Double-time Growth

Linden Labs' Second Life (secondlife.com) emerged late in 2006 as a social network of real promise. Members tour the virtual 3D world using digital replicas called avatars, buy land and buildings, and pay real money to purchase fake clothes and weapons and—increasingly—music. Membership has skyrocketed from 100,000 at the beginning of 2005 to more than 1.5 million by press time. Growth continues at a monthly rate of 10%-12%, but some analysts predict 9 million members by June.

Just as corporate America flocked to MySpace as a marketing bonanza, so is it now to Second Life. Adidas, American Apparel, Dell Computer and Toyota have all established a presence, Sony BMG opened a Media Island where visitors can stream music and most music labels are now preparing Second Life strategies.

Other targeted social networks are popping up on the Web as well, catering specifically to a music niche. A few notables:



Last.fm

What it is: Free streaming Internet radio and music-tracking service that recommends music and matches like-minded members.

Target demo: A global audience of 15 million music buffs who mix and match other links to sites like Flickr and MySpace to create custom profiles and services.

Music moment of 2006: The primarily European phenomenon made a big splash in the U.S. this year.

MOG

What it is: Software reads all digital tracks on members' hard drives and lists what each has played lately. Lets other members listen to 30-second samples.

Target demo: Music geeks and know-it-alls.

Music moment of 2006: Attracted indie icon Frank Black as an early beta blogger.



Buzznet

What it is: A more structured version of MySpace, supporting upload of photos and video from all sources, including mobile phones.

Target demo: Older, more tech-savvy users not interested in the hook-up heavy MySpace scene.

Music moment of 2006: Built and operated an online community for the Coachella music festival that only the event's ticketbuyers could access.



Tagworld

What it is: A music-focused MySpace that lets members create custom playlists from participating acts, tracks the number of spins each song receives and provides usage data for artists.

Target demo: Musicians who want a less crowded scene than MySpace and fans who want to post music.

Music moment of 2006: Unsigned acts Captain Ahab and Louden Swain win virtual contest to land a song on the "Snakes on a Plane" soundtrack.