Widgets are all the rage these days. The idea is, artists create a little miniature music player you can embed anywhere (MySpace, blogs, etc.) with their tracks. Fans buy music via the widget, and the artist gets a cut. Hometracked has an exceptional round-up of widgets with feature comparison. (It’s about time someone took the time to do that!)
So far, though, I haven’t been blown away by any of the widgets. Often, an overcrowded market is an indicator that no one technology quite has it right yet. There’s also the small matter of getting enough volume in music track sales to make any money. Percentage isn’t the problem: a fan buying a $1 track versus a $20 concert ticket is the issue. On the other hand, I’d personally be thrilled to get the instant satisfaction of buying a track in the same spot I’m playing it.
But, I’m curious: is anyone out there using these things? Even if not, what would you want the widget to do to make it worth your while? Custom embeddable music players are a good idea; I just wonder what the killer app would look like. (Pictured: Barenaked Ladies on Hooka.com. BNL is, like CDM, one of PC World’s favorite music sites. Happily, no one throws raw macaroni and cheese at me when I appear live.)