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When most of us hear the words, "For as little as 50 cents a day..." our brains conjure up solemn images of Sally Struthers. For as little as 50 cents a day MixMatchMusic is offering starving and made musicians a chance to reach their fans via a customizable iPhone app maker. Between now and tomorrow morning, MobBase will offer musicians with no programming skills the ability to build sleek-looking band apps. Features will include videos, images, bios, band news, streaming playlists, concert schedules and perhaps most importantly, links for music purchases.

When Radiohead keyboardist / guitarist Jonny Greenwood shrugs off the issue of audio fidelity, indie musicians should take note. Given that Radiohead is perhaps one of the biggest proponents of alternative music monetization, it's ironic that Greenwood is discrediting one of the industry's key price differentiators. Musicians with tracks on iTunes, Amazon and DIY stores like Bandcamp have often chosen to price MP3s at lower rates while higher quality recordings have fetched more per track. In a recent article with The New Yorker's Sasha Frere-Jones, Greenwood admits there is little reason for the MP3 generation to look for a higher quality experience.

Not to be outdone by recent announcements from streaming music site Spotify, Gainesville-based Grooveshark announced a $3 per month or $30 per year ad-free Grooveshark VIP service. Grooveshark VIP offers users early access to development pipeline releases including early testing on the upcoming Grooveshark iPhone application and early August 24th access to Grooveshark 2 - the site's next generation. In addition to offering users WordPress and Facebook integration, Grooveshark spokesperson Josh Bonnain laid down some key differences between Spotify and Grooveshark.

In an unsurprising move, Apple is said to be working with major record labels to provide an "interactive album" to consumers. The company is rumored to be working with EMI, Sony, Warner and Universal to bundle photos, lyric sheets, liner notes and videos with album purchases in the iTunes store. According to the FInancial Times, the move is meant to increase album sales. Nevertheless, a number of critics have already argued that the attempt will be ill-fated. While it's true that "interactive" music material has already been executed in various iterations, Apple's move may have a extremely positive affect on the music industry as a whole.

Bill Tancer, Hitwise GM of Global Research recently wrote about MySpace's departure as a top traffic generator for entertainment and music sites. Says Tancer, "MySpace was the most significant contributor of traffic to entertainment - multimedia sites providing over 35% of traffic to the category...that percentage now hovers below 10%."

Looking back at the SanFran MusicTech Summit earlier this week, a few notable moments stand out that reflect on the state of the digital music business and how a new crop of startups may shape its future.

Perhaps the greatest challenges to companies like MySpace Music and Facebook may not be from the big players, but startups that offer artists greater control over their work and pricing flexibility.