Will Music Search Level the Playing Field?

There's a lot of talk about the two new media search companies GoFish and SingingFish (AOL owned) and what it will mean to digital music stores. Basically these services search the net for media - GoFish returns only pay-for-download results, whereas SingingFish returns everything. So do these services level the playing field of digital music stores - allowing smaller niche sites to compete with the monstrous likes of iTunes and Amazon.com?

Yes and no.

Yes, in that it does level the playing. Someone searching for an obscure title or artist can now use these sites to locate that media. Alternatively, someone looking for the cheapest price for a common title now has that capability.

No, in that I believe people are going to find a service that appeals to them - and being creatures of habit, will return to that site for their music needs - as long as that service can fulfill the customers' niche needs. The reason why I like Rhapsody is that while it has a huge catalog, it also allows you to dive into the niches of music genres, giving you guidance along the way. The design of Rhapsody gives you recommendations based on an artists influences and who they have influenced - all linked together - creating endless paths into the world of music.

The problem with searching is that unless you know what you are searching for - it's pretty useless. The great thing about properly designed music sites like Rhapsody - is that you don't have to know what you are looking for. If you like a certain type of music - dive in and explore.

GoFish
SingingFish
Rhapsody