On a very basic level, IndieGroup.com is an affordable (as in free) Web-hosting service geared toward indie musicians. Just below the surface, however, it's a whole lot more — a short-run CD duplicator, for instance, and a source for free advice on the music business. IndieGroup.com is not just a single Web site; it's a circle of excellent, informative sites, each serving the independent musician's interests.

There's a great deal of overlap in the services provided by the individual sites; Indiego.com, BandRadio.com, and BandUtopia.com, for instance, present similar material. There are enough differences, however, to ensure the widest possible coverage of the indie scene. Need directions to the gig? BandUtopia.com has a helpful Maps to Anywhere feature. Need a company to press your CD? BandRadio.com has an impressive list of CD duplicators. GetSigned.com specializes in — you guessed it — information on labels and recording. OfficialCitySites.org has links to the Web site of virtually any city you might play while on tour. Those are just a few fine sites that make up the whole.

Any one of the IndieGroup sites would be worthy of its own review in this column. It would be hard to find an issue pertinent to indie life that isn't covered in a member site. The fact that there's so much good stuff under one virtual roof makes it one of the best resources for independent musicians on the Web.