It seems that every week a new online business launches with the intention of building online social networks. Music, a proven socialising agent, has become synonymous with these online communities and arguably is the key driver behind most of them.

Creating and maintaining a MySpace/Bebo/other profile can be fun to begin with, and it certainly can draw an audience - for example, Lily Allen claims to have more than 78,000 friends on her MySpace page. But what is that audience really worth to her and where's the opportunity if you don't know what to do with them? As nice as it is to have lots of friends, ultimately they just aren't as valuable as fans.

Online or offline, it's the fans who buy the music, go to the concerts and tell their friends about the bands they're into. One of the perceived values of online artist communities for fans is that they give them the impression that they're close to the artist. From an artist's perspective, they now have a fantastic opportunity to build long-term creative and commercial relationships with their most valuable asset: their audience. And it's this capability that's really challenging artists and bands to look beyond 'friends' and be smarter about how they turn them into valuable fans.

Through a well-managed online community, artists have the opportunity not only to communicate one-on-one with their fan base, but also to gain valuable insights and understanding from their fans about what they value and what they want to get out of the relationship.

Simply by understanding that not all fans are created equal, the artist can begin to unlock the value that lies within. For example, why shouldn't an artist sell demo tapes, video clips, memorabilia, recordings of exclusive gigs or solo projects directly to their fans via these new low-cost digital distribution platforms?

Out of Lily Allen's 78,000 friends the majority are happy just to brag that they have Lily as a friend. But there will be a significant proportion who will pay to see her on her current UK tour and have probably already bought her debut album. Within that group there will be a number of fans who also want to hear her demo tapes, to see set lists, to read overnight gig reviews and hear recordings of the gigs themselves. However, while some of these can be given away as they build the relationship between artist and fan, others will be highly valued and can be offered at a premium price. Understanding the micro-economy, value and assets around an artist is to realise the true potential value.

The challenge, therefore, is being able to identify and segment the fans from friends, and this means creating a special place in which to manage this ongoing dialogue and interaction. Public social networking forums such as MySpace and Bebo are without question excellent recruitment grounds, but they will never have the exclusivity or intimacy artists and core fans want. This isn't rocket science, but nor is it simply a case of sitting back and counting the number of friends an artist has. The relationship between an artist and their audience needs to be carefully managed, especially if you want to really unlock the potential value.