A VC

Longtime readers know that I love Rhapsody and use it all the time. I am a believer in subscription music services because you get to listen to whatever you want (with a few notable exceptions), whenever you want, for only $10/month.

But I have also been critical of Rhapsody for making it too hard to integrate the service into my blog and other places on the web where I'd like to see it. If I could share a song or a playlist with all of you and you could listen to the entire song legally without having to be a subscriber yourself, that would be a good thing.

Well we are getting closer with the announcement of Rhapsody Web Services last week. The Read/Write Web blog has a good summary of what Rhapsody Web Services means. Now anyone can build web services that integrate Rhapsody into other web services. If you are developing a social networking service, a blogging service, a music discovery service, or a host of other such things, you can now put Rhapsody right into what you offer.

And to get some interest flowing, Rhapsody has put together a contest to develop the best web service integration with Rhapsody. The winner gets a road trip for 2 to see your favorite band anywhere in the world. I have agreed to be one of the four judges of the event and am looking forward to seeing some great work.