There’s nothing better than the communal feeling of sharing music with friends, whether this feeling comes in the form of listening to new music together, belting out the lyrics to an old classic at the bar, or going to shows and music festivals. But there’s never been a great way to share music. Sure, you can send texts to one another with Spotify links or even post your favorite songs to your Instagram story (much to the chagrin of your followers who don’t share the same taste), but there’s never been a singular place designed for the purpose of sharing music—until now.

Enter Needle Music, a “platform designed to foster positivity, creativity, and collaboration through music, while at the same time enhancing people’s ability to find music easily.” The idea for the platform—described as a sonic “audiobiography” of sorts—was inspired by three friends with a deep love for music and a shared desire to create a better method to consume it. On the app, users have the capacity to create a “Top 8” songs playlist that sits on their homepage. They can also select a “Song Of The Day” that will go straight onto a timeline that displays your choice as well as your friends’ picks. From there, you can listen, like, and share music all on one central platform. The app seamlessly integrates with Spotify; songs that users “like” on the Needle App simultaneously appear in their Spotify “likes.” Needle Music is available in the App Store and on Google Play. It’s currently only compatible with Spotify, but Apple Music and SoundCloud integrations, among others, are coming soon. 

In an exclusive interview with Dancing Astronaut, Needle Music founders Mikhael Porter, Shane Ertz, and Wyatt Keith discuss their impetus for developing the app and its facets. Read the Q&A in full below and follow Dancing Astronaut on Needle Music (@DancingAstronaut).

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What is Needle?

Needle: “Needle Music offers a better way for people to find and share music. Needle sits at the intersection of the ‘social’ and ‘music’ industries by providing a listening solution that makes it easy and fun to share music with your friends. It is a platform centered around the connection and curation of music, and it aims to enhance established streaming services by offering an experience that is tailored to the discovery and sharing of songs between people. The idea is that there’s no better way to find music than through your friends.”

Who is your target audience?

Needle: “Our target audience is anyone who wants an easier way to find and share music with friends/followers. Furthermore, anyone that has built a following on social media centered around music is an ideal Needle user. Needle is the first platform built for the ‘music influencer.’ The next wave of DJs and A&R professionals will be able to showcase themselves and gain recognition through Needle.”

How do you envision users interacting with the app?

Needle: “The great thing about Needle is that it can be both a tool and a platform, meaning that our users can use Needle as a tool to easily find new music in a matter of minutes. Or, they can dive deep and curate their favorite songs that correspond with musical moments in their life. It is an enhancement of the streaming services that aims to create value for all involved. Simply put, Needle offers the best way to connect with people through music.”

How will Needle differentiate itself in function from the discovery feature on music streaming apps like Spotify and Apple Music?

Needle: “Our philosophy is that the best way to find new music is through your friends. We like to refer to this as the ‘human algorithm.’ While yes, the machine learning tools that existing streaming services use to suggest music to their users can be great, it is evident (as seen through our data) that leveraging one’s network and utilizing the inherent socialness of music is the most efficient and dynamic way to find songs you love. Finding songs you love through people you love—what could be better!”

What is the best thing about Needle? 

Needle: “While most people will say that the best thing about Needle is the abundance of good music you’ll find on the app, internally, we are really excited by the opportunity to foster positive and meaningful connections through music. Sharing music is truly a love language, and many of our early users have already made new friends in real life as a result of the connections built on Needle.”

Tags: apple music, Needle Music, Social Media, spotify

Categories: Features