www.bahrainthismonth.com November 2013 105 websites Thisismyjam.com Choose one song. That song that’s been stuck on repeat, that one you love. Personalise it and share it with the world. This is your jam, and it’s yours for up to seven days. Change it whenever you want, but choose wisely. You only have one! NPR’s First Listen Wouldn’t it be wonderful if someone let you listen to great music before it hit stores? NPR’s First Listen lets you pre-hear everything from fresh movie soundtracks to your favourite indie band’s latest to artists playing styles of music you’ve never heard before. SoundCloud.com RATING: WHAT IS IT? If you’ve ever listened to audio on some website visualised as an oddly alluring orange-and-grey waveform, you’ve likely bumped into SoundCloud. Founded in 2007, the site aspired to furnish artist-focused musical file sharing — a kind of Vimeo or Flickr for musicians. In the lead-up to its relaunch in late 2012, its operators rolled up their sleeves to pull together a more listener-angled experience. The most stylish way to upload and publicise music or audio of any sort now is through SoundCloud’s listening community or by embedding it in another website. THE GOOD: Once you’ve posted your ‘sound’, you can share it easily across social networks like Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Pinterest. You can use the website’s simple widgets to embed sounds in your website or blog. The potential is limited only by the users’ imagination. SoundCloud accepts most common audio file formats. Another great feature is the detailed stats and analytics. You can see where plays have come from and what items users are downloading most. THE BAD: SoundCloud does exactly what it says on the tin. So it’s impossible to pinpoint any real downsides. WEBSITE OF THE MONTH VERDICT: An easy way to share music and find new tunes.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy Mjk0MTkxMQ==