Your Twitter timeline is about to get more musical, after the social network launched a new Twitter Audio Card feature that is already being used by SoundCloud and Apple’s iTunes.
David Guetta, Deadmau5, Alt-J and Coldplay are among the musicians already taking advantage, although the new card can be used by non-musicians too: the White House, NASA, Washington Post and BBC World Service are also on board for the new feature’s launch.
“With a single tap, the Twitter Audio Card lets you discover and listen to audio directly in your timeline on both iOS and Android devices,” explained Twitter product manager Richard Slatter in a blog post.
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| Twitter’s new Audio Card feature is being used by SoundCloud and iTunes. |
“Throughout your listening experience, you can dock the Audio Card and keep listening as you continue to browse inside the Twitter app.”
In SoundCloud’s case, the Audio Card opens up a full-screen player for the audio, complete with whatever artwork the creator has uploaded to SoundCloud for it. The audio will continue playing when the card is minimised, though.
As the new feature launched, Guetta tweeted a link to a new remix of his song Dangerous, while Chance the Rapper followed suit with a link to his new single No Better Blues.
“We’re just beginning to test the Audio Card and plan to make it available to more partners and creators in the future so that many more musical artists and creators will be able to share exclusive, in-the-moment audio to millions of listeners on Twitter,” wrote Slatter.
An hour after announcing the SoundCloud partnership, Twitter revealed that Apple is also using the new cards for its iTunes Store, with links to the store popping up a full-screen preview player, with links to then pre-order or buy the songs.
Foo Fighters were the first artist to take advantage, tweeting a link to their new single Something From Nothing.
Although it’s not just for music, the new card is Twitter’s latest attempt to make it easier for users to listen to songs. The company launched its Twitter #music app and website in April 2013, recommending tracks and artists based on their popularity on the social network among other factors.
The app was not a success, and was closed in April 2014. However, Twitter has since continued its music work in other ways: for example, launching a “Trending 140” chart with music industry magazine Billboard in May.
Twitter also works behind the scenes with a number of artists and labels, helping them make the most of its social network.
Twitter and SoundCloud’s partnership goes back to 2012, when the latter became a partner for Twitter’s “expanded tweets” feature – similar to the new Twitter Audio Card, but for desktop users rather than mobile.
In May this year, there was speculation that Twitter might even buy SoundCloud, although the rumours died down, with conflicting reports that the barrier was either SoundCloud’s lack of licensing deals with music labels and publishers, or a failure to agree on a valuation for the company.
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