Specifically, IODA is supplying labels and artists the technology to plug downloadable music stores into their websites. Unlike some earlier efforts to sell downloads, the stores integrate seamlessly into the sites with other e-commerce efforts (e.g., t-shirt and CD sales). That's important, IODA founder and CEO Kevin Arnold said, because it means consumers will be asked only once to give up their billing information -- a step that prompts many impulsive buyers to change their minds. It should also help that the request will be coming a label or artist the consumer likes, rather than an unfamiliar merchant or middleman.

Speaking at a conference for music retailers in San Francisco Tuesday, Arnold said he didn't think the stores would compete with iTunes and other retailers with broad selections. Instead, it's a way to give music fans more opportunities to buy songs, to push paid downloads into more places on the Net where fans go. That's an important element of the music industry's transition into an era with much tougher competition for the consumer dollars. Plus, many indie labels have a taste associated with their names, a sound or personality that their customers have come to know and appreciate. Unlike a Columbia or a Capitol, indie labels often develop a following of their own. That's all the more reason to add downloadable tracks to the CDs, hoodies and chotchkes for sales on those sites.