Twitter #music for iPhone, iPod touch is now playing

Twitter launched its new music discovery app Twitter #music for iPhone today.

Twitter #music takes a step toward filling the void created when everyone migrated from MySpace, which was one of the most effective music discovery tools for me until it was largely vacated.

Twitter promises to “change the way people find music, based on Twitter,” per the social network’s blog, which I believe will be widely appreciated.

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While Facebook has integrated services like Spotify and Rdio into the News Feed, Twitter’s dedicated iPhone app creates a much more personal experience using the same services.

You can log in to Twitter #music choosing from your accounts already connected to iOS, which I find to be very convenient, or you can log in manually if you prefer.

Once your account is connected, Twitter #music presents you with accounts you already follow that it believes to be musicians. You can also view and listen to artists promoted by Twitter, up and coming artists, or artists suggested based on those you already follow.

Tapping on an artist plays a brief sample of their music provided by iTunes, and logging in with Spotify or Rdio will unlock the full song. If you like what you hear, tapping the iTunes button prompts the song’s product page right in the app, allowing you to purchase the song in what is a very fluid experience.

Sharing is also built into Twitter #music. If you like a song you hear, you can easily share the track on Twitter with #NowPlaying and a link to the song on iTunes. You can even add a comment with the Tweet if you prefer.

If you discover an artist within Twitter #music, you can follow the artist’s account directly in the app.

Twitter #music includes a search feature allowing you to build the catalog of artists you follow on Twitter. When you view an artist’s profile in Twitter #music, you can easily view other bands or groups that the artist follows.

Assuming the artist has a URL in their profile, you can even view their website right in the Twitter #music app.

While Twitter #music currently only supports iTunes Previews, Spotify, and Rdio, Twitter suggests on its blog that it may integrate more services in the future.

Personally, I’d love to connect the music collection from the native Music app into Twitter #music, and share my Now Playing song from it to Twitter. Currently, you can play a song from the native Music app, but Twitter #music will not recognize it. Assuming Twitter could pull this off, it would be a much more developed and useful version of Apple’s now defunct Ping.

Overall, Twitter #music demonstrates a great degree of polish and swiftness. Unlike Twitter’s other apps, Twitter #music isn’t shy about having a some design personality while still maintaining more than enough branding presence. For example, Twitter’s iconic hashtag is seen throughout the app. The app’s name on your Home screen simply reads “#music”.

Perhaps we will see some of its influence spill over to Twitter for iPhone someday, but maybe with fewer hashtags.

Twitter #music is available now for iPhone on the App Store.