GarageBand.com

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GarageBand.com is a large online community of independent musicians and music fans. Founded in 1999, the site is used by musicians who seek greater exposure and critical insight provided by an audience of their peers. The site is also used by music fans to discover new independent artists in the site's vast collection of Creative Commons-licensed music content.

After the demise of the original MP3.com in 2003, Trusonic acquired licenses for 250,000 artists representing 1.7 million songs. They partnered with GarageBand.com to revive these artist accounts. Most of the technology and infrastructure developed at MP3.com was retained.

[edit] Main Features

In addition to free MP3 hosting, GarageBand.com offers independent bands the chance to enter into a contest in which they compete for a top spot on the GarageBand.com music charts for their particular musical genre (e.g. 'Rock', 'Avant Garde'). One of the rewards for hitting the top of the charts is inclusion in Clear Channel's "NEW! Discover Music" program, which gives top GarageBand.com members exposure across over 400 of the company's FM radio station websites. Entrance in the contest can be either earned through reviewing the music of other members, or by paying a $19.99 per song submission fee.

The site uses a sophisticated rating system to generate popularity rankings for each artist, and maintains charts of these rankings. This makes the large music catalog easier to browse for fans. The music industry also uses these charts to find new talent. Several GarageBand.com members who have charted well found subsequent music career success in the form of label deals, licensing and promotional opportunities. Examples include 10 Years (signed to Universal Records) and American Idol finalist Bo Bice.

[edit] Other Features

GarageBand.com also runs Gcast, a podcasting platform which integrates the GarageBand.com digital music library. Gcast is also used by celebrities such as Dane Cook and Jason Mraz to deliver their podcasts.

In 2006, the company launched iLike, a social music discovery website and iTunes sidebar application that tracks the music you listen to and recommends new music. Recommendations also include links to free downloads from GarageBand.com artists.