www.music.ME

With the advent of customization, people are looking for personalized services when they come online into the internet music community. Services such as music.com and myspace music allow aritsts and bands to have a centrally located homepage which is also part of a larger social networking system.

Music.com is primarily an online store where artists can hawk their wares. Artists can set whatever price per song or album they choose, and there is a set fee or percentage that the website charges per transaction. Like iTunes, songs are 99 cents and a user can pick and choose individual songs if they don't wish to purchase the entire album.

Myspace music, on the other hand, is primarily a social networking tool that has a music feature integrated into it. It is extremely useful for small or local bands in that they have a place to post pictures, show dates, blogs and most importantly, their songs. Along with having a host for their songs, bands can become "friends" with other bands or individuals on the website, and thus keep their fan base apprised of their latest updates and records.

Myspace recognized the popularity of this service, and jumped on the opportunity to create its own record label, Myspace Records. It may seem like a strange idea to merge a social networking site with a record label, but really it makes a lot of sense. The record company has a built-in talent pool - the bands using their myspace.com capability - along with a built-in customer base. The people who are already "friends" with the band on myspace would probably support them when it came time to purchase a new album, and the opportunities for direct marketing are endless. This was a brilliant move on the part of Myspace, which was formerly relegated to the back seat as a creepy version of Facebook.