EMI beta (A short review)

iTunes, Spotify, Last.fm - The three horsemen of the apocalypse as far as music's concerned right?

Well no, not really. Let's face it if you're going to list out the portents of doom for this particularly industry the list would be longer than the receipt for my bi-monthly trip to Sainsburys. You can add to this list YouTube, Blip.fm and a few million file sharing networks. None of these have been quite so damaging to the established music industry however as the perceived anachronistic attitude of music labels by consumers.

In the minds of the media, labels have appeared rather protective over the old media fiefdoms and rather than embracing the revenue generating potential of new media have sought to crush its progress as a channel for unwanted competition.

Which is why it's so refereshing to see a thoroughly new media website owned by a traditional face in the music industry. Even the 'beta' in the title bar of EMI's site is like a bucket of cucumber-infused ice cold water to the face. An old media megalith producing something that's not quite finished? Unthinkable!

What I love most about this site however, beyond the volumes it speaks in terms of the reviewed position of EMI to digital, is the simplicity of the site. Too often brands playing around with digital media, stuff sites to the gills with shiny things and widgets but EMI's attempt is spot on - enough multimedia to add value without cluttering up the screen.

My favourite element of the whole site however is the largest head tip to Last.fm; the Discover section. I only hope that the algorithm improves with time and experience to become something to really shout home about.

I have to admit prior to this exercise, motivated by schwag and t-shirts on offer from fuelmyblog, I'd never really checked out the sites of music labels but I'll be going back for a return visit to EMI's. I do wish they had a phone number on the site, though.