Twitter rolls out music discovery service Twitter #music, how does it work?

Micro blogging site Twitter has released 'Twitter #music', a new service from the company that enables its users to discover music. Rumours about the service were doing the rounds for some time and even as the web version is yet to go alive, the app version is now active (though not yet for India).

The service uses Twitter activity (including Tweets and engagement) to detect and display the most popular tracks and emerging artists. It also brings artist's music-related Twitter activity front and center.

Users can download Twitter #music from the iTunes app store, or use the web version, music.twitter.com, which the company will be rolling out very soon. As of now, the service is available in the US, Canada, the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand (we tried downloading the app from the Indian version of the iTunes store, but it was not available). Going forward, the company will bring the service to the Android platform, as well as increase the number of countries where it is offered.

As of now, the songs on Twitter #music come from three sources, which include iTunes, Spotify, or Rdio. By default, users will hear previews from iTunes while exploring music in the app and subscribers to Rdio and Spotify can also log in to their accounts to enjoy full tracks that are available in those respective catalogues. Over time, the company will keep adding other music service providers to the mix, which is a good thing considering both Spotify and Rdio are not available in India as of now. This also could be the reason why the service is not launched in India yet (do we see Twitter partnering with India focused music streaming sites like Saavn, Dhingana or Gaana, in the future?).

How it works

With the app, users can go to their favourite artist's profiles to see which music artists they follow and listen to songs by those artists as well. So for example, if you are a Sonu Nigam fan and following him on Twitter (considering he has a profile there), you will be able to view his profile, listen to his music, and also see which artists he is following on Twitter. Now if he (Nigam) is following Mohit Chauhan, you can also follow him (Chauhan) or listen to available tracks sung by him.

Additionally, users can view the most popular new music and emerging talent on Twitter. If a user is interested in the songs that have been tweeted by the artists/people they follow on Twitter, they can navigate to #NowPlaying to view and listen to those songs.

They can scroll through an available chart, and if they want to learn more about a band, they can simply tap their avatar to see their top song. Users can also follow them (the band) right from the chart, or tap their Twitter username to go to their profile. Additionally, if you want to listen to music from the artists that your favourite artists in turn follow, you can search for his (your favourite artist's) name using the search icon in the top right corner, then tap one of the artists (that he is following) and hit the play button to begin listening, or press play on the player to listen to all the artists he is following.

Also, as you discover new songs that you want to share with your followers on Twitter, simply tap the spinning disc in the lower left corner (see pic). This opens the player, and you can Tweet from there using the 'Tweet icon' in the top right corner.

"People share and discover new songs and albums every day. Many of the most-followed accounts on Twitter are musicians, and half of all users follow at least one musician. This is why we wanted to find a way to surface songs people are tweeting about. We also offered music artists an early look at the service, we hope you like it too," wrote Stephen Philips, founder, We are Hunted.

Early this month, Twitter Inc has acquired We Are Hunted, an Australia-based three-person music streaming startup for an undisclosed amount.

At that time the startup had mentioned it would shut down its existing service, the founders did not reveal what they would do at Twitter (which is clear now). Prior to this, Twitter had purchased Vine, a small video-sharing service even before its official launch. The company finally launched Vine as an app that enables users to shoot and share 6-second video clips in the form of Tweets on Twitter.

Stay-tuned for a full review of the service once it finally launches in India.