SXSW: A Chat with iLike

In the 16 months since iLike launched, Partovi said traffic growth has been exponential, with 3 million users after the first eight months and an additional 20 million in the following eight months. It's the dominant mu-sic player on Facebook, as well as on Hi5 and Bebo, according to some stats Partovi showed me (there's also an Orkut version on the way). Here's what he had to say about the secrets of iLike's success. (AppScout)

R.E.M.'S New Album Will Premiere Worldwide Exclusively via iLike

Warner Bros. Records’ R.E.M. and leading social music discovery service iLike announced that Accelerate, the best-selling rock band’s 14th studio album, will stream in its entirety exclusively on iLike and its syndicates beginning March 24th. A first for the company, the iLike Worldwide Listening Party will continue through March 26th, six days before the album’s North American release on April 1st, 2008. (PR, Times Online)

More than 200,000 Bands Using iLike to Manage Social Net Profiles

iLike, the leading social music discovery service, today announced that more than 200,000 musicians, including leading artists from all genres of music, are actively using the iLike Universal Artist Dashboard to manage an online presence syndicated across Facebook, hi5, Bebo, and beyond. With 23 million users, iLike is now the leading music application on leading social networks. (PR)

Wharton Study Finds ILike Users Acquire 250% More Music In Month After Registration

Long-term iLike users added nearly 250% more music per month to their libraries in the first month of using iLike. One of the top drivers of affiliate sales to the iTunes Store, iLike helps over 20 million registered users discover new music they like, and makes it easy for them to buy that music via retail links. A study indicates that the significant increase in people's music consumption may be attributed to the iLike Sidebar (www.iLike.com/download) for iTunes and Windows Media Player. (PR)

Ali Partovi, iLike: “Syndication holds real promise for the music business”

If you’re on Facebook, chances are you’ve added the iLike application: with 11 million users to date, it is by far the much-hyped social network’s favourite music tool. Yet as CEO and MidemNet 2008 speaker Ali Partovi points out, iLike won’t stop there. Its new Universal Artist Dashboard aspires to become a one-stop shop for online artist promotion, enabling them to upload data (tour dates, new songs, whatever) to all social networks at once. Partovi explains all, here… (Midemnet's Blog)