We’ve all had that feeling when you discover a new favorite artist, but it’s rare that the artist lives just a couple blocks away from you. Nowadays, tuning into the local radio or shuffling through Spotify can get you a lot of music, but only through its popularity; Columbus-based mobile app Cannon.fm was developed to instead bring you music by location.
Thousands of artists are producing amazing music in your own neighborhood, yet it may take years before they boost up their audience to be recognized on the radio or major websites. Cannon.fm officially launched on June 22 by founders Mat Marcum and Ryan Cox to first help draw attention to the local music scene in Columbus, Cincinnati and Cleveland. Since then, the app has expanded to Washington, DC and is expected to reach dozens more cities in the U.S. by early 2013.
[soundcloud]https://soundcloud.com/nordiq/lush-140[/soundcloud]
“Lush 140” by Nordiq based in Columbus, Ohio.
Cannon.fm is free and doesn’t require a login for listeners. Within seconds, it asks for your location and begins filtering its 2,000+ song library to bring you artists near your area. User’s are then able to browse the music through stations which include “Scene Preview†that shuffles through music from the specified region or you can browse by genre within Columbus’ station to get an idea of how the app is planning to organize local music for each city in the U.S.
Additionally, Cannon.fm allows you to not only discover and listen to artists, but learn about them as well. A biography profile, lyrics, photos, and show listings are available for each artist. If you find a song you like, you can use the app to share with your friends on Facebook or Twitter, and even give a “sign of the horns†which behaves similar to Facebook’s Like button.
[soundcloud]https://soundcloud.com/danceforthedying/ordinary-objects[/soundcloud]
“Ordinary Objects” by Dance for the Dying based in Washington D.C.
The music available on Cannon.fm is entirely sourced by the artists themselves free of charge. Once uploaded to Cannon.fm’s website, artists can manage information on their profile and even follow analytics for their content to see who’s listening to their work.
Cannon.fm is currently only an iOS app but is expected to reach Droid users by March 2013. The app is planning to additionally provide its local music feed onto your desktop as a music player and to give listeners the ability to create playlists, follow their favorite musicians, as well as purchase music, merchandise, and upcoming concert tickets. Founder’s Mat and Ryan say they’re hoping the app can soon accomodate the work of other types of local artists such as comedians, talk radio hosts, and poets.
“Welcome To My City” by So-Well based in Columbus, Ohio
Download and learn more about Cannon.fm by visiting their website, Facebook or Twitter.