Author: Anthony

This past Friday, December 2, 2016, we enabled ads in our Android app.

We released Hype Machine for Android in October 2014 as a $3.99 premium app. The revenue from these sales allowed us to publish many updates, including a full rewrite, maintaining the app as the Android platform underwent rapid changes.

Unfortunately, we were not able to generate enough sales to support our small team and continue development. Unlike many other online services, we don’t have outside funding. Hype Machine is a straightforward business – we get revenue from advertising and invest it into making products for music listeners.

We understand that it’s frustrating to have paid for the app and now see ads on your screen. Though the app became free in April, we’ve waited until December to introduce ads as a small sign of our appreciation of your earlier support. Whether you bought the app years ago or months ago, we hope that the music it’s brought into your life has been worth it.

In the coming months, we’ll be working to make sure the app continues to help you discover new music while keeping the ads as unobtrusive as possible.

I wish we could provide an ad-free experience, but we simply would not be able to continue maintaining the app without this revenue.

UPDATE 12/14/16

We considered many options before introducing ads in our apps, and there are many reasons why subscription/donation/IAP offers were not workable for us at the time (for example, supporting two product experiences is tough for a team of three people).

Given the strong show of support for an ad-free solution since the announcement, we are looking into ways people could remove ads in the apps. If you are interested, sign up here.

UPDATE 03/23/17

Ads in our mobile apps have been temporarily disabled.

You love your favorites—you’ve spent hours here sifting through new music, and these are your gems. We know you prize them, and want to keep them with you wherever you go.

Beginning today, you can sync them to a private playlist on SoundCloud!

We’ve been working with SoundCloud for many years to help you discover new music, and this partnership makes the connection even easier. Link your accounts to get started.

On June 13, 2016, Hype Machine on Sonos will only be available to SoundCloud Go premium subscribers in the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Australia and New Zealand.

To keep using Hype Machine on your Sonos device, there are three steps:

1. Sign up for SoundCloud Go.
2. Connect your Hype Machine account to your SoundCloud account. After you link the accounts, your Go status will be visible on this page.
3. Make sure to use this Hype Machine account in your Sonos controller.

Much of the music shared by bloggers that you’ve been able to discover on Hype Machine is hosted on SoundCloud. We’ve been SoundCloud supporters from the very beginning (2008? it has been quite a while), and as their service changes, we are excited to continue to play a role in its growth. Each new Go subscriber enables SoundCloud to better support artists who share music on their service.

Get in touch if you have questions.

UPDATE 6/13/2016: As mentioned above, these availability changes are now live.

UPDATE 9/14/2016: SoundCloud Go is now available in Australia and New Zealand, so you can link accounts and use Hype Machine on Sonos there.

UPDATE 10/19/2016: SoundCloud Go is now available in Canada.

Mazda + Hype Machine’s Hype Hotel is coming back to Austin for our 5th year of bringing the most interesting new music offline.

Day and night shows have been curated by DIY, Stadiums & Shrines, yvynyl, Pigeons & Planes, Tiny Mix Tapes, ISO50, Gorilla Vs. Bear, Disco Naïveté, Blah Blah Blah Science, Cruel Rhythm, and Crack in the Road, along with the Hype Machine team.

Thanks to Mazda for making this year possible. Additional thanks to Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Bud Light, Flip Flop Wines, and Don Julio for providing refreshments, and NightOut for powering our RSVP.

Hype Machine’s Hype Hotel:  1100 E 5th St, March 15-19

RSVP is now open for free General Admission to Day shows. A limited number of GA wristbands will be admitted to Night shows. SXSW badges/wristbands have priority for all shows.

Get the free Hype Hotel app for Android and iPhone to plan your schedule.

Media can apply here for press access.

All shows are 21+

We’ve been fans of Snapchat forever (I think since early 2013?). We love the room for play that the platform creates, and have been thinking about how to apply the same playful approach to music.

It’s a big question, but for now we’ve made an account: ‘hypem‘, and this weekend, Dave will share a few moments from the amazing FORM Acrosanti festival. Add us by name, or take a snap photo of the image above.

More experiments ahead.