Turntable.fm is back from the dead – and there are now two

It’s rare for programs to come back from the dead, but it seems to be happening with Turntable.fm, a website that lets you create their own radio stations and DJ sets with music you compose before closing in 2014. Even rarer, there seem to be two versions involved in the revival: the original Turntable.fm site is up and running again (with the involvement of the original founder, Billy Chasen), but there is also Turntable.org, which is reportedly starting in beta in April.

It looks like the two sites are following different directions – Turntable.org, the new version, mentions that there will be a subscription fee (maybe not a bad idea, given the fate of the first version), while it looks like the original largely unchanged. of the one that was discontinued in 2014. Although the original founder has confirmed that he is involved with the .fm version, the .org version is also OGs working on it: the Our Team section mentions an original founding member of the turntable, as well as the artist performing the original avatars designed in 2011.

Schedule version

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  Turnover.fm 2020
  
  

  Screenshot: The Verge
  

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  Turntable.fm in 2013.
  
  

  Image: JustAnotherDesigner on YouTube
  

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  A screenshot on Turntable.org
  
  

  Image: Turntable.org
  

With the original app and the current turntable.fm you can create a virtual room and then choose what music you want to play for everyone listening. At the moment, the song selection seems to be limited to what’s available on YouTube, so you’ll probably not be able to move your mixtape. Looks like there’s a Soundcloud integration that’s not working yet.

It also looks like the whole site is phasing in and out, perhaps due to the fact that it’s coming back:

Suppose you can come in, the audience can talk about your wonderful (or awful) songs. You can also play DJ with co-workers if you want to take out a friend or co-worker. Although the app looks very much the same as before, there are 2021 updates: my avatar is wearing a mask, and there are GameStop stickers available for DJ’s virtual laptops.

Screenshot: The Verge

Turntable.fm was discontinued in 2013, after a protracted battle for survival that we watched closely, hoping the app would catch up. It seems like every news item since then has pointed out that it will never come back, but today the site reappears and asks for a password to access. To access the password, the website requests that you send an email with your favorite song (it reads that it will allow you if it’s a good song, so there’s my chance).

The original site was much loved, including ours here at The Verge, and it’s a welcome surprise to look back on it. The world, especially the music industry, has changed a lot since 2013, and it remains to be seen what, if any, lessons Turntable.fm and Turntable.org will take from the first time, and some of the other substitutes that have appeared since his death . The About page of Turntable.fm still boasts that it’s music chosen by people, not algorithms, which might just be the new / old thing I needed today.