Insound.com recently announced that they are launching a digital music store to accompany their existing online business of selling indie-minded CDs and vinyl. It's actually surprising to me that it took this long to fill that indie void left by the big guys. Don't get me wrong, iTunes and AOL Music Now do a damn good job with fresh indie content, but what is really lacking is the record-store-nerd, hand-picked feel and editorial that Insound has delivered since day one.

Beatport stepped out in the dance/electronic word a few years back and has already hit the million-download mark. Since then, they've made smart business deals, building their store into a version of Traktor and essentially becoming the source for DJs around the world as local record shops, sadly, die off.

One unique aspect of the digital Insound store is that their focus is to "Save the Album." In a mainstream world of paid downloads, people have gotten used to buying singles again, but people who are passionate about music want the full album. To serve this market, that's the only way that you can get it from Insound.com. I expect big things with the forthcoming launch, but with so many variables left in play (DRM, pricing), time will tell.