Twitter continues to be a source for all sorts of interesting services including some focused on music search, discovery and sharing. Such services sometimes focus on music marketing, as does TwitMusic, while others focus more on networking between music fans with elements that can be leveraged for music marketing, as does Monstro. In addition, unique projects include music as part of the mix but, in the case of The Social Radio, aren't focused on music in a way that facilitates marketing.
Twitmusic: Artists Sharing Their Music
The first things I learned on Twitmusic is that Mike Jones is back. I'm not sure what to think about that but it fits Twitmusic's emphasis on artists sharing music and fans discovering that music.
The site focuses more on musicians and music than on additional social networking with accounts available for artists. Fans are identified by Twitter ids which link through to their Twitter accounts. It's actually a smart way to leverage Twitter in an age where social network exhaustion is rising. They also have an events listing with links to buy tickets that are clearly chosen by the artists.
Though it's not obvious on the site, TwitMusic is based in Manila. The founders are planning a move to the States once they get funding in order to connect more directly with the musicians and labels that are featured on the site.
Monstro: A Social Network with Marketing Potential
Monstro's first step is to connect to your Twitter account to see what you and your friends are sharing. You also have options to search for artists and, in the process, you can identify people that have similar tastes and connect with the music that they've shared. As you get more involved, you can check out mixes, basically playlists of songs shared by your friends, fans and individuals.
Monstro's individual pages include info and a spiderable link plus a tab for your Twitter-built mix that offer marketing potential. Individual songs are given their own pages and listeners can stream music via the page, go to Rdio or Spotify, view on YouTube or buy on iTunes or Amazon. If you're making music available through those services then Monstro does give you a way to promote within the structure of participation and sharing.
The Social Radio: Listen to Your Tweets with Music
The Social Radio has its own twist on using Twitter as a source for discovering music though that's not really the focus of the service. It actually launched with mobile apps but they're now inviting people to their web version and you can request an invite on their homepage.
The trippy angle The Social Radio incorporates is the option to listen to the tweets in your Twitter timeline read aloud by webbots (not sure what the best term is for this). It's kind of creepy hearing these robotic voices reading tweets with music in the background but it's certainly an interesting feature.
As the tweets are read songs are played in the background and you can skip tracks and move on to discover other songs. Honestly, The Social Radio is pretty interesting and you might discover some new music but it's not really an effective vehicle for music marketing.
Hypebot Features Writer Clyde Smith maintains his freelance writing hub at Flux Research and music industry resources at Music Biz Blogs. To suggest topics for Hypebot, contact: clyde(at)fluxresearch(dot)com.
