All the music headlines today seem to be about Spotify landing in the United States, Google Music finally launching, and Grooveshark defeating UMG, but there’s one new and unique service that you may not have tried yet.
Back in June, I received a Facebook invite from one of my friends for an application called “Turntable.fm.” Little did I know that I would be opening an invite to the coolest and most socially savvy music service on the Internet. While listening to music on your computer can typically be a very introverted experience, Turntable.fm lets you play music for and with your friends in one digital space. Hailed the “biggest threat to productivity” in the workplace, Turntable.fm is a Internet chat room that plays music based on choices by a rotating crew of DJs. When one DJ steps down from the controls, any user in the room can “hop” up to the decks and start playing his or her choice of tunes. DJs have access to a massive library of music that they can cue up to play when it is their turn. Additionally, if a track is not available to the community, users can upload their own songs or mixes. Named by Time magazine as one of the 50 best websites of 2011, Turntable is turning heads left and right for its flawless design, easy-to-use interface, and explosive fun factor.
As with anything fun and addictive, there’s a twist that gets you obsessed. When you are DJing, users can vote on your choice of tunes at the bottom of the screen, marking it as either “awesome” or “lame.” As a user, when you give a song the “awesome” vote, your avatar starts dancing. When you give it a “lame” vote, your avatar stops moving or crosses his or her arms. Giving a DJ an “awesome” vote also gives the DJ points. The more points a DJ has, the more street credit he or she obtains. The more street credit one obtains, the more avatar upgrades you receive. You can also “follow” your favorite DJs and Turntable.fm will send you an email notification every time they are performing.
I know everyone has been to a house party where multiple people want to put on their iPod and play their own tracks. Turntable.fm is the perfect solution because now everyone can play their favorite songs, not to mention the fact that it gives equal playing time to each user. We’ve been testing out the application here at NMS, and the feedback is overwhelming favorable. After a crew of NMS employees hosted a marathon jam session the other day, I think everyone in the ‘sphere is hooked.
Sure it’s a lot of fun, but how on earth are they making money? In a simple sense, the application makes money by helping users discover new music. Next to every track played, there is a link to “buy” the song in iTunes. The new service is growing in popularity, and according to BetaBeat, Turntable.fm reached 140,000 users within its first month of launch. That’s a lot of deejaying!
The possibilities are endless for this gem. Just the other night, fellow co-worker Tyler Hoffberger and I had a DJ contest to see who could string together the most Hurricane-themed song. The result was an epic DJ-off, but I don’t think we ever crowned a winner (it’s time for a rematch). Another idea is to introduce celebrity DJs into the mix. Imagine if Daft Punk started making appearances in the chat rooms. You could have a live concert streaming in your living room! You don’t have to be famous to gain credibility on Turntable.fm, you just have to play music people love. In fact, the top spinner on Turntable.fm is DJ Woooooo, accumulating over 9,000 DJ points without any sort of celebrity background.
If you haven’t already tried out the service, I highly recommend it. All you need is a Facebook account and a sweet DJ name (mine is Travman5000). The highest ranking DJ here at NMS calls himself “The Sizzle,” and you’ll have to log into Turntable.fm to see what kind of tracks this mix master will play for you. While Grooveshark might be the best option for playing music on a day-to-day basis, Turntable.fm is the most fun music experience to share with your friends.