digg

Join DiggAbout

Discover the best of the web!
Learn more about Digg by taking the tour.

Thesixtyone: Music discovery game connects indies and fans

boingboing.net — Thesixtyone is a "music discovery game" created by two students who quit their jobs to build a site that helps musicians and fans discover each other. Fans use Digg-style thumbs-up to rate the music that's uploaded, but the game is that each rating costs you points, and you get more points if you rate up song that lots of other people rate up too.

Bury
show profanity settings
expand all
  • TheRequiem13, on 12/11/2007, -15/+4Amazing site. Tons of great music you've never heard of just waiting for your ears.
    Join up guys, its a lot of fun.
    Check out the tracks I'm enjoying lately: http://www.thesixtyone.com/TheRequiem/
  • kodoTM, on 12/11/2007, -14/+4It's a great site and also works for unsigned bands. I've uploaded my own bands stuff to http://www.thesixtyone.com/shetellslies/ - it's female fronted and slightly folky if you like that sort of thing.
  • edukcuf, on 12/11/2007, -14/+3Yeah, it is a great site. The more sites that help independant/unsigned artists the better as it's so hard to get radio play and people to notice your music. http://www.thesixtyone.com/rhythmcreation/
  • Miche1987, on 12/11/2007, -2/+12Not putting any links in my comment. :p However, this is a very nice little site if you're just looking for some random stuff to listen to. I'm going through some of the Classical section right now, and there's some good stuff.

    Also, the fact that it offers DRM free downloads and links to Amazon's MP3 store (also DRM-free) is awesome.
  • cassisaari, on 12/11/2007, -6/+6Very fun, interactive music site. Addictive, because there's a points system. :]
  • Ianki, on 12/11/2007, -1/+5I was doing this all day yesterday. Nothing more competitive than a pyramid scheme level system with music discovery capabilities. On the down side, the majority of songs posted so far kinda sucks. Still, if this actually takes off, bands should get in now when there are like only 20 bands in rotation. It would be like you were the only myspace music page when they first opened. Or, you know, not catch on at all.
  • ringo380, on 12/11/2007, -2/+21"Fans use Digg-style thumbs-up to rate the music that's uploaded, but the game is that each rating costs you points, and you get more points if you rate up song that lots of other people rate up too."

    So.. in other words, if it becomes popular, it will pretty much just end up like Clear Channel? Getting rewarded for liking music taht a lot of other people like just seems like it's missing the point.
    • Vorsuc, on 12/11/2007, -1/+6That was my thought as well. If indie bands are having a hard time 'connecting' with fans under a sea of commercial and popular mainstream artists, how does establishing that system around those indie bands help anyone but the few who come out on top?
    • zeejay, on 12/11/2007, -0/+2I would think that if the top of the lists are simply populated with "ClearChannel bands" vs. "Indie Bands", that the site's operators would adjust their algorithm, because the site would not be fulfilling its stated purpose.
      Regardless, any music discovery tool that takes power away from ClearChannel is digg-worthy. I actually think that this type of concept (there will be many others like this surely) is a necessary step toward crippling the major labels.
  • feshmania, on 12/11/2007, -1/+10...how does the music go across pages like that?
    It's sorcery I tell ya! sorcery.
  • mercilessrobot, on 12/11/2007, -1/+7I have found 5 new bands that I love since starting to use the site a couple days ago. To me, it is doing it's job quite well.
  • ClaudiuUSA, on 12/11/2007, -0/+3I am intrigued.
  • radink360, on 12/11/2007, -2/+1Well considering that most people dont consider bands like Tesla and The Darkness to be metal, then I think they need some work on their categories.
  • Chaoticfist, on 12/11/2007, -1/+3This site is SWEET. Also is this thing a private company?Can we invest? I can see this going places :)
  • pewpewarrows, on 12/11/2007, -0/+2Dugg for recognizing that my Flash Player was not completely up to date, and telling me that... on my Linux machine.
  • KeyLimePie, on 12/11/2007, -3/+2The points system seems overly complex. Surely bumping a song only once should suffice? Then you wouldn't need to limit people's influence by providing them with a set number of points in the first place.
  • 4LI3ER70, on 12/11/2007, -1/+11But how do the points benefit you? Oh right, they don't.
    "Oh you have 224 bump points? Well I have 647. I'm more pretentious!"
    Lame, I'll stick with Last.fm, thanks

    • sammo, on 12/11/2007, -0/+2The more levels you have, the more influence you can have over one song.
      The multi-bump per song cap is raised each time you level.
    • carynmoss, on 12/11/2007, -1/+0Hey well we're very new on there,
      but if you have 647 points how's about spending a few on my girl!
      I just put her up there yesterday & have no idea how to get her to the pages where people can actually see her?
      no urls are allowed here so if you can search NikiSaletta or me carynmoss that would be cool!
      the song is welcome to hollywood
      also can hear & see more about her at .myspace/carynmoss
  • dafragsta, on 12/11/2007, -1/+5"but the game is that each rating costs you points, and you get more points if you rate up song that lots of other people rate up too."

    That just sounds like a terrible idea. I think the system we have now would yield the same ***** music that appeals to the singsong, overproduced, sex-sells-not-the-music tools that have been driving what constitutes "popular music."
  • burstaneurysm, on 12/11/2007, -0/+1Link to site.
    http://www.thesixtyone.com/
  • br0ken1128, on 12/11/2007, -5/+1Pretty cool I must say!

    http://www.thesixtyone.com/onedualitymusic/
  • FedexPope, on 12/11/2007, -3/+1Honestly its not very hard to find the kind of music you like with the internet how it is already. I don't understand why people need their taste in music to be validated by other people. Example: Cansei de ser sexy has the top song on the site at the moment. I found this band over a year and a half ago using the old fashioned methods, so i don't see what benefit this site would give any band. Just give it time and standard ***** bands like nickelback and fall out boy will be at the top of that list. The site just seems to be a way for everyone to pat eachother on the back for liking what everyone else likes.
    • doors2188, on 12/11/2007, -0/+0The purpose with which the site was founded was to give artists and listeners a fair chance without going through the record labels. Any band can upload their music and really surprise people with its quality. Its not intended to reward mainstream preferences. but expose groups that aren't popular because of unfair practices by the music industry.
  • thinkart, on 12/11/2007, -0/+2fun, but i dont see where you can do THUMBS DOWN. it's kinda pissing me off enough to not play again. i accidentally added a ***** song to "my music" and now i can't figure out how to get rid of it. eerrr!
  • jankind, on 12/11/2007, -0/+2Kanye West on page 2. I really, REALLY hope this guy gets discovered!
    That said...Dugg. For many other reasons, I like this.
    They play the entire song for starters.
  • flinx, on 12/11/2007, -4/+1Cool site. They need a religious category, though.
  • FedexPope, on 12/11/2007, -0/+4Religious isnt a style of music. Its a type of lyrics. Otherwise they would need "bitches and hoes' and 'my girl friend left me so im going to go cry' sections. If they wanted to stir things up they should group everything together to force people to listen to things that they wouldnt normally.
    • someToast, on 12/12/2007, -0/+0You can listen to "The Rack" in the sidebar of the home page for that (and earn points while doing so).
  • applesnack, on 12/11/2007, -0/+0I think the site could keep it fresh by dropping a song after its reached prime status or was on the charts for a period of time within top 10. Then you could manage an overall rating on those older songs but keep the new hotness flowing on the main charts. Not enough votes over a period of time and your song is dropped.. This should make room for every artist and their music. Yeah, you'll get some mainstream Justinspears50west stuff but the formula for what sounds good to the masses has been established.
  • EnigMachineGun, on 12/11/2007, -0/+1i was listening to it, and some of it is okay, but it seems like a lot of crappy local bands are using it to upload their crappy garage music. fun to play with, maybe, but definitely not worth wasting too much time over.
  • aw93053, on 12/11/2007, -0/+3Technically a very impressive site no polish needed.
  • lukifer, on 12/11/2007, -0/+2I like it. It's impressively implemented using DHTML/Javascript rather than Flash, which deserves kudos. I wish it had a section for mashups, though. :)
  • xispo, on 12/11/2007, -0/+1Pretty cool site, but I prefer pandora -- I don't need other people telling me what music is cool; that's what computers are for! ;)

    I found the bio for James to be interesting. Says he "made games," BF2 being his favorite.
    http://www.thesixtyone.com/#/static/about/

    According to moby games, he was just the marketing intern, heh.
    http://www.mobygames.com/game/xbox/battlefield-2-m ...

  • anselm83, on 12/11/2007, -0/+1Last.fm FTW.
  • dstz, on 12/12/2007, -0/+1People that barf "LAST FM OMG PLZ TOO GOOD WHATEVER" clearly aren't musicians as they've not understood half of the principle. The other half being a way for musicians to share music, and that's a long time I'm waiting for a digg clone for music. Of course, the point system sounds off, but you know what: it's ***** better than nothing (or than soundclick which is about nothing).
  • Cheetah3186, on 12/12/2007, -0/+1This is the first time I ventured onto a site such as this and I must say I am quite pleased with my experience. I found several artists with great lyrics, for a change. I don't precisely understand the goal of the point system, however, I found it strangely intriguing. Additionally, the site was also easy of the eyes, which never hurts. Overall, I'd say this sites a winner and I hope they continue to grow, as their current selection was at times limited for my taste.
  • bankhead, on 12/12/2007, -0/+1I haven't gotten to use the site much but I think it's neat so far. I like the idea of voting but I think the algorithm needs to be adjusted somewhat. If you up vote an Indie artist which nobody has heard of, therefore hasn't voted on, you lose points? I think that defeats the purpose entirely. I have been using this site lately to discover new music, they have streaming updates frequently (good aggregater) - http://hiphopondemand.blogspot.com/
  • Saritalr, on 12/12/2007, -0/+0The point system really does engage you... and the music... oh the music!
  • daaaveg, on 12/13/2007, -0/+1Cool site...kinda like http://www.moreencore.com/
  • tayal, on 01/03/2008, -1/+0Looks a good site but I cant create an account as the site has decided that there are allready accounts created from my IP. This needs sorting out.
  • zcreem, on 01/06/2008, -0/+1I have been on this for the last few days and I am hooked the point systems is a nice touch too.
    Some of the music is really amazing and surprising little is what I would class as crap.
    Haven't so much fun with music since the old Top of the Pops days, really good place to discover new acts.
  • hardwarehank, on 01/17/2008, -1/+1A little writeup:
    http://ralree.com/2008/1/17/the-sixtyone-an-awesom ...

    Sign up using this link:
    http://www.thesixtyone.com/?referred_by_username=h ...
  • newgerbert, on 01/25/2008, -0/+0http://stretch-wizard.com/the-ultimate-hits-cd1--a ...
    http://stretch-wizard.com/garth-brooks-artist/art7 ... Garth Brooks mp3
    http://stretch-wizard.com/the-ultimate-hits-cd1--a ... The Ultimate Hits (cd1) mp3
    http://stretch-wizard.com/the-solution-artist/alb1 ...
    http://stretch-wizard.com/beanie-sigel-artist/art3 ... Beanie Sigel mp3
    http://stretch-wizard.com/the-solution-artist/alb1 ... The Solution mp3
    http://stretch-wizard.com/motown-hitsville-usa-art ...
    http://stretch-wizard.com/boyz-ii-men-artist/art25 ... Boyz II Men mp3
    http://stretch-wizard.com/motown-hitsville-usa-art ... Motown Hitsville USA mp3
    http://stretch-wizard.com/american-gangster-artist ...
  • yapper1200, on 04/26/2008, -0/+0I love this site, I use it all the time, its a great way to discover music you will love that you never knew existed. It also has a neat point system in place to encourage users to only promote songs they truly believe are good and deserve to go farther.
  •  

    Login or register to add a comment

    Create a new account or login to join in the conversation on Digg. You'll also be able to Digg stories to help promote things you like.


© Digg Inc. 2008 — Content posted by Digg users is dedicated to the public domain.
DIGG, DIGG IT, DUGG, DIGG THIS, Digg graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, scripts, and other service names are the trademarks of Digg Inc.