The site serves three customer segments: indie artists that can upload their tracks and build a fan base; clubs and venues that promote their upcoming live shows; and users, that can find and rate new music.

This has evolved a bit from the American Idol-style setup OurStage launched with a few years ago, since there’s much more potential for e-commerce (artists can sell their tracks right from their profile pages, for example, and venues can bid for new talent). OurStage gets a rev-share on the artists’ track sales, but it’s not clear whether it also gets a cut of the venue or band representation deals.

Display ads are OurStage’s other revenue stream; the site inked a content distribution deal with AOL Music last year, which included turning over most of its ad sales to Platform-A (NYSE: TWX). Meanwhile, sponsors like JetBlue, Paste Magazine and others offer prizes to users (and sometimes the artists, when they win competitions).