WeMix, a social-networking site aimed at aspiring musicians and music fans, opened for business on Monday after an extended period in test mode.
The site is in some ways a web version of American Idol with the top aspiring artists getting the opportunity to collaborate with established stars, such as rapper Ludacris, with the hope of a shot at the big time.
But there are already a lot of sites including general interest sites such as MySpace and YouTube and music-focused sites such as Indaba that allow musicians to showcase their talent with an eye to making it big.
WeMix, which was co-founded last year by Matt Apfel, a reality TV show producer, promises aspiring musicians who build an online fan base something more--star collaboration and a record deal.
"We are going to bring you all-star talent like Ludacris and others depending on your musical genre and help you finish that song and make a record," Mr. Apfel said.
Still, WeMix, which has taken a modest $500,000 from angel investors, faces competition from an array of players including Indaba Music and Ourstage, which offer variations on the mashup theme.
Indaba, for instance, represents a type of site that allows musicians to meet, mix, and mash their creations in a kind of musical playground. Ourstage represents an alternate type of site where artists compete for a shot at fame and fortune.
"We are saying let's bring some of the mashing, mixing, and the creativity, but let's also give it a distinct purpose and a life outside the web," Mr. Apfel said.
To maximize WeMix's angel investment, Mr. Apfel chose to partner with Ludacris rather than pay talent fees so that the company could focus its investment on the social and collaborative technologies underpinning the site.
Ludacris is listed as a co-founder of WeMix.
"What we are focusing now is on retention--making the site sticky and now that we have a solid base we are focusing on making records, which costs money," Mr. Apfel said.
WeMix has been able to use Ludacris' star power to market the site online, on TV and on the radio.
Aspiring musicians can use an array of social-networking tools to promote themselves on and off the site.
Ultimately, the artist with the most votes will be chosen each month to make a record.
The chosen artist will collaborate with the talent and be given 48 hours to record a song.
The whole process of taking the aspiring musician to the studio to make the record will be videotaped for a reality piece for TV.