Have you heard of Contrastream?

News Type: Opinion — Sun Sep 23, 2007 9:45 PM EDT

technology, music, review, web-2-0, web2-0, discovery, last-fm, contrastream

I am a self-proclaimed music nerd. I love most any genre of music. I can even find pop songs that I enjoy. Still, I haven't listened to a radio station in years. I find my music online through Youtube videos, friends' suggestions, Last.FM and now Contrastream.

Contrastream is a very new music discovery service specially designed to expose you to great indie music. The site has just gone through a nice update since it's debut a month ago. On the front page you'll find the latest albums to be uploaded to the queues. You'll also find tabs for Upcoming albums, the Top Ranked Albums and New Releases.

If you click an album, you'll find a short review and a short audio sample for you to listen to. You can vote for the album by "hyping" it or you can vote it down by "dropping" it. Contrastream provides you with links to the artist's website, directs you in how to purchase the album and even has a comment section to discuss the album.

A recent addition to the features of Contrastream is the ability to private message other users. One of the features I have regretfully used least is the message board. I can't wait for a bigger community to flock to Contrastream so a bigger discussion of music can be made. Users are able to submit albums to the queue using a very simple form. Though, submissions are limited to albums that have readily available sites to purchase them from.

A few suggestions I'd make for the site is to have a list of related or similar albums on each album's profile.and a history of your comments on the user profiles. I'd also really enjoy a special section dedicated to bands with albums that are free for download. All in all, Contrastream really is an amazing music discovery service in its infancy. Navigating the website is fairly intuitive and I've found a lot of great music there. I highly suggest checking the site out and making yourself a profile.

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{"commentId":1047649,"authorDomain":"vanessa-wilson73"}

Vanessa Wilson

Thanks for introducting me to a Contrastream.

I've clipped this article to Tunes and Web 2.0.

{"commentId":1047649,"threadId":"153930","contentId":"980749","authorDomain":"vanessa-wilson73"}

2 votes

#1 - Sun Sep 23, 2007 11:51 PM EDT

{"commentId":1047680,"authorDomain":"matsie"}

Matsie

Right on. I meant to clip it to Tunes myself. Whoops!

{"commentId":1047680,"threadId":"153930","contentId":"980749","authorDomain":"matsie"}

1 vote

#1.1 - Mon Sep 24, 2007 12:12 AM EDT

{"commentId":1047864,"authorDomain":"cyril-III"}

cyril-III

I will definitely try this out...I've been using Pandora for quite a while and am pretty impressed by it. when I create a new station I'm usually exposed to several bands I've never heard of before...though the depth of their music is a bit lacking.

{"commentId":1047864,"threadId":"153930","contentId":"980749","authorDomain":"cyril-III"}

2 votes

#2 - Mon Sep 24, 2007 3:06 AM EDT

{"commentId":1047889,"authorDomain":"matsie"}

Matsie

Yes. I used to use Pandora a few years ago. I've now moved on (or rather back to) Last.fm. I like it because it can log all the music I listen to on my computer (this function is not necessary) and suggest music to me that I may like from what I already listen to. I can also choose to listen to a radio station of related music much like on Pandora or the music that a friend of mine listens to, as well. Last.fm has a lot of functionality that is really nice. I definitely still use Pandora while at work, but when at home on my personal computer, it's Last.FM all the way.

The beauty of Contrastream is the hype/drop vote system they have. It's like an instant review you can see and you can feel like in a small way your opinion was heard when you see that number go up or down. I also like the community aspect of Contrastream because I just love talking music!

{"commentId":1047889,"threadId":"153930","contentId":"980749","authorDomain":"matsie"}

1 vote

#2.1 - Mon Sep 24, 2007 3:44 AM EDT

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MATSIE

Backyard

Have you heard of Contrastream?

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