EMI and music recommendation engine Last.fm have announced an "extensive online music mapping mechanism" called Tuneglue-Audiomap. The site makes recommendations artists, websites and retailers based on the comparison of the user's listening preferences and profiles of other users. Additonal content such as artist bios and site links will be given for EMI artists. (EMI artists really stand out. Other artists are represented by black circles while EMI circles are glowing with rainbow colors.)

Tuneglue uses a visual map to express connections between similar artists. Related bands -- or nodes -- are connected through spokes. Each related band can be expanded to show its related bands, which then show interconnections with other bands on the page. Users can scroll through artist albums and purchase each at Amazon.co.uk.

Music recommendation and social networking is poised for big growth in 2007. Music recommendation in particular is coming out of its early phase and can add value to existing services. MSN Radio is now being powered by music recommendation engine Pandora. Microsoft may offer commissions for sharing music. Nokia has a music recommendation based on the picks of independent record stores around the world.

Extra credit reading:

• BusinessWeek.com profiled Last.fm last month. "With 15 million unique users a month, 150,000 band biographies, and an amazing 65 million songs listed in its database, Last.FM has attracted the attention of big money. Last spring, Geneva-based Index Ventures made an investment in the company that it will describe only as 'less than $5 million.'"
• Today The Guardian has an article on Last.fm and other Web 2.0 music services.