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The nosedive in CD sales during the past decade leaves fewer independent music outlets and less shelf space for local artists. Radio playlists are nationalized and predictable: Soulja Boy follows listeners from Seattle to St. Louis.

So where do Washington, D.C., area music fans keep tabs on the scene?

The answer, like most bright spots in the music industry, is online. Blogs like DC Mumbo Sauce and DC Rap act as aggregators, occupying a middle ground between the generality of mainstream playlists and the disorganization of MySpace.

"With radio, we do what we can," says Nicole "DJ Heat" Mosley of Springdale, who runs DC Mumbo Sauce. "I understand the frustrations [with radio]."

Mosley has a unique perspective: She works at hip-hop and R&B powerhouse WPGC-FM.

"I'm already looked at as [having] strikes against me" by working at a radio station, Mosley says. "That's not me, though."

DC Rap and DC Mumbo Sauce deliver information about local artists like Wale, X.O. and Kenn Starr in the form of videos, show dates and mixtapes, displayed sans opinions.

"I do want [to] get into editorials," writes DC Rap founder Tyrone Norris, who is half of hip-hop duo Rosetta Stoned, in an e-mail. "But I'm an artist myself. By just putting information out, all I get is ‘thank-yous.'"

Norris, who lives in Berwyn Heights, recently began reorganizing DC Rap after the pace of posting became overwhelming. He says the retooled site, which may not be a traditional blog, will attract more readers.

"There's no danger to permanently losing readers," Norris says. "A lot of people want to see me start updating again. I have no problem with anticipation."

Readers can still turn to DC Rap's frequently updated Twitter account.

"If I put a mixtape on my blog, you have to come to my Web site in order to even know it exists. The 3,000 people who follow me on Twitter get information fed to their browser, cell phone, or whatever," Norris says. "The potential audience it can reach is enormous."

Mosley was once skeptical of Twitter, but no longer.

"When I check my stats, I see a lot of the traffic starts on Twitter," she says.

Don't quit your day job…yet

Mosley and Norris say their blogs aren't big moneymakers.

"I've only made about four bucks [from Google ads.] It's strictly for the love," Mosley says.

Norris, laid off his job in January, creates income through his company, One Vs Many, and by organizing events.

Money "wasn't a factor in why I built this site," says Norris, who adds that his Web presence promotes his events. "I look at the site as my small way of giving back to a scene I care about."

Rosetta Stoned's other half, Chris Carr of Brooklyn, N.Y., collaborates online with Norris on music and projects like DC Rap. When compared to New York, Washington, D.C. is ideal for a locally focused blog, he says.

"New York is such a saturated market. If you are interested in independent hip-hop, it's not the place to be," Carr says.

Mary "DJ Fusion" Nichols, who has lived in Prince George's off and on, runs Black Radio Is Back, a blog that often highlights Washington, D.C.-area artists. She also hosts nationally syndicated FuseBox Radio, which features under-the-radar music.

"If anything, Internet radio and blogs are taking a bit of responsibility for things some A&Rs [record label talent scouts] should be doing," Nichols says.

Translation: Record labels miss a lot of talent that blogs don't.

"There are enough free DC hip hop albums to fill an iPod," Norris writes. "I know a lot of people in the area who listen to nothing other than DC hip-hop now. That's a very new thing and I love it!"

Here are links to some blogs that cover the Washington, D.C., area hip-hop music scene:

www.dcmumbosauce.com (Twitter: http://twitter.com/DjHeatDC)

www.dcrap.com (Twitter: twitter.com/dcrap)

www.blackradioisback.com/