This dating app lets you send strangers songs
How many enduring romantic pop culture moments are related to songs and music? The boombox outside the window; Margot Tenenbaum getting off the bus in slo-mo; a bus of rock stars and fans belting along to “Tiny Dancer” — it’s a wonder that no dating app had thought to marry music and soulmate-searching together. But now Happn, the French, location-based app, has upped the ante, and allows users to send each other full-length songs off Spotify.
In an announcement on Thursday, Happn unveiled the new feature, which also allows users to post songs on their profile. So instead of listing off your favorite artists (let’s say, Beyoncé, Rihanna, and Charli XCX; don’t forget, T-Swift is still off Spotify), you can peacock via curation, or even build a mini-playlist.
That’s something new for the dating market, which largely capitalizes on image-based social networks (ex. Tinder and Instagram) to fill out user profiles. And, the Spotify integration is a boon for the app, which is under pressure against up-and-coming music streaming competitors Tidal and Apple Music. (Non-Spotify users can only post or send 30-second snippets of songs.)
Now, we have yet another criteria measure to consider when meeting people: How did they respond when I sent them “Nothing Was The Same”? “Happy”? “Body Party”? Music choice isn’t going to make or break a connection, but it can certainly strengthen or weaken one.
Happn founder and CEO Didier Rappaport said after the Spotify announcement, in an interview with The Verge, “Music, since maybe the beginning of the world, has been an extraordinary way of expressing emotion. And meeting people can also be an extraordinary emotion.” He’s right on both counts — and now, we have a dating app that explicitly joins both things together.
Read more Notes from the Online Dating Trenches.
(Image via Shutterstock.)
