Seattle's iLike today is formally announcing a new application for the iPhone and iPod Touch that scans one's personal music collection and then notifies users when a favorite artist will be holding a concert nearby. The latest version of iLike's Local Concerts app -- which has yet to be approved by Apple -- also provides music samples, maps to concert venues and ticket purchasing options.

"It is without doubt the best and funnest and easiest way to find concerts near you," said iLike CEO Ali Partovi. The app is free, though iLike plans to make money through affiliate fees for passing music fans to TicketWeb, Live Nation or Ticketmaster to purchase tickets. It also will sell advertising around the "live music experience" in the iPhone app.

Separately, iLike is announcing that more than 250 artists -- including Sonic Youth, Enrique Iglesias and Rusted Root -- have adopted the company's custom iPhone application service.

That service -- which costs $99 -- allows artists to establish an iPhone app that displays Twitter feeds, photos, music clips, concert information and games. As part of the deal with artists, iLike reserves the right to take a portion of the revenue generated from the paid apps or to serve up advertising in free apps.

Other services also are targeting musicians with iPhone app development, namely Melodeo, Kyte and Mobile Roadie. But Partovi said iLike's system allows bands and musicians to create a new iPhone app in a "matter of minutes" through the company's publishing dashboard.

Competing services, he said, operate more like a consulting business where they take an upfront fee to build a customized app for tens of thousands of dollars.

iLike's Local Concerts app

"We've tried as much as possible to make the customization self-service rather than requiring our engineers to be doing custom work or contract work," he said. There's a trade-off, of course, since most musicians prefer to have an unique experience for fans and that's something that iLike is trying to balance.

iLike has been in the news in the past couple weeks with reports that the company is looking to unload Ticketmaster as an investor and that it is in talks with music studios about creating a new download music store to compete with offerings from Apple and Amazon.com.

While Partovi declined to comment on the reports by Cnet and TechCrunch, something does appear to be afoot at the 25-person online music startup. He confirmed that Ticketmaster, which invested $13.3 million in iLike three years ago in exchange for a 25 percent stake, remains an investor in the company.

Partovi told TechFlash that iLike -- operating at beak even for all of this year -- has the flexibility to move in new directions.

"Because we've been able to reach financial self sustainability, it is giving us the opportunity to spread our wings and expand from just being what people might have come to know us as to be more and bigger," he said.

The company now boasts more than 50 million registered users and depending upon how you slice it is now attracting 120 million (includes all widget views) or 15 million unique visitors a month. At this point in time, Partovi said the company is investing in growth rather than "trying to turn a large profit."

"What is important to us is that we have reached a self-sustaining state," said Partvoi. "And we are very happy to actually have accomplished that given both the economic climate and the music licensing" climate.

Asked about future financing plans, Partovi said "we don't have anything to announce or talk about on that front." He said they do get inquiries from investors, but they aren't actively looking for money.

In addition to Ticketmaster, iLike is backed by MTV co-founder Bob Pittman and venture capitalist Vinod Khosla.