Soundtracker (music streaming)

SoundayMusic (Formerly known as Soundtracker) is a geosocial networking mobile music streaming app[1][2] that enables users to listen to and track the music their friends and neighbors are playing in real time. The service provides over 32 million tracks[3] and allows users to create "music stations" choosing between a mix of up to three artists, or choosing a music genre. In the free version users can create up to 10 personalized stations, look at the stations that are being played nearby in real time, and interact with other users through instant chat. The paid, premium subscription removes advertisements and allows users to create an unlimited number of stations. It was launched in 2009[4] by Soundtracker, and as of December 2014 the service has 1.3 million registered users. Soundtracker is available for iOS App Store, Android Google Play, Windows Phone Store, Windows store, Google Glass, BlackBerry World, Samsung Apps, Amazon Appstore,[5] Nook, and Samsung Smart TV,[6] in 10 languages: English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Italian, Chinese Simplified, Japanese, Korean and Russian. Soundtracker is a registered trademark.[7]

This article is about the music streaming platform. For other uses, see Soundtracker.

Soundtracker
Type of businessPrivately held company
Available in10+ languages
Founded2008
Headquarters
Washington DC
,
United States
Country of originUnited States
Founder(s)Daniele Calabrese
CEODaniele Calabrese
IndustryMusic
Employees20
URLsoundtracker.fm
RegistrationRequired
Users1.2 million
LaunchedDecember 19, 2009
Current statusActive
Native client(s) onWindows, Windows Phone, Linux, BlackBerry OS, Android, iOS, Chrome OS, and OS X

Beginnings

The company was formed in late 2008 by a team composed of Daniele Calabrese[8] and 25 software developers and designers.[3] Soundtracker was first marketed in 2010 in San Francisco, and today has offices in Washington DC and Cagliari, Italy.

Evolution

The first mobile platform, iOS, was developed by Daniele Calabrese and his team in Silicon Valley in 2009.[9] The iOS app at its inception featured 13 million tracks and allowed geo-tagging.[10]

In 2010 the team moved to Boston where it developed the stations, push notifications, interaction with nearby listeners, and the app for Windows Phone 7.[11][12] Also in 2010, a website was introduced to provide access to non-mobile users, and the app was made available on Android, Java, Windows 7 and BlackBerry platforms.

In 2011 the app was integrated with Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare and Songkick.

In the second half of 2013, a system of in-app purchase and premium subscription was implemented allowing users to create an unlimited number of stations.

In June 2014 Soundtracker launched Autodiscovery, a button that discovers the music played in a certain area.

In October 2014, the App launched a location and proximity based advertising service with Facebook and Twitter.

Features

Playlists

Soundtracker allows users to create playlists by choosing between artists, genre, or using the Autodiscovery feature. Each playlist features new music based on an algorithm for music discovery. The playlists are geolocated and users can see the playlists that are being played around them on a map.

Autodiscovery

In June 2014 Soundtracker introduced Autodiscovery, available on the iOS and Android platforms. Similar to Shazam, the app analyzes a track being played and provides the user with its details. It offers the option to create a station, buy the track from iTunes or Google Play Music, or watch the related music video on YouTube.

Proximity

In September 2014 Soundtracker implemented Proximity[13][14] a feature that allows a user to listen to music with people nearby in real time. Using the live broadcasting option, a user can meet people nearby by tuning into their stations. Proximity was implemented using the Wireless Registry,[15] the first global registry for wireless names and identifiers.

Social network integration

Soundtracker is integrated with major social networks,[16] such as Facebook and Twitter. Geolocation and geotag is possible because of integration with Foursquare, and Songkick provides the latest updates about live concerts or shows by the selected artist.

Analytics platform

Soundtracker captures user data and combines it with other data sources to generate information that can be retrieved and filtered by business intelligence tools.[17]

Revenue model

Sounstracker is an ad-based music streaming service which offers the option of an ad-free subscription.

In October 2014, in addition to traditional advertising banners in the app, Soundtracker implemented in-app advertising with Facebook Audience Network and Twitter Mopub.

Subscriptions

Soundtracker offers two different type of plans: basic and premium. The basic plan allows users to create up to ten free stations from the music catalogue. The Premium plan contains no ads and allows users to create an unlimited number of stations, listen to the top user generated charts in seven countries divided by music genre.

Royalties

Soundtracker is a non-interactive webcaster with compulsory license from copyright societies and the right to use any music or recording that have been released to the public. It pays royalties to copyright societies, ASCAP, BMI and SESAC, the portion of royalties are between 3% and 5% of total revenues. Soundtracker also negotiates directly with indie labels and artists.

Future projects

The company is developing applications for the automotive industry,[18] as well as a special design of the app for different kinds of wearable technology.

See also

References
  1. Eliot Van Buskirk (January 31, 2011). "Soundtrckr And Other Location-Based Music Apps Are Heating Up". Business Insider. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
  2. "ultimaora – flash news 24 Corriere della Sera". Corriere.it. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
  3. "Soundtracker | AngelList". Angel.co. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
  4. "Soundtracker HTML5 Web App". CrunchBase. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
  5. "Soundtracker – Amazon Apps & Games Developer Portal". Developer.amazon.com. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
  6. "Daniele Calabrese, l'innovazione fa musica | Startupbusiness | Enabling the Italian startup ecosystem". It.startupbusiness.it. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
  7. "Soundtracker". Archived from the original on December 10, 2014. Retrieved December 10, 2014.
  8. "BizSpark Startup of the Day – Soundtracker – BizSpark Featured Startups – Site Home – TechNet Blogs". Blogs.technet.com. September 24, 2010. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
  9. "L'Italia che avanza: Soundtracker | Silicon Valley". Siliconvalley.corriere.it. December 20, 2011. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
  10. "Soundtrckr Is Spot-On, Like a Location-Aware Pandora". WIRED. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
  11. Van, Eliot (December 9, 2010). "Soundtrckr: What Does Music Have to Do With Location?". Evolver.fm. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
  12. "Pandora + Rdio = Soundtrckr [PICS]". Mashable.com. February 23, 2011. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
  13. r. "Soundtracker – Soundtracker Introduces Proximal Listening". Blog.soundtracker.fm. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
  14. "Soundtrckr Makes Internet Radio Location-Aware, Launching New Mobile Apps | BostInno". Bostinno.streetwise.co. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
  15. "Take control of your Wireless Identity". The Wireless Registry. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
  16. "Harmonic Convergence: Music and Social Networking Join Forces | News Center". News.microsoft.com. April 27, 2011. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
  17. "About Soundtracker" (PDF). Scientiamobile.com. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
  18. "L'italiano che sfida Spotify con la sua Soundtracker". Archived from the original on July 30, 2014. Retrieved December 10, 2014.
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