Dive summary:
- Twitter Music, or #music as the social network is referring to the app, has officially dropped after several early leaks, including a sneak peak from Ryan Seacrest.
- Twitter Music is available at music.twitter.com and as an iPhone app; the service pulls preview tracks from iTunes and full songs from streaming services Spotify and Rdio and makes them available in one player.
- The app encourages both active discovery and passive listening; users can either just press play and let the app choose what to play (similar to Pandora) or users can skim through the apps tabs and take on more active role.
From the article:
"Users can browse among four sections, which can be thought of as variations on traditional music discovery avenues. Like visiting a Tower Records (RIP), the main page Popular displays what music is trending on Twitter right now; this morning that meant Demi Lovato and Psy of "Gangnam Style" fame. The Emerging tab is like the local record shop or Los Angeles' ultra-hip-yet-underground Amoeba Music and steers toward up-and-coming talent that hasn’t yet crossed over or sold out. Suggested is like those mix tapes your friends used to pass around, surfacing artists you might like based on who you follow on Twitter. And finally #NowPlaying is the most modern and real time, echoing Spotify and Rdio by populating the music being tweeted out by people you follow on Twitter."
