Soundwave Releases New Update with Commenting/Tagging Features

By Kira Grunenberg

Today’s newest rollout for the Dublin, Ireland company comes on the tails of their last update adding YouTube Integration, and it feels like a clever and deliberate one-two punch: commenting and tagging functionality. The ‘musical jet-setting app’ is continuing to grow and change with a new feature that has been awaited by its users over several versions. As such, Soundwave is quite liable to explode even more in app store popularity, if it hasn’t already.

The meat and potatoes of this update are laid out succinctly and immediately opens up chatting and tagging. Operationally speaking, few current social media users will have trouble using Soundwave’s new features.

• The # sign is key and like Twitter, is Soundwave’s symbol of choice for aggregating common words and phrases people use to describe the music they are circling on the app’s map, all over the world. This contributes to the app’s music “grouping” appeal.

• Users will be given the option of tagging others in comments. Metadata-based conversation is ubiquitous at this point, but the combinative, current, global display is what distinguishes Soundwave from other similar platforms.

The latter of these two additions is especially intriguing to consider, as tagging expands what Soundwave comes to represent.  It is an app fixed on music at its core, but, the sudden entrance of chatter into the formula does not feel like an immediate or severe risk to the company’s identity, focus or brand. This is likely because the songs and vast and literal exploration factor still rule. Non-musical media isn’t intruding and thus, not distracting or redirecting the purpose behind commenting. What’s left is akin to an open, 24-hour room with a stereo that plays all the music in the world, with a feedback box anyone can write to, or read from. Who wouldn’t be into that?

Not forgetting to look beyond the present, Soundwave recognizes the new comment functionality for long term benefits as well–the user landscape will now be discernable and organizanble in a whole new way. For example, music industry-oriented users may enjoy contributing their two cents about songs on a regular basis (e.g. reviewers, other artists). Conversely, casual users, more intent on just listening, can “consume” the comments of their talkative counterparts and maybe learn more about songs or artists. (This is something that could be of particular evaluative interest, to both users and Soundwave itself, where songs far outside one’s local demographic are concerned.) Lastly, those who relish sharing and spreading new material will only more rapidly expand global exposure to music, by sharing and tagging played tracks.

Head over to the iTunes App Store and Google Play Store to download the newest version of Soundwave and get in on the music-centric conversations happening across the world right now!

Kira is an old school music nerd with a love for all things creative; always searching for music’s common ground. She graduated with an M.A. in Performing Arts Administration from New York University. Drop her a tweet @shadowmelody1

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