Steven Van Zandt Developing Music Site

Steven Van Zandt, a founding member of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band and the actor who played Silvio Dante on The Sopranos, is launching a music-focused social network.

The guitarist’s endeavor, Fuzztopia, is expected to launch in three to six months and centers on a ‘hub for insider information and advice directly from bands,’ according to a WSJ story.

Little Steven, as Van Zandt is affectionately known, said he created Fuzztopia because he felt that there was no music site where experts and newbies could trade stories.

“It’s going to be like an insiders’ sort of Web site [where] fans are welcome to peek in backstage,” he said.

“It will be very revealing about what those musicians are thinking, where they get guitar strings at 2 a.m. in Cleveland, what’s their favorite diner in Oslo.”

Along with that insider content, Fuzztopia will serves a vehicle for artists to stream and sell their music on profiles and connect with their fans.

So it’s kind of like MySpace, Facebook and Lord knows how many other web communities that provide a turnkey solution for musicians to get their product to the people.

A venture like this doesn’t have the feel of a second coming of MySpace (that could be good or bad!), but if Van Zandt is looking to lock down a niche section of the ‘net where music and musician can hang out together and talk shop, well then he might be onto something. While still in beta, at first glance at Fuzztopia looks to have all the requisite bells and whistles.

Now the name, Fuzztopia, is another matter. Let’s see what didn’t make the cut! I kind of get it, but then again I just don’t whatsoever.

No doubt one call to ‘Bruuuuuce’ and some of his Sopranos buddies and the press machine should give a nice boost to Fuzztopia.

Look for Fuzztopia to debut as a free service, with a subscription-based model incorporated down the road.

Fuzztopia looks promising, and Van Zandt is nothing if not a shrewd businessperson with a good feel for the digital space. The social network is just part of a larger media venture by Van Zandt and his team at Renegade Nation who are combining all his numerous business and music projects online.

While many folks might only know Van Zandt from his work with Springsteen and The Sopranos, Miami Steve, yet another longtime nickname, is also an accomplished songwriter, producer and DJ.

And let’s not forget he wrote the terrific Artists United Against Apartheid protest song “Sun City” in 1985 and helped assemble an amazing collection of rock, rap and soul artists ever to record the single. Since 2002, Van Zandt has also hosted Little Steven’s Underground Garage (part of the Renegade Nation stable), a weekly syndicated radio show on Sirius XM Radio.

But that’s just the start. To check out Renegade Nation is to witness a myriad of divisions, from publishing, TV and events to a record label and even consulting.

When the 58-year-old Van Zandt has time to tour with old buddy Springsteen is a mystery considering all the media action he’s involved with. CEO/Managing Director Jean Beauvoir, onetime member of the famous punk band The Plasmatics, leads the Renegade team.

Because Van Zandt has so many music-related enterprises circling inside Renegade Nation, one could question whether or not Fuzztopia is merely a promo tool disguised as a music community. He said he views the community as “more of a cooperation than a competition,” but there’s always a fine line.

Fuzztopia seems to be Van Zandt’s sincere attempt to help young musicians along their way with his new digital effort, meanwhile adding another piece to the media empire he’s building.

What do you think about Little Steven’s music/social network project?