Music: Internet: Following upon Web 2.0, now a specialized development being named Music 2.0

ReadWrite email newsletter has brawt into view a new trend in music websites on the Net, a new trend that advances your music interests in several speciality directions that ReadWrite and the Music 2.0 site itself are busy organizing into categories (the latter, the mothersite is interactive, so you can signup and get into the categorizing process too). My quote is from the newsletter article mentioned, while the live links in it are to speciality webpages of the mothersite:

Directory of Online Music Services

Interesting new directory of "music 2.0" services, which includes the following useful categorization:
▪ Music Services (major label content) - places like iTunes and Rhapsody where you can purchase or subscribe to music
▪ Music Discovery - places that help you find music - these fall generally into 3 subcategories:
▪ Social - wisdom of the crowds sites like last.fm, iLike, Goombah and Qloud

Music, by Anaximaximum

▪ Content-based - recommendations based on the music content - Pandora, SoundFlavor, MusicIP
▪ Expert based - Music recommendations from people - music blogs, irateradio.com
▪ Music Experience Augmentation - sites to make your music listening experience more enjoyable - music dashboards like sleevenotez or Snapp Radio

Technotes, by Owlie Scowlie

▪ Playlist Sharing - this includes playlisting sites like MusicMobs, fiql and Webjay
▪ Music Metadata - add to the data surrounding the music - MusicBrainz, All Music Guide, Gracenote

The content hasn't been fleshed out on a lot of those pages, but still it's a good start and one to watch.

.Of course, the big issue of music via the Net is the status of file-sharing on a person-to-person basis. There's a demurral in the ReadWrite presentation that some of the sites in the directory may be illegal; but really? In Canada file-sharing is not illegal as long as no commercial selling or buying is taking place, only an exchange or gift ("freebie"). Many file-sharing sites apparently kick out members who indulge in free downloading but don't offer their own music for free download to other. So, the attaching of the label of "illegal" is not true, unless precisely qualified by the legal jurisdiction involved. The worst feature of the music exchange process is the so-called DRM (Digital R+ts Movement) that sets up obstructions to block owners from free disposal of their goods.