Welcome, @_CraigWatson! I too have encountered this annoyance. Everyone uses different services, leading to fragmentation.
That said, I'm skeptical of HOW big of a problem this really is for most people. Although you seem to be doing well now, how did you validate this was a big enough problem to try and fix? Would also love to hear your longer term goals with Soundwave.
cc @kam_bain who is working on a product in this space.
Just noticed that I never replied to your questions @rrhoover, apologies. We try to run a tight ship when it comes to validation. We knew starting out that an app like ours is all about market risk. We took the following steps to reduce this:-
1. We looked at similar platforms (eg Last.fm) and carried out in depth research with their users to ensure that the same value prop applied to mobile (eg that people enjoy cataloguing their plays and sharing song with friends). We also used some rough wireframes at this stage to get initial feedback.
2. We built out a robust prototype using proto.io and spent a couple of months blind user testing on this, focusing less on usability and more on the emotional attachment to the app.
3. We then curated an early community to get real feedback on the beta (something you can relate too ;) We definitely pushed the limits of the Apple enterprise licence with this but it was worth it. When we released, we had a dedicated group of supporters who helped shape V1.0 of the app. Even though the group was small (1-2k), the general response was very positive and gave us enough confidence to go live with the build in July last year.
Our long term goals haven't really changed. We think music is a great way to bring people together to share their consumption habits. We're hoping to be the social layer that sits agnostically above all the various players and feel that implicit tracking is the right way connect the dots.
Finally, we released V2.0 about a month ago which is much more social than the previous version with a new feature called Music Messenger. This is another step in the our goal to become the digital water cooler for music http://blog.soundwave.com/a-lot-...
Hey guys, I just wanted to intro myself.
I'm Craig and I'm a co-founder of Soundwave.
The app was built out of personal frustration because it was impossible to see what my friends and family were listening to if they were using different music players. With Soundwave, our service tracks these plays seamlessly across most platforms and in real-time for free. Just download and listen to your music as you normally do to discover the latest and greatest.
I hope you enjoy it and any questions, please just shout!
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