In an unprecedented move, punk rockers Face to Face [ tickets ] introduced another interesting possibility for music on the Internet--letting the fans pick the tracks for a new album. For the forthcoming album "Reactionary," due out on June 20th (Lady Luck/Beyond Music), the group posted streaming audio samples of 16 songs on an MP3.com website, and allowed fans to vote for their favorites during a six-week period in March and April.

''First and foremost, we wanted to know what our fans thought,'' says vocalist/guitarist Trever Keith. ''We wanted them to decide on the album they wanted to hear. We posted songs which varied somewhat in terms of tempos and structure. I thought it was going to be really interesting to see how the tone of the overall album turned out because it could have gone in a number of ways.''

Fans rated the 16 streaming audio samples on a one-to-five rating system. The final tally, which included over 1.8 million votes, determined the following track listing for ''Reactionary'': ''Out of Focus,'' ''Disappointed,'' ''Hollow,'' ''Think for Yourself,'' ''Solitaire,'' ''Just Like You Said,'' ''Shame,'' ''Estranged,'' ''Icons,'' ''You Could've Had Everything,'' ''Best Defense,'' and ''What's in a Name?''

Gus Peńa, Project Manager for MP3.com's Industry Relations Division, worked with the group on the project. ''Lots of bands are using the Internet to promote their albums or songs,'' he said, ''but this is the first time a group has basically let their fans have this kind of direct input into how their album is going to turn out. I don't know if I see this sort of thing as a coming trend, but certainly the Internet is allowing artists to connect with their fans more directly in a grass roots way. Bands are really starting to see the opportunities to use the Internet to their advantage and reach out and give something personal to their fans.''