MUMBAI: Rhapsody has always been about connecting people to the music they love, even back when tweeting was only for birds. Today, the nation’s most popular premium, on-demand music service announced the launch of an improved music experience that makes discovering music faster and easier thanks to a streamlined interface and rich social features.
“Rhapsody members can now tap into a music community that is 800,000 members strong to share, recommend and find music,” said Jon Irwin, president, Rhapsody. “Our subscriber base is composed of people who are passionate about music and who influence their friends’ music tastes. Now they can connect to and influence like-minded people on Rhapsody, while sharing their musical discoveries with their friends on Facebook and Twitter.”
Starting today, Rhapsody members can create profiles that showcase what they have been listening to, and browse the profiles of other members to discover new music. Integration with Facebook Connect allows Rhapsody members to explore the musical tastes of Facebook friends, regardless of whether they are Rhapsody subscribers. Sharing buttons make it easy to like and link the artists, albums, playlists and tracks you find on Rhapsody. Customize your status to reflect your music mood, and create your own URL to easily share your profile with others. Because nearly all the profile information is based on playback within Rhapsody, creating a new profile takes seconds. Members can also choose to remain anonymous, and opt out at any time.
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Rhapsody has launched several new features that make musical introductions fun and engaging.
High Volume: The answer to a music lover’s favorite icebreaker, “What have you been listening to lately?” is prominently displayed in each Rhapsody member’s profile as High Volume, a snapshot of the artists they have been listening to most recently. Each artist photo includes a play button that will launch playback of the most popular tracks, and is clickable to offer a deep dive into the artist’s page in Rhapsody, including reviews, bios, discography and related bands.
My Radio: You can tell a lot about a person based on the music they’re listening to. So, introductions to other Rhapsody members are made sonically, through a mix of the most recently played songs of any member. Just push play and enjoy a stream of the songs of any profile you visit.
People: Now Rhapsody members can follow the musical journeys of others. Using the “follow” feature, it’s easy to keep track of what any member has been listening to, including their playlists, listening history and, of course, My Radio and High Volume. In addition you can view the top listeners of any artist or genre and discover even more music through their High Volume, playback history and followers.
Sharing: Sharing your music has never been easier with easy-to-use buttons that allow you to share the songs, artists and playlists you discover on Facebook, Twitter or e-mail throughout the Rhapsody service. “Like” an artist, album or playlist, and broadcast it in your Facebook feed and profile.
Editorial expertise has always been a cornerstone of the Rhapsody service, and the new interface allows unprecedented access to some of the brightest minds in music journalism. Each Rhapsody editor has a public profile that connects members to noteworthy bands, new and classic. In addition, Rhapsody will continue to offer exclusive and curated content, including editor-made playlists, posts and round-ups that surface new and old favorites to enable discovery of music, refreshed every day.
The guiding principle behind Rhapsody’s streamlined design is to make it easier and faster to find, play and share the music you love. The revamped home page features new releases, personalized recommendations based on playback and editorial selections that bring the music to you in one click. The inline player eliminates the need to download a client, and makes it simple to save, curate, share and play music. And it’s all built for speed.
“We’ve distilled the core ethos around which Rhapsody was founded: music discovery, and amplified the experience with social tools that connect the Rhapsody community in a new, meaningful way,” said Irwin. “I’m excited to see what happens when we unleash the musical tastes of our members, especially as we roll the social features across mobile and the 70 other consumer electronics devices where members enjoy the Rhapsody service.”
