Streaming music apps are everywhere these days, with rumors of tech giants like Apple and Google eyeing the business to compete with Spotify and Rdio. Not to be outdone, sources are claiming Twitter is planning to use its recent acquisition of music discovery network We Are Hunted to join the club.
According to CNET, a new streaming music app could hit iOS devices as early as the end of March. The rumored app is called Twitter Music, and is intended as a way to discover new artists. Sometime last year, Twitter apparently purchased We Are Hunted, a music recommendation service which highlights up-and-coming artists. Using a similar setup, Twitter Music will offer personalized track recommendations, streaming via SoundCloud.
Twitter currently maintains a music-related account, @TwitterMusic, with over 2.3 million followers. The safe bet is the company utilizing that already extensive fan base, and transitioning people over to a wholly music-centered iOS app. The app allegedly features a streamlined interface, with a silver "play" button nestled below four tabs: Suggested, NowPlaying, Popular, and Emerging. The service utilizes Twitter to recommend songs based on interests, music friends are listening to, and new artists.
How Twitter Music will work, in terms of subscription pricing, etc. is still unknown. But it appears as if we're heading into a time when every tech giant is pushing for space in the streaming music market. Competitors like Spotify, Pandora, and Rdio already have massive installed user bases, and frankly, it seems like Twitter will need to differentiate itself from the pack. Strangely enough, the We Are Hunted app within Spotify no longer appears to work, and the company's website says the service is "unavailable."
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