Users who visit the iLike site can now access streaming music on their computer. This new service comes from a partnership with Rhapsody's service. But don't expect an experience like the one found on Pandora or Last.fm. Instead, iLike allows for 25 songs a month to be listened to before prompting users to sign up with Rhapsody. While the delivery service may not necessarily ensnare users, it at least adds more functionality to the site and allows music lovers to get a sample of the music.
But iLike has the most traction on social networks. The service has become a legitimate music provider by developing and taking advantage of Facebook applications. The widget allows Facebook users to invite friends easily and become part of the network. Once the application is in place, the service alerts users when friends like a song and also when a band posts a nearby concert. That provides an interesting opportunity for concert promoters and advertisers looking to get their product in front of 30 million users.
To that end, iLike has enhanced its ad services for concert promoters. Once a promoter signs up for iLike's service they can take advantage of the service's pervasiveness.
Using the ad side is easy. Promoters pick which concert they want to promote. The artist's music can be paired with the ad and a simple click of a button allows tracks to be previewed right in the promotion. iLike then creates the ad and sends links out to users with similar musical tastes. Those users are then prompted to pass the link to the show along to local friends. Promoters can run things on the backend by selecting the dates the promotion is to run and specify the amount of money they want to spend, which will dictate the length of the campaign.