Earlier this year, we noticed that Tango had released a new app to the App Store called “Tango Music Pix.” It let users combine photos from their phone with a songs from a streaming library to make intimate slideshows that you share with friends over Tango, Facebook, Twitter, or email. Shortly after that post, the app was taken down from the App Store.
Today, Tango has officially re-released the app, which the messaging service is calling its first “sister application.” In a phone call, Tango vice president of strategy Chi-Chao Chang told TechCrunch that Tango Music Pix is the first product to come out of the company’s new Tango Labs effort, letting team members pitch ideas “complimenting the core goal of the messaging app.”
What makes Music Pix an interesting compliment to Tango’s main app is that it doesn’t require you to log in with a Tango account. It’s very much so the opposite of Facebook’s strategy with Facebook Messenger — instead of forcing you to use it by removing its music-sharing features in the main app, Tango is simply offering something that people can try without feeling like they’re committing to anything.
While Tango Music Pix is based on common behavior in the Tango messaging app — sending friends photos and sharing music with the app’s Spotify integration — it won’t offer the same breadth of music options as you’d get in the company’s main offering. According to Chang, the songs in Music Pix (provided by Rumblefish) won’t include much “from the top of the charts — Billboard Top 10 or Top 20.” That could definitely be a turn off for some users, though it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Tango eventually bring over Spotify integration from Tango proper.
Tango Music Pix is available on the Google Play Store now, and a Tango spokesperson says the app should hit the App Store this week (it’s likely being held up by long review times thanks to the recent release of iOS 8.)