrequently tweeting about recording their next album.
• Dappled Cities – @dappledcities
  So it really isn’t “Fly” any more? Updates are fairly uninteresting.
• Urthboy – @urthboy
  Herd band member twitting frequently on life, running a record label and being in the Herd…
  
• Youth Group – @youthgroupmusic
  Just getting started…
  
• Sparkadia – @sparkadia
  Good, sporadic but interesting updates
  
• The Presets – @talklikethat
  Moderately useless…
• Bliss & Eso – @blissneso
  Sydney hip hop with a good, grass-roots approach to the service.

Got any more? Let me know!

Australian Record Labels

• Dew Process - @dewprocess
  Rather half-hearted use of the service
• Modular Records - @modularpeople
  Goofy twitter-based fun and news, frequent updates
• Ivy League Records – @ivyleagues (thanks Dan!)
  Home to Sparkadia, Josh Pyke, Mess Hall, Cloud Control etc…
• Inertia Music – @inertiamusic
  One of Australia’s bigger distributors, home to much great music.
• Illusive Records – @illusivecrew
  Melbourne-based hip-hop label, home to Bliss n Eso, Lowrider, Downsyde etc…

Australian Live Music

• V Festival - @v_festival (thanks Geoff!)
  Hey by the way V Festival, your line-up totally sucks this year.
• Jessie Pink / We Do Stuff – @jessiepink / @wedostuff
  An independent promoter giving updates on live gigs around Sydney.
• Moshcam – @moshcam
  The well-known video footage archive of Sydney gigs is using Twitter to promote their site and post gigs updates.

Australian Radio Stations

• Triple J
  • Robbie, Marieke and the Doctor (Breakfast) – @triplejbrekkie
  • Lindsay McDougal (JTV) – @tripleJTVdoctor
  • Scott Dooley (Afternoons) – @triplejdools
  • Zan Rowe (Mornings) – @triplejmornings
  • Vijay Khurana (Lunch) – @vijaykhurana
  • House Party - @jhouseparty
  • Richard Kingsmill (music director) – @triplejtheking
  • Home and Hosed – @homeandhosed
• FBI Radio (Sydney) – @fbiradio

Australian Music Bloggers

• @dreadfuldan (from Boudist aka Daniel Boud)
• @ford_davis / @ma_shinka / @12majorchords (from TwelveMajorChords.com)
• @fortunegrey (from Fortune Grey)
• @getbiglittlekid (from Get Big Little Kid)
• @jonny_yesyes (from Polaroids of Androids)
• @openyoureyes (from Open Your Eyes To Music)
• @waycooljnr (from Way Cool Jnr)
• @stuartbuchanan (from StuartBuchanan.com)
• @tunebinder (from Tunebinder)

What’s next?

Got any Twitterers that I should have listed here but are missing? Please leave a comment and let me know!