Stereomood: For those who listen with their heart

by Chad Kamer

Feeling funky? How about sassy? Perhaps you’re currently cleaning or on a road trip, or maybe you’re enjoying mediation or dinner with friends. What do all of these things have in common? These moods and activities, along with numerous others, are just some of the options for listening to music on stereomood.com.

Stereomood describes itself as “emotional” internet radio. Unlike other internet radio sites that encourage users to build playlists themselves from suggestions provided by the site, Stereomood attempts to tune into the emotional aspects of music. Rather than have a large database of users to make tags, however, the developers decided to scour the internet blogs for tags. Thus the website becomes a gateway to connecting to the emotions of people around the world with the assumption that those who listen will have a similar reaction to the music provided. Steremood doesn’t peruse just any blogs, however. It has a set list of sources it uses for generating what content appears on the site and checks for correctness in the tagging.

Since the site runs off of blogs, it tends to lean toward the independent and undiscovered artists from around the globe rather than the artists from major record labels. Unlike other internet radio sites that attempt to define music by genre or style, Stereomood is cataloging by a person’s reactions to the music. It gives users a chance to find fresh music from around the world that is tailored to how they are feeling or what they are doing.

How does the site work for artists? Fist, it fully supports legitimate downloads by linking to Amazon and iTunes for purchase. As well, those who visit the site are encouraged to become users in order to share the music on Twitter, Facebook, or Google Plus, which gives the artists free marketing.

Users can create personal playlists or an entire library, contribute to the proper tagging of songs, and either “like” or “ban” a song to determine personal taste. There’s also the option for last.fm users to have Stereomood scrobble their accounts. Stereomood even allows users to contribute their own songs, which is a step toward creating a  community that enriches the site.

Stereomood, according to the developers, is currently in beta. While the simple and sleek look is endearing, it has potential for improvement, such as providing background art that matches the mood/activity selected. As well, the moods and activities are not limitless, so if you’re in a mysterious mood or are currently biking, don’t expect this site to provide you with music. Still, the current version is fully functional and most will be able to find a mood or activity that applies to their present state.

So, if you’re someone who’s feeling lost in the world of available music and wondering if there’s a place that can tune to your heart strings, look no further than stereomood.com. It won’t disappoint.

Chad Kamer is a musician from Vancouver, British Columbia and is currently finishing his BMus degree at the University of British Columbia.