Hype, early adopters, and perfect timing: these are the attributes that the newly minted Turntable.fm bring to the table, and if you’ve never used it, then you’ve probably heard of it. There’s no question that it’s taking over the social music space in a big, big way.
Turntable.fm is changing the way music is heard and, more importantly, shared. It’s all completely reliant on the concept that the best way to find music you’ve never heard before is through your own social network– not the radio, random CDs, or a trip to Best Buy. Simply login through Facebook, find a room, and if there’s an empty DJ slot (5 per room maximum), play a song that the rest of the room will hear, then sit back and enjoy the other 4 DJs’ songs before you’re up for your next turn. Some rooms will be more popular than others, so it can be hard to find a room with both an open DJ spot and a sizeable audience. Mark Zuckerberg has even graced the “Coding” room with his presence and DJed some of his favorite tunes, luring in hundreds to check out the Facebook god’s musical palette.
But what do social music sharing sites like Turntable.fm all mean for the music industry’s trends, and what direction is music being taken with the advance of Web 2.0? Some musical artists have taken the hint and realized that one of the only real ways to gain visibility as an artist is to provide some portion of their music for free over the web. Other artists and labels alike have been slow to catch on, suffering major losses in sales and potential revenues as a consequence. Continue reading Making Music Social: Turntable.fm and What It Means for the Future of the Music Industry