My Roundup Of Top Music Tech Launches In 2015

It's been a busy year in the ever-turbulent world of music technology, with heavy hitters working to maintain the appeal of their services to fickle users, while newcomers to the industry work to make a name for themselves amidst a sea of startups, each claiming to be the music industry's savior. Here we look at several notable companies/ideas from 2015.

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Owen Davie is the Community Manager at Hypebot and MusicThinkTank.YouTube’s Music App/YouTube Red: Already established as one of the top platforms among music listeners, YouTube made an effort to ensnare paying users this year with its launch of the premium service YouTube Red, as well as catch the fancy of the mobile listening crowd with the release of its shiny new music app. Periscope: Recently bought and relaunched by Twitter, this live video sharing platform offers limitless possibilities for artists looking to connect with their fans, whether it’s an impromptu acoustic show, behind the scenes look into the studio, or just a tire change while on tour, this sort of live broadcasting opens up an exciting world of possibilities for fans and artists alike.Blockchain: Taking away the gold for most talked about/least understand technology of 2015, this concept of a decentralized public ledger, owned by no one and everyone, has many exciting implications should it be adopted by industry, among them the removal of the middle man and the redirection of more revenue to artists. Flipagram: This sharing app allows users to create short music videos out of their images, backed by the songs of their favorite artists. Perhaps its greatest competitive advantage, Flipagram is one of rare social networks which allows artists to monetize their music as it appears on the platform.Music Recognition Technology: Although not exactly a new player on the field of music tech, the audio recognition technology used in apps like Shazam and Soundhound promises a variety of other applications beyond finding out what the name of that catchy ukulele number playing over a car commercial is. Whether it’s performing rights organizations using it to get artists their hard-earned cash, or record companies using it to bust the chops of copyright violators, ACR tech promises many exciting things for the future.