Why the New Twitter Music Will Change Your World
Little known fact about me: everywhere I go, I have to have music playing. There’s something so nice about living life to a soundtrack — it makes even the dullest days a little brighter. And having once lived in Austin (AKA the “Live Music Capitol of the World”), I will also tell you that I love discovering new artists and bands. I’m constantly asking my friends for their recommendations, using Shazam to find songs that I hear playing in random spots like restaurants, and clicking on links to list to songs people are sharing into Twitter or Facebook.
Turns out, I’m not the only one listening to music my friends are sharing. Today, Twitter announced the launch of Twitter #Music on desktop and iPhone. Touted by TechCrunch as a service that is “visually impressive, and well-designed with smart and opportunistic integrations,” I agree that it has the potential to be the best way to find and listen to new music.
Not only is the design sleek and easy to use (another site that uses pictures in a grid – welcome to the club!), but the experience makes it easy for you to discover and browse new artists. Just click “popular” and you will see the most popular songs that people are sharing through Twitter. Or click “suggested” to see a list of the bands and artists that Twitter thinks you may like based on what you’ve shared before. I was surprised to see how quickly the different artist lists update – I’ve already seen several great additions to my suggested artists tab since this morning! This morning I listened to Ben Rector on repeat, thanks to my Twitter #Music suggestions.
Better yet, you don’t even have to have a Twitter account to use Twitter #Music. Make sure to tell your grandparents ;)
To check it out, just visit the site and start browsing more than 100 artists who are trending on Twitter. Can you guess who’s trending at number one? That’s right, our friend Psy (@psy_oppa) is STILL topping the charts. Totally crazy. If you’re feeling a little anti-mainstream, Twitter #Music also gives you the option to explore emerging artists and bands and is an awesome way to find new music to love.
Clicking on an artist’s tile will give you a quick preview of their music via an iTunes preview and lets you follow that artist on Twitter.
On your iPhone, Twitter #music manages to be even sleeker! It’s easy to browse music-related tweets from your friends, check in on artists you follow, and all the good stuff available on the web.
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Spotify. Once you connect to either service (assuming you are a member), Twitter #Music lets you listen to the full tracks of artists and songs you discover — amazing, huh? This just might be my new favorite way to listen to music, which is a lofty statement given how many great apps there are out there.