GarageBand.com tunes up podcasting tool

Aspiring singers don't have to wait for next year's "American Idol" tryouts to try to make a name for themselves.

On Monday, GarageBand.com unveiled a set of online tools designed to let people record, mix and publish their own songs via podcast or to license and distribute their music to podcasters.

Using Podcast Studio, the musically inclined can upload their recordings and mix them with music from the GarageBand catalog. Once a new playlist is published, it will become available to listeners for streaming, download and subscription from GarageBand's servers. The company--which offers recommendations and ratings by musicians--said it will host playlists for free and support the venture with advertising. Premium ad-free options will become available in the future, it said.

Podcasting lets people create audio programs and upload them onto the Internet where others can download and replay them on digital audio players including the iPod, from which its name was derived. Content also can be scheduled for automatic download to devices.

Recently, a San Francisco radio station started broadcasting podcasts created by listeners.

GarageBand, which says it has 40,000 active podcasts, also plans to introduce a service that will let people record by phone, in partnership with Tellme Networks. Podcasters can save their telephone recording for mixing later, or immediately publish their podcast by phone, without using a computer.

"We're on the forefront of a wave that will make personal broadcasting a reality and redefine how music is discovered and promoted," Ali Partovi, CEO of GarageBand.com, said in a statement.

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