I received an email the other day for IACmusic.com, with the subject-line "about your music (an opportunity), please read..". This triggered all sorts of warning bells because (a) the email address is for Artifice, the mailing list I manage for arts & culture in the Waterloo Region and (b) what music?

The email starts by telling me "I heard your music and wanted to invite you to start a free artist page on our site.". Again, what music? This is a clear indication that IACmusic.com is blanketing the web with these emails.

They also tell me that "it recently got mention in Rolling Stone". A search of the Rolling Stone website via Google shows one result, and I can barely consider it a "mention". If there's another spot in which IACmusic was mentioned on Rolling Stone, it's not on their website.

The other claims made by the email are unverifiable. What, of course, I can point to is the fact that the email comes from the domain ridethekiac.com, which isn't a website. Although there doesn't seem to be a phishing URL in the email, the unsubscribe email address is ridethekiac@aol.com.

A search for iacmusic.com reviews via Google was not very helpful. Looking at their website, it seems they really are providing a service, but they obviously aren't very professional if they're making claims without references and emailing random email addresses to recruit new artists.

Here's the text of the email:

Hi,

I heard your music and wanted to invite you to start a free artist page on our site.

IACmusic.com is an indie all-star site, it recently got mention in Rolling Stone, and has been called the most innovative music portal on the web. Cashbox found the quality of music on the site so outstanding that now all content on their Indie Charts comes directly from IAC. Our traffic is huge and growing, word of mouth is off the hook, and our station set-up is years beyond any other music site. Meanwhile, our community is thriving with station managers who actively pounce on the new releases and will help promote your songs for you. Also, IAC stations will soon be available to listen to via any cellphone with our recent move into that arena.

We are about the music and indie culture. No cookie-cutters were used in the making of this site. IAC is colorful and magical, to reflect the creativity of the artists themselves. If you choose, you can sell your downloads, set your own price and you get 100% of the take. You can build digital CDs called DMDs which include the revolutionary IAC Ultrapage. IAC's dedicated support department is always there to answer your questions. Check out the site here. If you want to find real listeners, this is the place to do it.

Here's a direct shortcut to start a free page. Any additional exposure can help you get your music to the world.

Hope to hear your songs at IAC soon.

Toby, a&r - IACmusic.com

If for any reason you do not want to receive these messages, drop a line to ridethekiac@aol.com.