Along with the latest update to iTunes 10, comes a new way for fans to learn about the latest and greatest music from their favorite artists and friends through a social network called iTunes Ping.

 iTunes Ping is a social network dedicated just for music and is the latest creation from Apple. The new music-oriented social network was developed for iTunes users to follow their favorite artists and friends to discover the music they’re listening to, talking about and downloading. iTunes Ping allows users to follow both their favorite artists and friends so that users can be up to date on all the latest music trends.

While the latest addition to iTunes seems to be very beneficial for the ultimate music fan, I feel like Ping is a creation that came too late. What with our world full of other social networks like Facebook and Twitter, having a social network dedicated just for music seems a little redundant. And a lot of fans already follow their favorite artists on Facebook and Twitter, so fans already have the 411 about what Lady GaGa is doing that day or where Muse is playing that night.

But then again, Ping does prove to be very useful since the social network is just for music, so there would be no  irrelevant statuses like “got to run some errands today!” or “hittin’ up the club tonight!”  Instead, artists and fans can post statuses about their new favorite songs and encourage their friends to listen some great music.

So, even though Ping may seem like a copycat of Facebook and Twitter, Ping proves to be very beneficial for any music fan.