Kim Dotcom represents a lot of things to a lot of people. Some believe he's a pioneer of the Internet, ready to do the things and go to the places that few if any will. Others believe much worse about the man, ranging from a negative appraisal of his self-promotion to allegations of outright criminality. In between these two extremes lies a host of other viewpoints, and one way or another, most will likely be supported by Dotcom's latest release, Baboom.

Baboom is a music streaming site, and it launched earlier today in preview mode for those interested in hearing some music. It's already being compared to Rdio in nature, with a little comparison reserved for the recently-revamped MySpace (News - Alert). However, though the site is currently online and offering music, there seems to be just one album available to listen to out at Baboom: Kim Dotcom's own, “Good Times.” It's described as “a sort of europop medley” that includes bits and pieces from a cohort of Will.i.am's that goes by the name of Printz Board, as well as Dotcom's wife Mona and a few other artists besides. However, this doesn't seem to be slowing things down any; Baboom notes that the album's first hour online saw 80,000 plays to its credit.

Reports suggest that the Baboom service will not only allow users to stream, but also download for an additional fee, and will boast support for both FLAC and MP3 320Kbps. Those willing to add an advertising plugin into a Web browser while using Baboom, however, will be treated to free music in the near future, a service that's a little out of the ordinary. The service is offering up early access invitations for the cost of an e-mail address, at least for starters, so those interested in getting music on another streaming service may be inclined to check it out.

The ultimate question, of course, is how is Baboom prepared to distinguish itself? We've already seen some issues in the streaming space, with Rdio starting to lose some ground in the field, and several competitors coming onto the scene. There are even reports of Apple (News - Alert) and Google looking to enter the fray, and with Spotify making some very big noise in this sector, Kim Dotcom's service will be walking into a very competitive arena, and right now, not armed with very much.

While admittedly, the idea of free music in exchange for an advertising plug-in sounds like it'll gain some ground with at least some users, it's easy to wonder if it will be enough of a distinction. Baboom is going to need to get a lot more music than Kim Dotcom's album if it's going to go anywhere, though thankfully there will likely be plenty of unrepresented artists out to get exposure by whatever means available. However, the major labels may not be terribly interested in dealing with Dotcom, especially given past history in terms of Megaupload and the like, especially if all the distinction that Baboom can offer is an advertising plug-in of potentially limited impact that yields free music giveaways.

Only time will tell just how well Baboom can do in the field, but with a lot of competitors out there already, it's not looking good for the newcomer, especially the newcomer that isn't prepared to make some major offers to draw in the user base.