5 ms·
Ask HN: Review our app, Muspy (new album notification service)
- mattdennewitz 18y agowhen i read the name, the first association i made was "mumps"
- mdemare 18y agoI've actually googled around (in vain) to find such a service (after searching everywhere on last.fm for this feature - I was convinced that they'd have it - but no...) So, excellent idea, I needed it yesterday!
- alexkay 18y agoGlad you like it :)
- pstinnett 18y agoI think this is an interesting idea. I definitely agree with other comments here. Open it up to let users import data from Last.fm or other apps that are recording their listening trends. Then let them know what albums are being released from artists they frequently listen to. Pulling in info then making a recommendation system would be great. Maybe work on an iTunes plugin to read star ratings and phone back to the app? Just thinking out loud here, I have no idea if something like that would be possible.
- alexkay 18y agoRecommendations are available through Last.fm API, we are working on this.
- haasted 18y agoOverall, I think it is a nice and useful service. I could definitely see myself using it. My first thought once I grasped its function was "where do they get the data? Can I be sure that my favourite, obscure indie band will show up there?". Perhaps you should add this info somewhere? Disclaimer: I did not sign up for an account, so there is a possibility that I missed a members' faq somewhere.
- alexkay 18y agoIt's in the FAQ, we are using the MusicBrainz database.
- charlesju 18y agoCool startup, I like the logo. The video is a nice touch, people are just too lazy to read these days (myself included). Suggestions: - Lose some of the fluff. For example, in your "what?" section, you could've written it as simply "We notify you when artists release new albums". There is no reason to have more words than you need to describe your product. - I would have preferred voice in the video. Don't be shy, having a voice over helps a lot. - Maybe add a way to import information from existing sources like Last.fm or Facebook's music interests? I'm intrigued by how you guys plan to monetize this, but maybe I'm just greedy and should be thankful for a web app that helps alleviate some of my headaches.
- alexkay 18y agoThanks Charles! I'm exploring the Last.fm integration, there are some interesting possibilities. As for monetising, CD and mp3 sales commission should fit nicely. People should want to buy the new music they are into.
- daveambrose 18y agoI agree with the voice over suggestion. Try to humanize the site as much as possible. Based on QA, I wonder what feedback you would get if you placed the video above the fold....
- pxlpshr 18y agoPretty good idea and easy to monetize if people actually purchase through your site. I see this being less than 5% tho. The logo concept is ok I suppose, but the overall presentation of your brand (logo+site) will significantly impact adoption of a product like this. I recommend you put some energy ($) into it... the logo reads like there's a 'T' in it btw. I think you should enable some public features, for example a user can easily see any new releases within the last week. This will also boost your saturation on search engines.
- A-Merchant 18y agoyes re: the "t" in the logo, when I was on the site I kept reading it as "Musty"
- pstinnett 18y agoTotally agreed.
- alexkay 18y agoI think you should enable some public features, for example a user can easily see any new releases within the last week. This will also boost your saturation on search engines. Great suggestion, thanks!
- bouncingsoul 18y agoIt's a pain to add artists one-by-one, and the service isn't valuable until I do. I (and a lot of my friends) already have a list of artists in my Facebook profile. You should let me paste that in and parse it.
- alexkay 18y agoGood call, I'm going to add import from last.fm, facebook and probably iTunes.
- jimbokun 18y agoI don't own a copy of Delicious Monster, but people who do would probably fit your demographic very well. Don't know if there are enough of them to justify import functionality.
- paulsb 18y agoA widget/plug-in thingy that scans your music library and adds the artists to your list would be nice.
- bayleo 18y agoOnly if it included a caveat "only add artists with X number of tracks." God knows what kind of esoteric stuff is lurking in my music drive.
- tyohn 18y agoThe concept is fine but I find the design a little drab. In my opinion this is an "entertainment" based site and you mentioned possibly selling music... you need to jazz it up, give it some pop - create a vibrant color scheme - then I think people will feel more in-tune with your site.
- alexkay 18y agoWe like it plain and simple, but we may review the design in the future. Thanks for your suggestion!
- pclark 18y agothis is cool, but the real reason I'd want this? honestly? When the albums get leaked to what.cd. I like the layout, I really like the sign up form (nice and simple) one thing, when searching for something with multiple results there is no way to go "back" once you've clicked "n more artists" its a bit weird that the album links dont go direct to amazon/iTMS -- i assumed that was your revenue stream?
- alexkay 18y agothis is cool, but the real reason I'd want this? honestly? I guess it depends on how many artists you want to follow. And also how obscure they are. I personally have about 80 artists I absolutely want to know when they have a new release (to sample it or at least to read a review). And 80% of them are not even on Amazon. its a bit weird that the album links dont go direct to amazon/iTMS -- i assumed that was your revenue stream? They will, we are working on this.
- grag 18y agoI think it would make sense to allow people to use your app (start building a list of artists) before registering. Just store their list to a cookie and show a little notification that tells them to enter their email and a password to save their artist list and start receiving notifications.
- alexkay 18y agoGreat suggestion, thanks!
- wensing 18y agoGreat idea--solves a practical problem (albeit not one that I have). On a different note: do you care how people pronounce your name? My first thought was "Muspy", almost rhymes with "Musky". My second thought (upon seeing the logo) was "Oh! Mus- is from music. And -py is from ... Python?" So now I'm thinking about pronouncing it "Muse-py"--as in how you'd pronounce a Python module.
- alexkay 18y agoI have to admit we need to re-work the logo. Others suggested that it reads "Musty" The name comes from MUsic and SPY.
- arthurk 18y agoWould it be possible to have a RSS feed with the latest album releases rather than email notifications?
- alexkay 18y agoIt's already there. We should probably make more visible, but if your browser has the RSS detection built-in - you can already subscribe.
- truebosko 18y agoLOVE The idea. Allow me to import from Last.fm and I'll use your service.
- alexkay 18y agoWe are definitely going to add Last.fm import.
- dc2k08 18y agoinclude concert listings for followed artists. link to ticket sellers for revenue. explore other ticket related ideas.