Two months ago we launched a test version of Factory.fm, the third and flagship app in the Oscillator family. Factory.fm is similar to “Letterboxd” or “Goodreads” but for music — you can track your favorite records, rate or review albums and discover new music from your friends.
After several weeks in private alpha, we’re opening up to everyone with a full desktop version, fresh design and improved UI. It’s also the first step to Factory.fm becoming your “Forever Music Profile,” powered by our underlying tech called Oscillator.
We see Factory not as a replacement for streaming, but a welcome accessory to deepen our connection with music. “While streaming platforms dominate music listening, it doesn't have to dictate music discovery and discussion,” our co-founder and design lead Carl Fairclough wrote recently. “People should have a place to record their experiences with their music, to say, “I listened to this, I was here,” and share it with others. That's how scenes are built.”
We were inspired by Letterboxd which has been credited with “changing the way people watch movies,” and revealing an unmet demand for deeper connection to cinema. We believe there’s a similar desire for deeper, social music connection currently lost among the algorithm-driven consumption platforms.
Factory and its vision seemed to resonate with people. We invited ~500 people to the private alpha and we’ve seen more than 3,000 albums logged so far. A further 1,000 people have joined the waitlist.
We learned a lot during this testing phase. In particular, that “logging” an album triggers a positive emotional experience for people. Reflecting on the music you love and revisiting memories attached to a song feels cathartic and rewarding.
We decided to double down on this experience and heighten the feeling of journaling music. The new design lets you highlight your favorite songs on a record and have more granular control over the rating.
While Factory.fm is a valuable standalone app, it’s also part of a much bigger vision.
Factory.fm is the first step to a “Forever Music Profile” — a portable music identity that you can take with you across the internet.
Imagine a world where you log in to a ticketing site and get early access because your Factory profile proves you’re a top 10% fan. Or you visit a new music app and unlock rewards or personalization based on your existing music taste.
This “Forever Music Profile” is possible because your data on factory.fm will truly belong to you. It will not be controlled by us or locked in a closed database for us to sell to advertisers.
You will own it, have control over who can use it, and have the portability to take it with you to other apps in the future via an underlying shared tech called Oscillator.
This flips the entire model of the internet as it currently exists.
It’s a world where artists never have to rebuild their audience from zero again. They can simply port their fans and audience to a new platform. It’s a world where fans own their music identity and don’t have to rebuild a profile on every new platform.
We hope to foster an ecosystem of music apps on top of Oscillator that can build new and compelling experiences — all while compensating you for your data.
Factory is built by the team building Oscillator — the underlying tech that makes a “Forever Music Profile” possible — a shared, open protocol, owned by everyone and controlled by no single actor.
Oscillator is still under development. In the meantime, the best way to realize this future is to start where the music community already exists, through behaviour that music fans are already familiar with.
With that in mind, if you haven’t tried Factory yet, go and log your favorite album or two and let us know what you think!
Oscillator, Inc.
