After sitting through a day long IAB event about online video (more on this later), I came home to an e-mail from Bryan Kim of MusicPlusTV. I wasn't exactly in the mood for more online video but thought I would check it out because the topic was still so fresh in my mind. Much to my surprise (and relief!), MusicPlusTV is more than just another online video sharing site for prepubescent boys and middle aged men who still laugh at farts. I think this site would best be described as a combination of MTV, YouTube, Lastfm, and MySpace. Here are some cool features:
- nice mix of original and user-generated content
- lots of storage available for each user to upload audio, video, and images
- live feed of scheduled programming (for fans of the more passive and traditional TV model)
- real time interaction with show guests via AIM
- fully embeddable/sharable content (including live feed)
- cool blogging tool
- easy to navigate content channels
- social networking / music discovery component
- tons of great footage of live performances from emerging and indie artists
I really like the variety of ways you can consume and discover content on MusicPlusTV. It's an interesting approach that I haven't seen done before. The site delivers a unique user experience by combining the best features of most of your favourite sites. I'm not claiming that MusicPlusTV has done everything right but it's a fun site that actually managed to keep me entertained for longer than 15 minutes. It will probably never have the mass appeal of YouTube and MySpace but does have the potential to carve out a nice little spot in the niche market. I didn't really notice any advertising on the site so it will be interesting to see how they tackle that issue. If nothing else, it is a good way to kill some time... After all, tomorrow is Friday! I'll leave you with this great Pipettes performance from SXSW.
