Week two: 8tracks.
Welcome back to another week of juicy musical enlightenment with me, Erica T. This week’s free musical output is a website I love called “8tracks” (www.8tracks.com.)
Unfortunately, you have to create an account, but it’s FREE and you are able to use your Facebook information to log in if you’re really opposed to creating an account.
So, with tons of musical websites out there, you’re probably wondering what makes this one special. Unlike websites that create playlist based on songs or artists you like, the playlists on 8tracks are all handcrafted by individual users.
In addition, instead of having to pick a specific song, artist, or genre to generate a playlist, you can search playlists by artist, genre, or something called a “tag.” So, for example, if I was walking to class and it was really nice out, I could literally search “happy” or “sunny afternoon” and playlists that users have generated with just those moods in general would be at my disposal.If I like what I’m hearing, I can “like” the playlist and it will get stored under my “liked mixes” for easy future access. If not, just skip on over to the next playlist. Additionally, if you like one song in particular, you can just click this little star next to the song and the system stores all of those individually “liked tracks” in a separate part of your profile.
What else is so cool about 8tracks?
There’s a free App for it! Just download it from the App Store, log in with your original account details, and this free music service is at your fingertips everywhere you go.
But wait, THERE’S MORE. If you want to make your own playlists with tags, you can easily upload tracks from iTunes on your computer into playlists. Then, you can “publish” these playlists and get listener feedback and “likes” of your very own.
Downsides?
Obviously, you need an internet connection for this site to work. Also, because this service is free, they limit the amount of skips you can make, but this obstacle is easily overcome by merely switching playlists.
Check it out and navigate on back next week for your weekly dose of musical medicine.
by erica tausch