Social (Music) Networking

As mentioned in the previous post, Last.fm is an Internet radio website as well as a social networking site. This post will embellish on the recent trends of social networking aspect of online music. There are many social music sites that allow you to upload songs, listen to your music, share it with your friends and compare playlists. Some of the more notable websites are Last.fm, Ezmo.com (which was made available to the U.S. market just recently), uPlayMe and iLike.





Here is a detailed list of the various things you can do on these music sites.

Upload: Upload songs individually - to import your entire iTunes, Windows Media Player or Winamp library.
Listen: Listen to the music via an online music player - log in to your account from any computer and listen to your music using a cool and user-friendly interface.
Share: Invite friends to share your music - friends can then stream your entire music library on any computer.
Playlists: Share iTunes playlists with friends.
New Music: Get music picks and free MP3s to match your tastes.
Concerts: Get notified when your favorite artists are playing near you.

The socail networking craze, marked by the new wave of Web 2.0, is cleary affecting the internet music industry. Users now have a new reason to explore new music- comparing and communicating with their friends, peers, and even strangers online. People no longer have to look to the big broadcast networks for content. They can get recommendations and playlists from online communities easier than ever before. This type of radio and music sharing will most likely be deleterious to the popularity of traditional music formats, and even more advanced formats like HD and satellite. The radio industry undoubtedly entails a wide range of competitors, which offer different advantages and different advantages. Each segment/format of the industry must work to find these advantages and exploit them in the best way possible.

Sources: http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20071024005801&newsLang=en
www.ezmo.com
www.ilike.com
www.uplayme.com