Review: Exploring The whyd Mobile App Experience
The much-anticipated whyd iOS app has officially arrived this week. Just a few months after launching whyd Paris, a location-based community feature, Paris-based company whyd has now made it’s platform better accessible on the iPhone. For those unaware of whyd, the web platform available at whyd.com allows users to add music from YouTube, SoundCloud, and Vimeo through a bookmarking tool in which a user can then place the song into their own custom playlist on whyd.
Before we get into the review of the app here are some of my thoughts on the platform:
What Makes whyd Different?
I’ve been a big fan of whyd as the company tackles something that Spotify, Beats Music and other paid services do not which is making certain remixes and live performances accessible. YouTube is home to a lot of official tracks released by artists yet SoundCloud is the go-to place for remixes which gives whyd a large pool of diverse tracks to utilize, a capability unmatched in the music streaming platform landscape thus far. The addition of Spotify tracks is something whyd is set to introduce in the future which may be the ultimate game changer within the competition and music industry.
Why Do I Support whyd?
As I fully support artists and record labels making their rightful income from music recordings, artists do release their music on YouTube and SoundCloud frequently. Both YouTube and SoundCloud have their own versions of playlists so all whyd is really doing is streamlining the listening experience while acting as a unique music marketing tool. As the digital era has forced the music industry to reevaluate itself we have seen big changes in how success is translated. One big change is Billboard applying YouTube and SoundCloud plays to their Hot 100 chart formula. A platform like whyd now comes in as a great tool to promote artists and discovery through its different features like whyd Paris, music charts, and user playlists. You will rarely find full albums available on YouTube and SoundCloud which means music lovers will still look to iTunes, Spotify and such to purchase and stream albums.
Now onto my review of the app…
Appearance
The app has a look of simplicity and it works well. When you log in you have the choice of choosing the following:
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Stream
Songs just added by the users you follow
Profile
Your account where you can access your playlists, songs you like, and songs you added sorted by most recent.
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Hot Tracks
Music charts ranked by a criteria of numbers of likes and adds. There is a chart that ranks all songs and charts by genre as well.
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Notifications
When another user follows you, likes or adds one of your songs you will receive notifications. You can also customize notifications of this app in the general iOS settings.
Ease-of-Use
It’s fairly easy to navigate through the app. Everything is made simple and self-explanatory so that your energy is most spent on listening and discovering music.
Want to add a song or listen to another users playlist? Just utilize the search feature above.
You can also add songs to your playlist by clicking the plus button next to the track you desire.
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And listening is as easy as it gets
Accessibility
My favorite part of the app is that I can access my favorite songs and playlists when working out, driving in the car, chilling at the park, playing dj at a house party, or just about anywhere. You can certainly do the same with other platforms but it makes it extra special when you can add remixes and other tracks unavailable on other platforms that really complete the listening experience.
Price
Zip. Zero. Zilch. Download is free at the iTunes App Store
Quality
As this is the first version not everything is going to be perfect and the company also admits that as well but for a first version whyd really accomplishes a lot in giving music lovers a great listening experience. There are a few nixes like the occasional pause in streaming if you are not using Wifi and users are not able to access certain things that are made available on the web platform like changing your playlist cover, accessing whyd Paris, and a shuffle feature but I am sure that will all be addressed in future releases.
What can you expect in the future?
Like I stated previously the addition of Spotify tracks will be introduced as well as mobile apps for Android and Windows iPhone.
Join the movement – check out the whyd iOS app and search for my username SC8XVI to discover music I’m listening to! Enjoy!!