

Ask HN: Would you use this? - jamesgagan

I'm looking for feedback on my weekend project - http://songsp.in/ 
It's a daily newsletter to help people discover new independent music. 
It's targeted towards people who still love music but are maybe a bit older or too busy to go searching the web for new bands.
I would really like to know what the HN community thinks of this and if it is something they would subscribe to.
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useflyer
I envision this could work as a newsletter in a similar mold to
thesixtyone.com; indie artists (and eventually labels as you say) would want
to give out their music for free, in hopes of converting into paid downloads.

If this were free you could gain wider user adoption, and thus, supply of
music.

Let me ask; who do you want your customer to be? Listeners or artists?

~~~
jamesgagan
Well, the idea is that listeners are the customer. You may be right that it
may initially get more traction as a free newsletter. But then it would
basically be another mp3 blog, and that wasn't the idea.

~~~
useflyer
If as you say, a free version doesn't have a competitive advantage or
differentiator over mp3 blogs, why is the service better if you charge for it?

Can you line up interesting partners, make it a community somehow, crowdsource
reviews from the newsletter, etc? What is the #1 reason to subscribe to your
service?

~~~
jamesgagan
Ideally, the #1 reason to sign up for the service is the curation and
convenience of having it emailed to you (I guess that's 2 reasons). I have
thought about publishing the newsletters a few weeks after they first appear -
that may be a way to have my cake and eat it too, but it also may discourage
subscriptions if people can just wait a while and view it online.

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jeffool
I have that exact problem; finding new music. Pandora doesn't dig deep, oddly.
That said, I just can't imagine people paying for music. Is it possible you
could convince bands that the promotion is good for them, and to give the
music for free? Then maybe throwing ads into a free newsletter to make your
money?

Regardless, best of luck.

~~~
jamesgagan
My hope is that down the line, if it gets enough users, then it would be a
place that labels would want to promote their artists. I agree that a lot of
people don't want to pay for music - I'm hoping there are enough out there
that are willing to pay for curation and the convenience of being told about a
cool new band each weekday. So far I've had a few subscribers by running
facebook ads, but it seems there's a bit of an art to getting the most mileage
from the ads.

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ColinWright
Clickable: <http://songsp.in/>

ADDED IN EDIT: What I _really_ don't understand about HN is the people who
downvote the small contributions that are intended to help others. I added
this link to make it easier for people to see what it's about, to make it so
they don't have to copy the URL and paste it into a browser. Someone upvoted
it - which was nice - and then someone downvoted it. I really don't understand
why.

I don't care about the karma. It won't get me another coffee, it won't fix
bugs in my code, it won't make my in-box any less full. I do care about
understanding the systems I interact with. I've given up trying to understand
people in general, but thought I had a chance of getting along with the people
on HN.

So, can someone explain?

Thanks.

~~~
jamesgagan
I think it's a bit of backlash against what some see as using HN to advertise
a website. Nevertheless, I for one, appreciate the link and the comment! It
would be great if there was a separate tab or feed for Show/Ask HN - that way
people actually building stuff and looking for feedback would not see their
posts disappear into the void...like this one is about to!

~~~
Ade_Lack
Take a look at at <http://hnshowcase.com> for a great showcase of apps and
startups posted on HN.

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sunspeck
A fine idea, and a nice service, but not something I'd ever pay for. And your
design looks more Enterprise than Indie Hipster, which is kinda offputting.

~~~
jamesgagan
I agree about the design - but my design skills aren't great so I just got a
template from themeforest.

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ScottWhigham
First off, I wouldn't even click the link because it's a *.in link. Sorry -
you aren't going to get taken seriously by me with a .in domain name. I lump
.in with .ru, .cn, etc in terms of "Is this a domain I would use? No way - I
don't trust them." Whether you agree with my opinion or not, it's a scenario
you'll encounter.

~~~
sigvef
Why does .in have a bad reputation?

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sdfjkl
Use it, perhaps, pay a monthly fee - definitely not. Perhaps Flattr or
donations (avoid Paypal).

