Harman, the Samsung subsidiary known for hi-fi equipment, speakers, headphones and in-car entertainment systems, has launched a music recommendation app called Drops. The app is initially available in the United States and launches on an invitation-only basis.
How Drops works#
Users share clips of tracks lasting 10 to 30 seconds, accompanied by lyrics, artwork, artist images and captions. They can also save the songs they discover to collections within the app.
Harman is positioning Drops as a way to drive full-length streams on other services. Users can connect certain streaming services to the app, with Apple Music, Qobuz and Tidal among the launch partners.
Licensing and recruitment#
Rights holders already on board include:
- Universal Music Group
- Beggars Group
- Empire
- Symphonic Distribution
- UnitedMasters
- Unnamed publishers and collecting societies
Harman has also recruited ‘tastemakers’ to populate the platform in its early days.
Origins and business challenges#
Drops traces its roots to Harman’s 2023 acquisition of music-management software firm Roon. According to the company’s description, the app ‘pays rights holders and reports plays back to its partners.’
Monetising music-discovery apps is a challenge, and building an audience is difficult in a space dominated by large social and streaming platforms. Whether Drops continues over the long term will depend on Harman’s commitment and marketing budget for meeting those challenges.
