

Bono predicted, Woz endorsed it - watsonc73
http://www.getsoundwave.com/hacker

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onion2k
I can't say anything about the app as I've not used it. However, the concept
is (in my opinion) flawed for a large number of potential users - the music my
friends listen to is absolutely no indication of what I might like.

I'm too old. I've spent the past 30 or so years (I'm 36) developing a taste of
my own. I no longer meet or socialise with people around music (eg go to gigs
with friends). Similarly, my "favourites" are people I admire and respect for
things entirely different to what their music tastes are. Most of the new
music I find these days is based on what _I_ listen to already or in curated
theme-based playlists from sites like
[http://ShareMyPlaylists.com](http://ShareMyPlaylists.com). Automating
something like music discovery from a social graph is skewed (in my opinion
again, and based on instinct rather than science) towards young people who
still socialise in what I would call "taste networks" \- groups based around
shared tastes. Older people don't do that in my experience.

Good luck with it though. There's still a giant market out there. And I'll
still try it just to see what it thinks I might enjoy.

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ohwp
I agree. It's very difficult to estimate someones taste.

For example I like a hardcore band but only because they are different from
all other hardcore bands. Most programs will estimate I like hardcore but that
isn't the case.

I'm not sure but I think I like the music I like because they have this
special 'mood' that fits me. And the lyrics are also important for me.
Question is: how can we turn this into meta data suitable for matching.

~~~
watsonc73
Interesting question ohwp. I do think that recommendation systems are only
going to get better. Lyrics and sentimental analysis are definitely going to
play a part in that.

One of the main reasons we built Soundwave though was to take a more human
based approach to music discovery. Personally, I'd take three friends who have
similar hardcore tastes than me over any system (currently built) because I
too was annoyed at how poor the recommendations were. Our app will hopefully
reduce the friction in finding those people with similar tastes.

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watsonc73
Just wanted to report that the app is now live and can be downloaded on the
App Store and Play Store [https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/soundwave-music-
discovery/id...](https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/soundwave-music-
discovery/id623353909?mt=8) and
[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=me.soundwave.s...](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=me.soundwave.soundwave&hl=en_GB)

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watsonc73
The app goes live tomorrow in both the App store and Play Store. We'd love to
hear your thoughts on the overall concept and on the product itself (more
importantly) when it goes live.

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dsyph3r
Would be good if this information was on the website. I was trying to find out
if it was available for android but couldn't find anything about it (or the
app in general). That aside though, this looks really great.

~~~
watsonc73
Hi dsyph3r - the app will be available on Android too. I'll follow up with the
relevant link tomorrow when it's live. Looking forward to seeing you on on the
app!

