Echo Nest discovery tools enhance Thumbplay Music

Music intelligence platform the Echo Nest announced an agreement with Thumbplay to integrate its music discovery solution into the mobile entertainment destination's fledgling Thumbplay Music service. Powered by a machine learning system that reads about and listens to music across the web, EchoNest enables a range of discovery and interactive playlisting services including AutoPlaylist, a mobile application allowing users to instantly generate playlists based on a single track selection based on attributes like tempo, instrumentation, key, time signature, energy, harmonic and timbral structures along with factors such as artist popularity and fan base.

Thumbplay Music launched in private beta in early January--the cloud-based subscription service promises unlimited, on-demand access to millions of songs from content partners including Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group and EMI Music, along with CD Baby, INgrooves, IODA, The Orchard and a host of additional independent labels. Recent agreements with 20 additional partners boosted the number of tracks under license to more than 8 million. Thumbplay Music is presently available on an invitation-only basis on select BlackBerry smartphones--a downloadable Adobe AIR desktop version is also available on both PCs and Macs. Thumbplay said the app will launch across iPhone, Android and additional BlackBerry smartphones within the first quarter.

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