This is a big step for us. The mathematical processor has been overhauled with what we've learned from our real-world data. It's now far more accurate at determining who's contributing to the community, and most importantly, is resistant to attempts to manipulate the system through phony ratings.

I wrote about why this is important to Brian Zisk today, and I'll copy some of that message here:

Small-audience artists will always have a smaller pool of raters than will mainstream artists. So, attempts to manipulate the system are much more of a problem for a service that tries to recommend such artists.

On Amazon, any attempts to manipulate the ratings of mainstream, mass-market artists are quickly drowned out by honest consumers expressing their opinions. But lesser-known artists often have just one rating which is obviously from the artist or his PR firm and which is totally useless.

As I've stated elsewhere, I believe that the Internet will enable a sizable proportion of music sales to go to small-audience artists. But there has to be a way of separating the wheat from the chaff, or it just can't happen -- instead, consumers would continue to find it much more efficient to limit their music input to the mass-market stuff the majors supply. For the possibility of the new market to emerge, a solution must be found for finding the good stuff that REALLY WORKS. And that way has to involve robust attack resistance.

Now that we have integrated real-world data so that we can process ratings more effectively and appropriately than any other Web site we know of, we need your ratings. Come to EM and help the best music recommendations rise to the top. We're hoping to reach a real critical mass, but it will take people who believe in what we're doing to participate and help us get there.

Also, in rating, and without any extra effort on your part, you will supply the information that will enable our mathematical processor to "qualify" other raters and deem them as worthy of our trust. So every rating has an important dual purpose!

Please let us know any thoughts you have about the site.

Thanks!
4:18:44 PM