A sneak peak at WaTunes' new features

Music distribution site, WaTunes is adding social networking features to its services

Studies show social media is reshaping the Internet.  Based on a recent Nielsen report, in the last year alone, time spent on social networking sites has surged 73 percent.

WaTunes, an online music distribution service, is quickly jumping on the social media band-wagon with a new website – WaTunes New Experience.

Detroit-based, WaTunes plans to add more social appeal to its current services by including features like artist profiles, discovery & sharing of music, friends, video channels and the ability to purchase ringtones from favorite artists.

This a bold, but noble move on WaTunes part as they step up against goliath competitors like MySpace Music, which has profiles for some of the most popular artists in the entertainment industry ranging in all genres from Britney Spears to Nine Inch Nails.  

But what sets WaTunes aside from mainstream pop-culture music sites like that offered by MySpace, is its focus on independent artists.  With its new site it aims to provide a more intimate service where these artists can actually connect with one another without being overshadowed by the likes of Britney or Miley Cyrus.  One of the problems with MySpace music is the annoying plethora of artists reaching out and trying to connect with random users on the site based on their ‘musical interests.’  I personally ignore almost every request I get from those artists reaching out to me.  With WaTunes, these artists can actually have an online destination where people truly care about their music, since it is soley focused on independent artists.

Besides the upgrades to its site, WaTunes N.E. is also planning on offering a VIP service to help in the marketing of the artist.  This one-time, $30 dollar fee offers artists expedited content deliveries, unlimited iTunes trend reports, a VIP badge on their profile, consideration to be on Spotlight of the site, and free music downloads for marketing purposes.  

WaTunes was founded in 2006 and is currently in Alpha stage.  Up until the new site launches, WaTunes offers artists and labels a platform to easily sells their music through iTunes, Rhapsody and eMusic while earning 100% of their royalties. 

Here's a preview of its new homepage which is set to launch in May of this year