In an honest blog post, music recommendation and streaming service Blip.fm (which we likened to a Twitter for music when it launched almost exactly one year ago), CEO Jeff Yasuda has indicated that the startup is going through a rough phase right now that has forced it to make some fairly painful changes to their service.
The blog post, titled ‘Navigating the storm’, speaks volumes about Yasuda’s sentiments on the music industry in general, even if they are not all that outspoken. A short excerpt:
The challenges involved in running a start-up in the music space are immense. To be honest it’s completely nuts, but we are trying to navigate our way through the perfect storm: a struggling music industry, a global economic meltdown, and a fundamental shift in the way people relate to one another and share their appreciation for music.
The biggest change mentioned in the post is the following: the music Blip.fm will be streaming from now on will primarily be coming from Imeem, which means there will be some limitations to what can be streamed henceforth. This decision affects Blip.fm users not located in the U.S. in a big way, which basically means about 80% of its current user base is now using a trimmed down version of the service.
The other changes are:
* Adding urls to public mp3s will be limited to legitimate bands and labels approved in our systems
* The embeddable widget will still show blip messages, but won’t play the music in most cases.
* Where applicable, old blips will be replaced with content from the imeem catalog, but anything that doesn’t match will temporarily cease to function. We plan to add tools to allow you to correct any false matches and find replacements for unavailable tracks.
* We plan to add a preference to skip 30 second clips.
* Additional media content will be available as it is sourced via new partnerships.
Yasuda says he can’t go into detail about why the changes were made exactly, so we can only speculate about it at this point. The big elephant in the room here is that most of Blip.fm’ music catalog was being sourced from SeeqPod, and by now we know what kind of trouble that company is in (although they might still be saved by Microsoft). He does mention that the startup has engaged in talks with ‘lawyers, artists, people from the labels and aggregators’ besides software developers, publishing companies etc. to ensure the service stays alive and can keep adding features.
I’ve contacted the Blip.fm team for more information and will update this post if and when they get back to me.
Looking at their Compete stats (which usually underestimate actual traffic for websites), Blip.fm actually appears to have been growing nicely the past few months. Compete pegged monthly unique visitors going to the service at about half a million in April.
We should also note Fuzz, the initial company behind the Blip.fm service for which they raised an undisclosed amount of angel funding back in February 2008, recently sent its music destination site / social network Fuzz.com to the deadpool to focus completely on Blip.fm, making the whole situation extra painful for the 4-headed team.
Too soon to put Blip.fm on deadpool watch, but beyond a doubt its future is now less bright than it was before.
ZzZzzz…. Have you got anything interesting?
Blip.fm is interesting, but enjoy your nap!
I think http://www.twt.fm is easier to use, and has more music (I think they stream with Imeem currently).
1. twt.fm doesn’t stream music continuously, therefore the service is entirely different
2. Easier to use? By what justification? Blip works exactly like Twitter. Hardly complicated.
3. Has more music? The problem here is that Blip has access to a ton of music but will in the future be streaming Imeem—thus, if twt uses Imeem then they categorically have _less_ music. The problem is that due to legal restrictions in other countries, Imeem tracks that play in full in the US play internationally as 30 sec clips.
Thanks, @daretoeatapeach, for commenting on Jeff’s opinion that twt.fm was ‘easier to use’ than Blip.fm. Jeff’s comment makes little sense in the context of the TechCrunch article on Blip.fm. It completely misses the forest for the trees.
Why do I make that claim? Because — there’s simply no comparison between twt.fm and Blip.fm; they’re not the same creature ~ and in fact, they’re not even members of the same species!
Blip.fm offers a far more comprehensive experience than twt.fm. The immediacy and sociability of “blipping” (i.e. “tweeting”) playable tunes in real time is profound.
The immediacy of real-time music sharing is something no other social music site can match. Chatting in real-time about a track you just “blipped,” which another user has just played, simply doesn’t exist anywhere else on the web…except Twitter…and Twitter’s mission (and capability) is not to drill down and meet a specialty niche market, but to broaden its scope and appeal.
So, blipping songs with tweet-sized comments synchronously with other “blippers” is pretty alluring and engaging. In fact, I’m pretty sure that the number of “blip-addicted” music fans on Blip.fm is growing exponentially…and will soon reach critical mass. But will all these blipmaniacs explode…or implode…when that tipping point has arrived? : )
On a more serious note, I want Jeff ~ and any or all music fans who haven’t stumbled upon Blip ~ to know this:
I have delved more deeply and widely into vast new musical territories in my short, 4-month tenure as a Blip.fm DJ than I had done in the preceeding twenty years!
Although my musical tastes are eclectic to an extreme, and although I have a voracious appetite for discovery, learning, and research ~ I am not alone in finding that Blip.fm has expanded my musical consciousness to a delighfully shocking degree!
Many Blip.fm members have often expressed their surprise and delight at the magnitude of their “musical discovery” ~ and beyond that, their “cultural discovery” ~ as they mingled with folks from Brasil, Russia, Finland, Germany, Belgium, Vatican City, New Zealand, Japan, and many other parts of the world.
Okay. ‘Nuff said.
I’ll leave out the whole sad saga about imeem and the erosion of multicultural relationships within the Blip.fm community.
I won’t mention the disturbing reduction in the quantity of music that emerged out of a new business relationship between Blip.fm and imeem.com.
I won’t ask questions about all the new imeem tracks we gleefully enjoyed in the very first days of imeem’s integration into Blip.fm’s musical database ~ that have subsequently vanished (along with all those precious user-uploaded files that had created a truly exotic. marvelous, and emotionally-gratifying aesthetic and cultural experience for us all.
It would be futile to try and explain, here in the comments section of TechCrunch ~ how bereft many of us felt when all of our international friends were essentially “locked out” the community ~ the family! the tribe! ~ when their access to the music was blocked or restricted once imeem had “come on board” our teeming, colorful, festive Blip.ship!
To make a long story short, it seems that we have significantly fewer tunes now than we did before imeem brought its largesse to the table.
And even with all of that “tzurris” (to use a perfect Yiddish word for “major stress & hassle) ~ Blip.fm stands “heads and shoulders” above the crowd of “social music sites” and “musical discovery sites” that have become so ubiquitous in recent years.
The immediacy of real-time music sharing is something no other social music site can match. Chatting in real-time about a track you just “blipped,” which another user has just played, simply doesn’t exist anywhere else on the web…except Twitter…and Twitter’s mission (and capability) is not to drill down and meet a specialty niche market, but to broaden its scope and appeal.
Actually this is interesting. Blip.fm is a really cool service and can be really interesting to listen to someones blips, much like it is to listen to someones station on lastFM. I live outside the US, so this might affect my use of the site greatly.
They should merge with http://www.jamwee.com
you’ve seen the full jamwee site already?? i got the beta invite and I’m anticipating the launch!
I really like blip.fm, but like many web2.0 startups, i haven’t got a clue how they keep food on the table. Still, use their service, and I love the sites polished, look, feel and ux. I wish it was easier to find DJ’s id listen to by genre vs exact song. And I wish the song search selection was more refined but i hope they weather the storm.
I would be curious to know whether, one year later, the author would still view blip.fm as the Twitter of music — presumably a sizable compliment — or whether other services are equally deserving of the honor.
You misunderstand: the author is speaking not of impact but of functionality: Blip works exactly like Twitter except the page is self-refreshing and every Tweet plays a song. Thus what would appear to be a Twitter stream is an online radio station.
Blip.fm is the natural replacement for Last.fm
It’s such a pity, there are so many great ideas in online music and media streaming, both existing ones and those still waiting to be realised.
Sadly, the problem is that a startup in this particular area basically has to be a law firm, not an engineering company.
It either requires an inhuman amount of courage or total insanity to take the music industry head on.
Blip.fm is one of my fav website. Hope they’ll survive. Or merge w/ last.fm… (just in out dreams?)
I got turned on to blip.fm only 2 weeks ago. I noticed the imeem player in the right sidebar appear earlier this week. I thought it looked like an enhancement, now I find out its more like a setback. The catalog is still good for the amount available quality audio tracks there are.
And just as it was getting interesting.
I like blip a lot. I can buy the music I like easily and it lets me discover interesting music. If you haven’t tried yet, try listening to the public timeline. You’ll find new music that you wouldn’t ever seek out otherwise.
You can buy music on Blip?! And I didn’t think they had a business model!
First Last.fm now Blip.fm cutting down their services for non US users.
Definitely not good in this *globalization* age…
Blip.fm one of my favorites web sites. i think they will survive, but cutting down services for not us userse i is very bad idea,
Why don’t you all ever report on Sound Cloud. It is geared more towards artists, but it is still one of the better (if not best) music-oriented startups IMO.
Love SoundCloud, we wrote about their recent round of funding and I video interviewed cofounder Alexander last week, gonna put it up when we write about them again.
It’s not that we’re not aware.
Can’t you just write about the video interview itself and post it? I’ve seen that done before around here.
We do that when it’s the person we’re featuring rather than the business. We usually cover startups only when there’s news to announce (funding, acquisition, major partnership, new product launch, etc.)
I like Blip.FM! Restricting to the U.S.? NNNOOO!!! Today is not a good day. How am I supposed to discover good music from other parts of the world? Not a good day indeed. I just finished listening to Father and Son by Cat Stevens.
I worked for 15 years promoting music – Labels & artists need to wake up and realize that this type of behavior (restricting online access to stream music) is just bad business today.
People use Blip and other services like this to find new music. Old-school advertising of music releases is dying (where there is simply too much information & ads hitting people evryday).. telling me your band (that I’ve never heard of) has a new release and I should check out there site is NOT going to encourage me to drop what I’m doing and click (IF I even ever see the link – how will I find this info in the great sea of the internet?)
Instead, I rely on music sites and the recommendations of other users who have similar taste to mine when I’m in the mood for new music. I can view the music they’re listening to and hear the songs. if I hear (and like) a couple songs from a band that is new to me – THEN I am going to buy their music (a purchase link is on every blip – tho I personally will just go to Itunes).. It’s called getting your product in front of the potential customer.
Restricting access to hear the artists’ music is not ONLY going to limit promotion for your music (ie no sample for me means no purchase for you) it actually ENCOURAGES PEER-TO-PEER-FILE-SHARING.. yeah that’s right. Since a music-fan can no longer just go to a music sharing site and and hear music suggestions .. they’re more likely to use PEER-TO-PEER-FILE-SHARING to sample new music.. but now that person HAS the music on their hard drive (on their mp3 player, on the cd they just burned).. so there is less of a chance they will then “do the right thing” and go and purchase the files from a legit source.
I have purchased music from at least a dozen artists that I would never have even HEARD OF in the past two weeks – all found on blip. [and half of those found from NON-US members.. bad Idea to limit Blip to US, guys]
Oh and by the way, LABELS, your time is nearly up – Blip or no Blip – unless you ditch the old-school model and develop one that fits the times. Good luck with that..
Dammit, and just when I thought I had a great replacement for Last.fm for finding new music. This sucks.
I personally love blip.fm but has always wondered when they were going to be forced to alter their service – It’s just too good to be true.
Daniel
I’ve been using Blip.fm pretty regularly since discovering it. Met a lot of great online DJ’s and found some excellent music.
Music that has resulted in purchases from other sites.
Not to mention, being active on Twitter, I really enjoy seeing what other followers are listening to throughout the day.
It will be interesting to see where this site grows from here.
Chris Byrd
Dell Digital Life Evangelist
Follow me on Twitter @ChrisBatDell
Def a smart move for them (albeit ripped from http://twt.fm as we’ve been integrated and streaming with Imeem for 2 months now) ; )
The real story here is the Imeem API. It breathes life into Blip, my site, and countless others. The labels need to step up and make sure this streaming library stays afloat.
I use http://www.flybymusic.com <—way better user experience!
I am really disappointed that so much has changed, and it just looks like more is going to change. This is one of the few outlets that truly allow indie artists find their fans. I hope that not too much more changes at blip.fm.
If blip loses its variety and becomes another Ilike I will be upset. Until then I’ll use the site!
I love the interaction with other music lovers, discovery of new music, new artists, the whole social and music interaction and discovery that Blip.fm has to offer. Virtually everyone I follow frequently with on Twitter also use Blip.fm regularly. Why do all the good things in life find it so very difficult to stay afloat or alive? Please, Blip.fm, stay with us and we will stay with you!! It’s truly a mutual admiration.
I have listened to, and subsequently bought, lots of music that I was simply not aware of before I heard it on blip.fm – I have also shared my blips on Facebook so my friends can discover new music too.
However, I live in the UK, so now I won’t get to hear full tracks, just 30 second snippets. That’s just not interesting, it won’t encourage me to buy music, and quite frankly there is no reason for me to stay with blip.fm
To the music industry; this is called shooting yourself in the foot.
I like grooveshark better, was my replacement for last.fm.
And try some radios from the internet… kinda cool doing the old way somethime…
I suppose blip’s gonna suck now. Was a good site. I don’t want to fight with imeem to add a blip. why they gotta mess it up.
I really like Blip, there’s a lot of truly good playlists unlike all the other music sites!.. and last.fm has too many 30 second songs psht.
Interesting that companies set up businesses figuring the music creators will give their stuff away for free, and then people give the industry a bad rap when the inevitable happens. Haven’t these entrepreneurs been to business school? I like Blip.fm and new ways of spreading music, but it seems as though we’ve been having the same conversations for 10 years.