MyAWOL Becomes LP33.TV, Launches IMDB For Musicians

Last July I wrote about MyAWOL, a web-centric music label looking to compete with traditional labels, which are becoming increasingly less relevant as artists turn to digital distribution methods to gain exposure. While the site has the potential to break some new ground in the online music world, it has run into a major snag during its buildup to launch: its name sounds almost exactly like My.AOL when spoken aloud.

In light of this, the company has decided to rename the site to LP33.TV, which should hopefully be less confusing. LP33 is more memorable, but I think the company should consider dropping the .TV extension entirely since they already own the .com.

Along with the name change, LP33.TV is also launching its database for music industry professionals, TheMIDB, which hopes to fulfill the same role as the movie and television industry’s popular IMDB. The derivative name will probably confuse just about everyone, but at least it makes the site’s purpose clear.

The site will welcome user profiles from music producers, executives, managers, writers, musicians, and anyone else involved in the music trade. Users will be able to post their biographes, and the site will facilitate connections between users and allow them to keep track of current and past projects. LP33.tv Founder Andrew Bentley, a former major music label executive, says that TheMIDB fills an important role, as there hasn’t been a comprehensive database of industry professionals.

TheMIDB is only one portion of LP33.TV’s new approach to the music industry, and the company plans to have its flagship consumer site out within the next month.

Earlier this week Amazon and IMDB teamed up to launch SoundUnwound, a user-modified database for music similar to Wikipedia (except all content is approved by Amazon employees). The site seems to be geared more as a consumer-friendly music encyclopedia rather than an industry database.