Twitter #Music Launches today on the Web and iOS
It’s been heavily rumored since Twitter’s acquisition of development company We Are Hunted a couple of days ago, and those rumors caught fire when celebrities like Ryan Seacrest started tweeting about the service’s existence. Now it’s official: Twitter #Music is launching today.
Twitter announced today on ABC’s Good Morning America that its #Music service (yes, the hashtag is included) will arrive today on the Web and will also be available as an iOS app. This means that iPhones and iPads are covered, but there is no word yet on the possibility of an Android app, which will likely disappoint many Twitter users.
So, what is Twitter #Music, exactly? Well, it’s not going to completely replace your iTunes library or streaming apps like Spotify, but it does work with them (as well as Rdio) for content. At its core, Twitter #Music is a recommendation engine that sifts through your tastes as well as what your followers are listening to and tries to help you discover new music. It also makes artists a central focus, taking their recommendations into account and allowing users to find and browse through their favorite singer or band’s recommended tracks.
When you jump into the app or visit the Web-based version at music.twitter.com, you’re presented with songs and artists that the service recommends for you. And if the song is available on a streaming service you subscribe to (and you connect that account to Twitter #Music), you can listen to the whole track right without launching a separate app. Some tracks will only be available for 30-second previews, which come from iTunes.
It’s safe to say that, to get the most out of Twitter #Music at the moment, you’re going to need a subscription to Spotify or Rdio, or else the means to spend a good bit of money on iTunes. Twitter has stated that it is working to support more services inside Twitter #Music, so who knows — maybe we’ll see Apple’s much-talked-about iRadio or support for services like Rhapsody or Xbox Music.
The website for Twitter #Music displays a “Coming soon” message with a sign-on button (which doesn’t vanish, even if you sign in). A search through the iOS App Store shows no signs of the Twitter #Music app, either. We’ll let you know when the service rolls out later today and provide a hands-on review of the new app once we’ve had time to play with it.