While ITunes may be a great place for the general public to find their music, several sites are popping up that cater to dance music lovers. Here is a rundown of a few that are up and active right now: (if you have any favorites to add - please eMail me)
Beatport - This digital download network has received support from record labels such as Twisted, Addictive, Shaboom, End Recordings, Stereo Productions, Fade and Amplitude Recordings.
DigitalDeejay - Formerly known as E-FrenchSound.com, the site is beta testing new services to provide DJ's with the freshest music from artists and labels worldwide.
InGrooves - Acting as intemediary between artists, record labels, and companies seeking commercial licensees, the site is adding streaming radio and digital downloads.
Masterbeat - Think of Masterbeat.com as the dance remix of Itunes, combining the hottest club tracks and dance remixes from both independent and major labels. With an easy to use search engine and a strong catalog, Masterbeat.com looks to be the next step in mainstream embracing of dance music culture.
Nufonix - Active since mid-December, the site is easy to use with music categorized by genre House-Progressive, Tecnho-Electro, Breaks-Hip Hop, NuJazz-Fusion, Lounge-Downtempo, and Minimal-Abstract. Based in NYC, the site specializes in cutting-edge underground music and represents hundreds of artists from over sixty labels. They also accept submissions from unsigned artists.
Several other new services are in beta or are launching soon - such as Traxsource, DigitalJayMusic, DanceTracksDigital, and Djxpress.