Recording artist The G-Man is not a government agent. His songs are on iTunes and his commercials "are in your home and in your car," says Scott G, who writes and produces award-winning radio spots for ad agencies and clients.

His world used to involve nightclubs full of wildly dancing people, but today Scott G (The G-Man) is interacting with advertising industry.

"Instead of dealing with people coming up to me with ecstasy in their pockets, now I'm working with ad agency executives, copywriters, and people who use words like 'demographics,' 'psychographics,' and 'Unique Selling Proposition,'" G says. "Of course, who knows what they have in their pockets?"

But wait -- Scott G has been in ad business since graduating from college, so is he really a musician embedded in ad world, or is he an ad man who snuck into recording industry?

"Okay, it's both," G says with a grin.

Either way, he's proud to announce official opening of G-Man Music & Radical Radio (GMM&RR). "We're creating songs, sonics, music tracks and radio spots," G said.

The numbers are supposed to be big in online marketing, but are they? Clearly, we need someone with 'Net experience to set a few things straight. Scott Meldrum is a businessperson and musician with a dry wit and a background in bulk mail. Oops, excuse me, direct response advertising. He's also man called on by major labels when they want to brand an artist and reach millions of fans via Internet.

Beginning with Papa Roach in 1998 and continuing with such platinum-selling artists as Avril Lavigne, Dido and Jennifer Lopez, Meldrum's Long Beach-based firm, Hype Council, is one of prime marketing weapons utilized by world's largest entertainment companies.

Taking center stage for a Monday evening presentation by NARIP (National Association of Record Industry Professionals) at Beverly Garland Hotel in Los Angeles, Meldrum began with some facts about Internet. Does that sound a bit dull? It wasn't. His presentation quickly revealed things about 'Net that should be known by every marketer (that's you, if you or your artists are selling music online).

THE GLOBAL AUDIENCE FOR MUSIC.

Most Internet users (nearly a majority of them) are between ages of 30 and 49, far older than many in audience thought. And for those of us who thought that USA had highest percentage of Internet users, it was a surprise to learn that we're only sixth. (Of course, in raw numbers of users, USA has by far most people.)

Fully 40% of USA's 177 million 'Net users go online for music. Look at it another way: if you put your music on Internet, you have a potential audience of some 70 million. And with total Internet users currently at 404 million, that translates into a worldwide potential audience of 161 million people.

The problem is: how to reach them. They are wildly segmented in terms of music genre; they only want to be contacted under certain sets of circumstances; and they need to have a safe, secure, and easy way to make purchases.

Fortunately, "The Internet is still a new medium," Meldrum asserts, "and there are tremendous opportunities for people in business of selling music."

Some of those opportunities are being wasted, however, through poor Web site design. Meldrum revealed biggest errors made in creating or maintaining a Web site. . .

TOP 5 MISTAKES OF WEBSITES: