The counter to music elitism is the notion that you shouldn’t judge a person by his or her taste in music, and that you shouldn’t let said person’s musical preferences dictate, in any way, your behavior toward him/her. Well, that was before Twitter allowed their #Music app to be used by the general public, which has increased the risk of being digitally shoved face-first into the steaming pile of an acquaintance’s listening habits. Ignore that risk if you’ve carefully chosen who to follow, or, obviously, if you’re following @TinyMixTapes. Then you’re golden.
The app, previously available to just a few lucky(?) celebrities, can now be accessed online via music.twitter.com, or through the Apple App Store. The general purpose is this: to recommend you new music based on what users are tweeting about. With this aim in mind, the app consists of four tabs (or pages):
The “Popular” tab displays music that’s trending across Twitter, in case (like me) you’re ever curious about just how disconnected you are from the musical interests of mainstream society. The “Emerging” tab highlights “hidden talent,” however that works and whatever that means. The “Suggested” tab shows you artists you might like based on the artists you already follow (and also, who they follow), and the “#NowPlaying” tab lists the songs your friends are currently listening to and/or tweeting about. (There’s also a “Me” tab that displays the latest songs of the artists you follow.)
A certain boon to the app is the ability to listen to, or at least preview, the music that’s being recommended, through an interface-embedded Spotify, Rdio, or iTunes player. People who have accounts with either or both of the former services can log in and listen to full tracks.
I approached this news with skepticism, and I leave moderately less skeptical. #coolerthanithought
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