Today’s site - myAWOL
Summary:
This recently debuted site has been heavily covered on sites like Techcrunch http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/07/09/myawol-a-music-label-for-the-digital-age/ probably because it is run by Andrew Bentley, a serious music industry insider. The site will be comprised of three parts. Part one, currently underway is the creation of an IMDB for music. Part two, the consumer-facing side, will be released in the fall and be focused on content creation in the form of interviews, concerts, and MTV style programming. An enticing component of the service is Andrew Bentley’s numerous industry connections from his time at Virgin and EMI and part 3 centers around engaging these music industry professionals.
Pros:
- Well funded start up. Able to develop pretty extensive services, secure great PR.
- Impressive founding team with thick rolodex to make things happen in the industry
- No advertisements (yet)
- Gives bands broad exposure via TV style channel
- Company blog gives sense of good culture and mentality of helping up-and-coming bands
Cons:
- Terrible name and logo (adding my in front of name seems like a me-too offering, MYspace anyone?) Logo is hard to read, unclear what it stands for and is too close to music service AWAL
- No clear reason why they will offer more exposure than any of the pre-existing sites
- Unsure if they will get the critical mass of users necessary for the site to take off
