SpotDJ lets users record radio commentary tied to songs in iTunes. Other users can hear that commentary after listening to the same songs. The site just launched this morning and I like it. After hearing an inserted DJ spot, you can rate it on a scale of 1 to 5 and other users will always hear whatever spot is rated highest by others for a particular song.
Users can set preferences as to how often they want to hear DJ spots and can chose to only hear spots from user DJs they have added to their favorites list. This could be an annoying distraction, but I think the amount of control offered could make SpotDJ a service you’ll want to use. It’s a well designed system.
The San Francisco startup has received seed funding and is lead by Scott J. Kleper and Kevin Barenblat.
Commercial radio is generally unlistenable, but DJ commentary has a lot of potential to be useful and fun. Letting users record and rate the best commentary spots is an idea that taps into some of the best themes of the Web 2.0 movement.
This is an application that I have every intention of keeping installed on my computer after I test it. I’d like to be able to listen to the spots on my speakers via AirTunes, not on the speakers on my desktop. The company says that’s a lower priority than syncing the functionality with the iPod and I can understand that.
I’m excited to see how this service works out once people start recording DJ spots. Unlike many other Web 2.0 social services that are worse than worthless prior to mass adoption, SpotDJ sits unobtrusively waiting for people to record spots.
If and when the day comes that SpotDJ starts inserting audio ads, I hope they are short and don’t play too often. If in time I come to like the commentary I hear through the system I’d be willing to pay a small monthly subscription to skip ads. If people like SpotDJ, the next challenge will be to monetize it.