A ‘hangout’ function lets you browse and discover other people’s music via their robots.
Back in April we told you about social music site Beatrobo, which at the time had received $600,000 in funding, with ambitions to expand to a global audience. And just a few days ago the startup announced the launch of a redesigned site with some interesting new features.
The music site previously allowed you to search music from YouTube, and Beatrobo says that the search is now much improved with better and faster results. While the YouTube function is still central, new support for Soundcloud search has been added as well.
The concept of using robots to ‘transport’ songs or playlists to and from friends remains (something akin to passing your friend a mixed tape), and now you can own multiple robots containing different flavors of tunes according to your choosing. You can also copy other people’s robots if you find them interesting.
Japanese support has supposedly been added in this new Beatrobo version as well, although it’s not immediately obvious to me how it’s turned on (perhaps it relies on detecting your browser’s languages).
While an online music service like is this much welcome in any country, it’s especially welcome in Japan where the RIAJ is hard on copyright infringement, and a new anti-download law recently went into effect. Beatrobo, by pulling music content from YouTube, has effectively washed its hands of the responsibility of sharing or hosting any music files. In essence, all Beatrobo does is repackage music from YouTube and Soundcloud and drop a fun social layer on top.
It’s a clever idea, and I recommend you check it out.
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