Tech

Tinder for music lets you swipe right to find your new favourite artists

by Tyler Munro

You’ve used Tinder.

Whether jokingly with your friends, as a quick confidence booster or in a misguided search for love, hetero-Grinder is such a curious cultural phenomenon that we can all but guarantee you have, at the very least, spent a minute or 10 swiping. It’s brilliantly simple, and now two members of its original creative core have decided to try and apply Tinder’s success to the music industry.

Next is a social music swiping platform spearheaded by Tinder co-founder Christopher Gulczynski and former VP of design Sarah Mick, and its mission statement is familiar to anyone that’s tried their luck on the popular dating app.

Users are presented with a musician “card” which features 30 second video clips. They can swipe left to move on, right to like. But as with any new application, there are glitches; “liking” isn’t the same as “following,” and aside from that extra step, your chances at an awkward one night stand are slim to none.

Still, Gulczynski sees success in Next’s future.

“There’s a stigma around the music industry that it’s notoriously hard to monetize,” he said in a statement. “What we’re trying to do is circumvent that by growing a critical mass of people on the platform, by coming around the backside. If the ‘music industry’ wants to be a part of it, we’re going to force them to play nice…”

That doesn’t explain how they’re going to make money on the app, which for better or worse is what can keep it alive, but we at least admire their earnestness. Our suggestion? Change the name. As much as we love being reminded of “Too Close,” Next isn’t exactly an easy Google. [h/t Hypebot]