Magnatune blog

Hot right now

The Magnatune home page has been updated to show "What's hot right now"

The top 15 albums are updated hourly:

if you click on "more" you get a list of the top 100 most popular albums: in all genres, for the past 7 days:

The audio player at the top is pre-filled with the first song of each album in popularity order. This makes it very easy to sample across the various genres at Magnatune to see what you might like. Also, each albums in the list is given their chart position (ie, number 50). One big reason for doing this was finding that members listen to a much greater variety of music than we expected.

I've updated all of the genre pages so that the audio player plays the first song from each album by popularity and gives the rank of each album.

Most popular Magnatune search terms

For the past month I have been tracking what people search for at Magnatune.

Below is a list of the top 500 search terms. The top 500 searches in one month accounted for 10,527 searches. The total number of searches was 28,050, or roughly 1000 searches per day.

Our Long tail of searching:

• the most popular search term: "Bach" was responsible for 4.2% of the top 500 searches (1.58% of all searches)
  
• The top 20 terms were cumulatively responsible for 28.2% of the top 500 searches, (10.6% of all searches)

One reason for doing this analysis was to see if people are often searching for things at Magnatune that they're not finding. For example, if they searched for "metallica" we could be steering them toward bands of ours that sound like Metallica.

However, it seems that people aren't doing this: people search at Magnatune for things that we usually have.

There are some exceptions after the top 40 terms. I can't explain the popularity of "moonset" (#6). further down the list you'll the related concepts of "C25K" (#42) and "Couch to 5k" (#44), which is apparently a new health program "designed to get just about anyone from the couch to running 5 kilometers or 30 minutes in just 9 weeks". Otherwise, pretty good.

I think our search engine is delivering what people want, since people are indeed searching for things that we do well. If you click on each of the most popular search terms, you'll get pretty useful results. That's mostly because apparently people search for things at Magnatune that they're likely to find. I remember doing this analysis 5 years ago and finding that "Britney" was the most popular search term (sigh): things have improved.

Here is the complete chart of our top 500 search terms, with how many times they were searched for in the past month, and what percentage of the top 500 searches each represents. I've also linked each term directly to the search itself.

	#		Search term		count		% of total
	1.		bach		443		4.2%
	2.		mozart		266		2.52%
	3.		braid		264		2.5%
	4.		solace		197		1.87%
	5.		rob costlow		166		1.57%
	6.		moonset		155		1.47%
	7.		vivaldi		150		1.42%
	8.		piano		134		1.27%
	9.		beethoven		133		1.26%
	10.		artemis		127		1.2%
	11.		jami sieber		124		1.17%
	12.		chopin		102		0.96%
	13.		cello		102		0.96%
	14.		guitar		98		0.93%
	15.		folk		89		0.84%
	16.		medieval		88		0.83%
	17.		lute		87		0.82%
	18.		shira kammen		81		0.76%
	19.		falling you		81		0.76%
	20.		baroque		81		0.76%
	21.		general fuzz		79		0.75%
	22.		celtic		78		0.74%
	23.		shiva in exile		70		0.66%
	24.		robert rich		69		0.65%
	25.		flute		69		0.65%
	26.		brad sucks		67		0.63%
	27.		rapoon		66		0.62%
	28.		harp		60		0.56%
	29.		kitka		59		0.56%
	30.		blues		59		0.56%
	31.		sieber		56		0.53%
	32.		block scholars		55		0.52%
	33.		stellamara		53		0.5%
	34.		violin		51		0.48%
	35.		lara		51		0.48%
	36.		instrumental		51		0.48%
	37.		satori		50		0.47%
	38.		costlow		50		0.47%
	39.		the west exit		49		0.46%
	40.		justin bianco		48		0.45%
	41.		lady gaga		47		0.44%
	42.		c25k		47		0.44%
	43.		handel		45		0.42%
	44.		couch to 5k		45		0.42%
	45.		compilation		45		0.42%
	46.		jeff wahl		44		0.41%
	47.		dj cary		44		0.41%
	48.		meditation		43		0.4%
	49.		bach guitar		43		0.4%
	50.		tilopa		42		0.39%
	51.		ambient		42		0.39%
	52.		john williams		41		0.38%
	53.		funk		41		0.38%
	54.		country		41		0.38%
	55.		curl		39		0.37%
	56.		reggae		38		0.36%
	57.		falik		38		0.36%
	58.		drop trio		37		0.35%
	59.		opera		35		0.33%
	60.		lara st john		35		0.33%
	61.		blind divine		35		0.33%
	62.		organ		34		0.32%
	63.		mercy machine		34		0.32%
	64.		liquid zen		34		0.32%
	65.		kammen		34		0.32%
	66.		indian		34		0.32%
	67.		classical		34		0.32%
	68.		almanova		34		0.32%
	69.		kyiv		33		0.31%
	70.		ion		33		0.31%
	71.		curandero		33		0.31%
	72.		metal		32		0.3%
	73.		ehren starks		32		0.3%
	74.		voices of music		31		0.29%
	75.		solar cycle		31		0.29%
	76.		rock		31		0.29%
	77.		processor		31		0.29%
	78.		pop		31		0.29%
	79.		modica		31		0.29%
	80.		estrem		31		0.29%
	81.		burning babylon		31		0.29%
	82.		asteria		31		0.29%
	83.		alma nova		31		0.29%
	84.		adam fielding		31		0.29%
	85.		trance		30		0.28%
	86.		tango		30		0.28%
	87.		switch on		30		0.28%
	88.		sitar		30		0.28%
	89.		saros		30		0.28%
	90.		recorder		30		0.28%
	91.		teng		29		0.27%
	92.		latin		29		0.27%
	93.		etherine		29		0.27%
	94.		robin stine		28		0.26%
	95.		podcast		28		0.26%
	96.		new age		28		0.26%
	97.		jamie sieber		28		0.26%
	98.		ammonite		28		0.26%
	99.		tiny little blackouts		27		0.25%
	100.		schubert		27		0.25%
	101.		renaissance		27		0.25%
	102.		mexeena		27		0.25%
	103.		human response		27		0.25%
	104.		williamson		26		0.24%
	105.		shakira		26		0.24%
	106.		orthodox		26		0.24%
	107.		metallica		26		0.24%
	108.		jazz		26		0.24%
	109.		irish		26		0.24%
	110.		hans christian		26		0.24%
	111.		wicked boy		25		0.23%
	112.		vivaldi cello		25		0.23%
	113.		suzanne teng		25		0.23%
	114.		kiev		25		0.23%
	115.		fresh body shop		25		0.23%
	116.		dr kuch		25		0.23%
	117.		david modica		25		0.23%
	118.		corelli		25		0.23%
	119.		beatles		25		0.23%
	120.		acdc		25		0.23%
	121.		stargarden		24		0.22%
	122.		salsa		24		0.22%
	123.		native		24		0.22%
	124.		markitos		24		0.22%
	125.		mahler		24		0.22%
	126.		heavy mellow		24		0.22%
	127.		hands upon black earth		24		0.22%
	128.		ehren		24		0.22%
	129.		christian		24		0.22%
	130.		telemann		23		0.21%
	131.		techno		23		0.21%
	132.		sophia marie		23		0.21%
	133.		shira		23		0.21%
	134.		dj markitos		23		0.21%
	135.		chris harvey		23		0.21%
	136.		cargo cult		23		0.21%
	137.		blue wave theory		23		0.21%
	138.		wild wood		22		0.2%
	139.		west exit		22		0.2%
	140.		tim rayborn		22		0.2%
	141.		middle eastern		22		0.2%
	142.		lizzi		22		0.2%
	143.		linkin park		22		0.2%
	144.		indie		22		0.2%
	145.		haydn		22		0.2%
	146.		big bad sun		22		0.2%
	147.		starks		21		0.19%
	148.		scarlatti		21		0.19%
	149.		monkey		21		0.19%
	150.		flamenco		21		0.19%
	151.		dance		21		0.19%
	152.		queen		20		0.18%
	153.		japanese		20		0.18%
	154.		jami seiber		20		0.18%
	155.		jag		20		0.18%
	156.		choral		20		0.18%
	157.		choir		20		0.18%
	158.		robin grey		19		0.18%
	159.		mediva		19		0.18%
	160.		logic gate		19		0.18%
	161.		kyiv chamber choir		19		0.18%
	162.		japan		19		0.18%
	163.		ishwish		19		0.18%
	164.		hip hop		19		0.18%
	165.		hanneke		19		0.18%
	166.		haendel		19		0.18%
	167.		death and rain		19		0.18%
	168.		daniel estrem		19		0.18%
	169.		american bach soloists		19		0.18%
	170.		spanish		18		0.17%
	171.		ruben van rompaey		18		0.17%
	172.		ravel		18		0.17%
	173.		rameau		18		0.17%
	174.		paul avgerinos		18		0.17%
	175.		muse		18		0.17%
	176.		loc saint		18		0.17%
	177.		laura inserra		18		0.17%
	178.		jive ass		18		0.17%
	179.		jami		18		0.17%
	180.		french		18		0.17%
	181.		dvorak		18		0.17%
	182.		dub		18		0.17%
	183.		domased		18		0.17%
	184.		collections		18		0.17%
	185.		beight		18		0.17%
	186.		arabic		18		0.17%
	187.		african		18		0.17%
	188.		88.131.106.30		18		0.17%
	189.		wagner		17		0.16%
	190.		shiva		17		0.16%
	191.		seiber		17		0.16%
	192.		sebastian forster		17		0.16%
	193.		rich		17		0.16%
	194.		pantagruel		17		0.16%
	195.		kourosh dini		17		0.16%
	196.		kaare norge		17		0.16%
	197.		india		17		0.16%
	198.		enya		17		0.16%
	199.		debussy		17		0.16%
	200.		chant		17		0.16%
	201.		beth quist		17		0.16%
	202.		zen		16		0.15%
	203.		spheres		16		0.15%
	204.		satie		16		0.15%
	205.		rocket city riot		16		0.15%
	206.		pink floyd		16		0.15%
	207.		new age piano		16		0.15%
	208.		music from braid		16		0.15%
	209.		mark cook		16		0.15%
	210.		madonna		16		0.15%
	211.		lisa debenedictis		16		0.15%
	212.		lisa		16		0.15%
	213.		junoon		16		0.15%
	214.		janine johnson		16		0.15%
	215.		five star fall		16		0.15%
	216.		dj		16		0.15%
	217.		brahms		16		0.15%
	218.		brad		16		0.15%
	219.		blind		16		0.15%
	220.		the seldon plan		15		0.14%
	221.		tchaikovsky		15		0.14%
	222.		sulis		15		0.14%
	223.		satamian		15		0.14%
	224.		rayborn		15		0.14%
	225.		oboe		15		0.14%
	226.		nature		15		0.14%
	227.		magnatune		15		0.14%
	228.		indidginus		15		0.14%
	229.		harpsichord		15		0.14%
	230.		hang		15		0.14%
	231.		fuzz		15		0.14%
	232.		free		15		0.14%
	233.		ether		15		0.14%
	234.		easter		15		0.14%
	235.		diana rowan		15		0.14%
	236.		da camera		15		0.14%
	237.		broken poets		15		0.14%
	238.		abba		15		0.14%
	239.		193.107.16.77		15		0.14%
	240.		wahl		14		0.13%
	241.		the bots		14		0.13%
	242.		svanevit		14		0.13%
	243.		spain		14		0.13%
	244.		seldon plan		14		0.13%
	245.		robin		14		0.13%
	246.		rob		14		0.13%
	247.		reza		14		0.13%
	248.		purcell		14		0.13%
	249.		lara st. john		14		0.13%
	250.		justin bieber		14		0.13%
	251.		jewish		14		0.13%
	252.		hidden sky		14		0.13%
	253.		greg williams		14		0.13%
	254.		edward martin		14		0.13%
	255.		burnshee		14		0.13%
	256.		beth		14		0.13%
	257.		yoria		13		0.12%
	258.		yongen		13		0.12%
	259.		william brooks		13		0.12%
	260.		vocal		13		0.12%
	261.		verdi		13		0.12%
	262.		trumpet		13		0.12%
	263.		tom paul		13		0.12%
	264.		soundtrack		13		0.12%
	265.		ruben		13		0.12%
	266.		rammstein		13		0.12%
	267.		paternoster		13		0.12%
	268.		kirsty hawkshaw		13		0.12%
	269.		kenji williams		13		0.12%
	270.		inserra		13		0.12%
	271.		house		13		0.12%
	272.		four stones		13		0.12%
	273.		fernwood		13		0.12%
	274.		colors of spain		13		0.12%
	275.		chinese		13		0.12%
	276.		blackbird		13		0.12%
	277.		balkan		13		0.12%
	278.		air		13		0.12%
	279.		acoustic		13		0.12%
	280.		water		12		0.11%
	281.		viol		12		0.11%
	282.		ullrey		12		0.11%
	283.		u2		12		0.11%
	284.		twisted		12		0.11%
	285.		the headroom project		12		0.11%
	286.		swing		12		0.11%
	287.		savino		12		0.11%
	288.		rap		12		0.11%
	289.		quist		12		0.11%
	290.		percussion		12		0.11%
	291.		moods		12		0.11%
	292.		masters monkeys		12		0.11%
	293.		kammen and swan		12		0.11%
	294.		justin		12		0.11%
	295.		jamie		12		0.11%
	296.		ethnic		12		0.11%
	297.		etherfysh		12		0.11%
	298.		emmas mini		12		0.11%
	299.		dini		12		0.11%
	300.		dammerson		12		0.11%
	301.		dac		12		0.11%
	302.		braid soundtrack		12		0.11%
	303.		bossa nova		12		0.11%
	304.		bon jovi		12		0.11%
	305.		bob marley		12		0.11%
	306.		bluegrass		12		0.11%
	307.		atalanta		12		0.11%
	308.		ambient teknology		12		0.11%
	309.		wintersongs		11		0.1%
	310.		ty burhoe		11		0.1%
	311.		spring		11		0.1%
	312.		space		11		0.1%
	313.		sophia		11		0.1%
	314.		soalce		11		0.1%
	315.		sinatra		11		0.1%
	316.		seth carlin		11		0.1%
	317.		sarasa		11		0.1%
	318.		russian		11		0.1%
	319.		robcostlow		11		0.1%
	320.		punk		11		0.1%
	321.		pastourelle		11		0.1%
	322.		passion		11		0.1%
	323.		paganini		11		0.1%
	324.		nine inch nails		11		0.1%
	325.		monkeytrial		11		0.1%
	326.		lil wayne		11		0.1%
	327.		kuch		11		0.1%
	328.		italian		11		0.1%
	329.		healing		11		0.1%
	330.		headroom		11		0.1%
	331.		fulton		11		0.1%
	332.		fortunes wheel		11		0.1%
	333.		felixdroid		11		0.1%
	334.		dram		11		0.1%
	335.		downstream		11		0.1%
	336.		death metal		11		0.1%
	337.		daughters of elvin		11		0.1%
	338.		daniel berkman		11		0.1%
	339.		classical guitar		11		0.1%
	340.		cargo		11		0.1%
	341.		berget		11		0.1%
	342.		bach lute		11		0.1%
	343.		babylon		11		0.1%
	344.		atomic opera		11		0.1%
	345.		arthur yoria		11		0.1%
	346.		amelia cuni		11		0.1%
	347.		allmeadow		11		0.1%
	348.		africa		11		0.1%
	349.		adam		11		0.1%
	350.		zilla		10		0.09%
	351.		zephyrus		10		0.09%
	352.		un-kai		10		0.09%
	353.		ukrainian		10		0.09%
	354.		tiny		10		0.09%
	355.		russ hopkins		10		0.09%
	356.		rock and roll		10		0.09%
	357.		relax		10		0.09%
	358.		paul berget		10		0.09%
	359.		native american		10		0.09%
	360.		mutandina		10		0.09%
	361.		mrdc		10		0.09%
	362.		monteverdi		10		0.09%
	363.		mercymachine		10		0.09%
	364.		love		10		0.09%
	365.		john fleagle		10		0.09%
	366.		jesse manno		10		0.09%
	367.		jan hanford		10		0.09%
	368.		hiphop		10		0.09%
	369.		heringman		10		0.09%
	370.		harvey		10		0.09%
	371.		green day		10		0.09%
	372.		four seasons		10		0.09%
	373.		forster		10		0.09%
	374.		fleagle		10		0.09%
	375.		fado		10		0.09%
	376.		elvis		10		0.09%
	377.		drevo		10		0.09%
	378.		didgeridoo		10		0.09%
	379.		dark ambient		10		0.09%
	380.		compilations		10		0.09%
	381.		collection		10		0.09%
	382.		claire		10		0.09%
	383.		christmas		10		0.09%
	384.		chill out		10		0.09%
	385.		cheryl ann fulton		10		0.09%
	386.		byzantine		10		0.09%
	387.		bianco		10		0.09%
	388.		beyonce		10		0.09%
	389.		belly dance		10		0.09%
	390.		barry phillips		10		0.09%
	391.		bach cello suites		10		0.09%
	392.		anamar		10		0.09%
	393.		acoustic guitar		10		0.09%
	394.		vito paternoster		9		0.08%
	395.		viola		9		0.08%
	396.		upbeat		9		0.08%
	397.		trancevision		9		0.08%
	398.		the pills		9		0.08%
	399.		strauss		9		0.08%
	400.		stine		9		0.08%
	401.		song of the day		9		0.08%
	402.		ska		9		0.08%
	403.		shane jackman		9		0.08%
	404.		sax		9		0.08%
	405.		rihanna		9		0.08%
	406.		rachmaninoff		9		0.08%
	407.		pine		9		0.08%
	408.		philip glass		9		0.08%
	409.		palestrina		9		0.08%
	410.		owl city		9		0.08%
	411.		mood		9		0.08%
	412.		monks		9		0.08%
	413.		lully		9		0.08%
	414.		lounge		9		0.08%
	415.		loreena mckennitt		9		0.08%
	416.		loops		9		0.08%
	417.		lifetime membership		9		0.08%
	418.		latino		9		0.08%
	419.		korn		9		0.08%
	420.		kiss		9		0.08%
	421.		kalabi		9		0.08%
	422.		jive ass sleepers		9		0.08%
	423.		hands upon		9		0.08%
	424.		gypsy		9		0.08%
	425.		greek		9		0.08%
	426.		gothic		9		0.08%
	427.		gospel		9		0.08%
	428.		gorillaz		9		0.08%
	429.		farallon		9		0.08%
	430.		faith		9		0.08%
	431.		eternal jazz project		9		0.08%
	432.		epic		9		0.08%
	433.		elevator music		9		0.08%
	434.		echolalia		9		0.08%
	435.		drum		9		0.08%
	436.		cool guitar		9		0.08%
	437.		church		9		0.08%
	438.		chris		9		0.08%
	439.		chillout		9		0.08%
	440.		children		9		0.08%
	441.		cary		9		0.08%
	442.		canconier		9		0.08%
	443.		calm		9		0.08%
	444.		brad senne		9		0.08%
	445.		avgerinos		9		0.08%
	446.		williams		8		0.07%
	447.		wildwood		8		0.07%
	448.		vangelis		8		0.07%
	449.		sundowner		8		0.07%
	450.		spoon		8		0.07%
	451.		spinecar		8		0.07%
	452.		shostakovich		8		0.07%
	453.		sad		8		0.07%
	454.		running		8		0.07%
	455.		ruiz		8		0.07%
	456.		radiohead		8		0.07%
	457.		rachmaninov		8		0.07%
	458.		pienaar		8		0.07%
	459.		phantasm		8		0.07%
	460.		pachelbel		8		0.07%
	461.		oud		8		0.07%
	462.		oasis		8		0.07%
	463.		moonlight sonata		8		0.07%
	464.		monkey trial		8		0.07%
	465.		moby		8		0.07%
	466.		minstrel spirit		8		0.07%
	467.		mike wall		8		0.07%
	468.		massive attack		8		0.07%
	469.		march		8		0.07%
	470.		magnatune compilation		8		0.07%
	471.		maenam		8		0.07%
	472.		lullaby		8		0.07%
	473.		liszt		8		0.07%
	474.		js bach		8		0.07%
	475.		jive		8		0.07%
	476.		jennifer lane		8		0.07%
	477.		ivan ilic		8		0.07%
	478.		industrial		8		0.07%
	479.		idea of alice		8		0.07%
	480.		hungry lucy		8		0.07%
	481.		human drop		8		0.07%
	482.		hoxman		8		0.07%
	483.		holst		8		0.07%
	484.		headroom project		8		0.07%
	485.		goth		8		0.07%
	486.		gerard satamian		8		0.07%
	487.		galdrbok		8		0.07%
	488.		fresh body		8		0.07%
	489.		fashion		8		0.07%
	490.		evanescence		8		0.07%
	491.		ensemble		8		0.07%
	492.		dream theater		8		0.07%
	493.		download		8		0.07%
	494.		dac crowell		8		0.07%
	495.		coldplay		8		0.07%
	496.		clasical		8		0.07%
	497.		big band		8		0.07%
	498.		beck		8		0.07%
	499.		beat under control		8		0.07%
	500.		barber		8		0.07%

iPad and iPhone support (Flash be gone!)

The Magnatune web site now automatically detects whether you do not have Flash available in your web browser, and if you do not, an alternative audio player is used (the one built into your web browser).

This should help:

• iPad and iPhone: both now work on the Magnatune web site. One very nice side effect: the audio keeps playing when you leave Safari on the iPhone and the iPad and you can continue using other apps while still listening to the album playing. This unexpected feature is because we're using Quicktime, which (being Apple's own software) can run in the background. To stop the music, run Safari again and click the pause button on the audio player.

• Linux: computers that don't have Flash installed can now play music from the Magnatune web site, without needing to run another audio program. Note that Linux computers do need to have an mp3 decoder installer, however, as I don't have a javascript trick yet for determining whether you can play OGG files in your browser, so I default to mp3s.

Previously, the Magnatune web site used a Flash player exclusively, and so Flash was needed to listen using the web site. The alternative, which still exists, is to use the XSPF or M3U links and an external audio player, but I think this embedded playing is easier.

We also have a native iPad app submitted to Apple, which should be available shortly.

Note that this non-flash method plays the entire album and does not allow you to jump between songs in a playlist (though you can jump to specific times in the entire album). The reason this is the case is that the HTML5 specification does not support playlists, only individual media files. I suspect the HTML5 committee were unfortunately more focussed on video than audio and neglected to think of the need for audio playlists. There are HTML5 playlist players out there, but I've not found them to work consistently on the various important web browsers.

---

Here are pictures of Safari on the iPhone playing music on the Magnatune web site:

and here are pictures of Safari on the iPad playing music on the Magnatune web site:

You might also like

All artist and album pages now have a "you might also like" listing on the left column.

10 album recommendations are given, along with the cover art, artist and album name.

The recommendations are based on what other albums members are also choosing to download. The recommendations are based on the past 30 days of downloads, so that they'd be very current. On the artist pages, all the albums for that artist are counted together to build the recommendation.

Quick login for download members

All the album-play pages now have a button, which takes members to exactly the same album page, but logged in so that they can listen without commercials, or download the album directly.

The weekly newsletter has links to these pages, so this new feature makes it a lot easier for members who watch the newsletter to get the member version of the album.

iPhone app v1.2

A new version of the Magnatune iPhone app is now available.

As always, you can listen to all our albums for free over wifi and over 3G and Edge networks.

Magnatune members can listen without advertisements by going to their iPhone "settings", choosing "Magnatune" and entering in their member name and password.

New in this version:

• new albums view: the "albums" page now lets you sort the albums by release date. This is a convenient way to see what albums have been recently released.

• artist info: the page you see when an album is playing now has a "page curl" on the bottom right of the page. If you click on it, the page flips over and displays a full biography of the artist you're currently listening to.

• download new albums list: on the "about" page you can now push a button to download the latest list of albums available at Magnatune. In the past, the list updated automatically whenever you were hooked up to wifi. However, because some people were never on wifi, they never got the latest albums list. Now, if you click this button the albums list will update no matter what kind of network you're on.

We also have a native iPad version of our application submitted to Apple, and which should be available shortly.