Imagine having a direct say in which artists get to rise to stardom and which ones end up fizzling into obscurity. Ursession, a new, free social networking website catering directly to the music community, gives users just that.

Narb Avedissian, a former business and entertainment lawyer and the creator of Ursession, said he started the website last January because he felt there was a need to connect the fans with the music community. He said in a little over a month the website has already had 150,000 visitors.

“I personally saw way too many talented people fledgling to make it in an industry that has barriers that have nothing to do with talent,” Avedissian said. “(Ursession) knocks down these barriers and empowers the masses.”

It is common knowledge that MySpace and Facebook have long been the online community’s dominating social networking websites. Although Ursession shares similarities with MySpace and Facebook, Avedissian believes it is more than just a social networking “tool.”

“What makes ursession.com truly unique is that we not only have our community interact and participate as our taste-makers, but we also anticipate breaking the artists they help rise to the top,” he said.

The website enables fans to search for bands through genre and location, as well as scope out auditions. Musicians are able to publish their songs online, post tour-dates and interact with their fan base.

Rasmus Larsen is a drummer for a rock band based out of Nuuk, Greenland called “In Vitro Fertilization” or “IVF.” Larsen said Ursession is the better choice for gaining exposure around the world. He said Ursession is very user friendly, and the band uses Ursession more that its MySpace page.

“Ursession makes it so much easier for artists to be seen and heard,” Larsen said.

Nathan Smith, a Java developer in San Francisco, joined Ursession this month because he said he wanted to “check out the features and user experience of the site.” Smith has both a MySpace and a Facebook page and said Ursession has many good features for small bands looking to gain a fan base, but thinks Ursession’s demographic search feature is “probably a bad idea.”

“They want to have a music site, but they’re going to end up with a dating site that way,” Smith said.

So, is there a real difference between Ursession and MySpace?

Avedissian certainly thinks so. He explained that Ursession is a “democratic online platform.” Its users are able to vote on what bands they like, creating “commercial viability” for musicians. This will create an open market for major labels looking to sign the most popular bands.

If signed to Ursession Records, “Artists will also enjoy digital and traditional distribution, a share of the advertising revenue, publishing royalties and more.”

“The masses will now decide for themselves what they want to listen to and not be force-fed music,” Avedissian said.

Adina Zerwig can be reached at [email protected]