Friday, October 27, 2006

New (to me) music apps

Have stumbled across a clutch of new (to me) music apps over the last week or so, which all interface with iTunes in some way to extend your relationship with your music. Here's a quick round-up:

earFeeder - Neat little web app which scans your music library and creates a personalised RSS feed to alert you to artist news, release info and gig tickets. Unfortunately there's no regionalisation so all of the tempting gigs are in the States. Cool name though.

iLike - music discovery app which analyses your listening (and that of your iLike friends) via an iTunes plugin in order to recommend a mixture of established artists (with links to buy from iTunes Music Store) and new artists (with links to free downloads from iLike's parent service GarageBand.com). Hasn't persauded me to download any MP3 from unsigned bands yet but early days...

djay - Mac only app which automatically pulls in your iTunes music library and invites you to drag two tracks on to virtual decks and mix them in realtime. In addition to 5-band equalizers and tempo/pitch sliders you can set cue points and add audio effects. You can even scratch the virtual vinyl should you want to take it 'old skool'. Once you're happy with your mix you can record it or transmit it in real-time over the Bonjour network to other connected djays. Won't satisfy pro djays but pretty good value for free.

Tangerine
- Mac (Tiger) only app which analyses the BPM and beat intensity of the music in your iTunes library (excluding tracks purchased from iTMS due to DRM) to create playlists of a consistent tempo. Great for parties or, as the Potion Factory blog suggests, maintaining pace when using the Nike + iPod Sport Kit.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

There's also MusicIP Mixer, which analyses your music [as well as consulting an online database] to generate playlists of a similar musical style. Works nicely with both iTunes and Windows Media Player.