Have you ever wanted to DJ a party, but lacked the skills to master the wheels of steel? Turntable, a streaming music service, lets you become a virtual Grandmaster Flash by spinning your favorite records (albeit without the scratching, cross-fading, and other DJ skills) in listening rooms filled with open-eared music fans who judge your taste. Turntable is an unusual streaming music service for sure, but it's also one that you should check out if you fancy a social music experience that's different from Editors' Choice award winners Songza (Free, 4 stars) and Spotify (Free, 4.5 stars).
Diggin' Through the Crates
Turntable features themed listening rooms (think "80s Rock"), which are locations in which other users create the soundtrack that provides the backdrop to your work day, commute, or chillax time. You can passively partake of the audio or become a DJ yourself, which is where the fun lies. After logging in with your Facebook or Twitter account (the only method by which you can sign up), you can either enter a previously created room or create your own (and set it as a public venue open to all, or a private, unlisted place).
Each listening room features a DJ area where up to five users play the disc jockey role. DJs and listeners are represented by cartoony South Park-like avatars. You can change the default avatar to one of a handful of others by visiting Settings, and unlock more by purchasing them with DJ points?more on that later. Unique, custom avatars are reserved for users who have verified accounts. Still, I wondered if Turntable is limiting its scope by potentially turning off listeners who don't dig the cartoon visuals.
Droppin' the Needle
If you want to DJ, there must be an open spot available in the turntable area (a yellow bubble that says "Play Music" appears over it), and you must have songs in your queue. You will move to the stage if you click the yellow bubble. The DJs each play a song in order from left to right, and when it's your turn to spin, the first song in your queue will play (there's a handy song search engine feature built into each room). If there isn't an open DJ spot in a room, you have to wait for one to one up. In rooms, the DJs spun a track or two and then left, opening up new DJ slots quickly. But one time, I waited over an hour to DJ. Needless to say, it was quite frustrating. Turntable needs a time limit for the length of time someone can spin.
Each avatar stands behind a DJ table bobbing his or her head while they spin a song on a "turntable," which in this case is their method of accessing the Turntable service. For example, if a user is interacting with Turntable on a PC, the avatar DJs on a laptop with a Windows logo on its lid?a nice personalized touch. You can see each DJ's username, DJ Points, number of fans, and the option to become a fan when you mouse over the avatar.
Turntable features clear audio that streamed smoothly over my wireless connection. You can adjust the music volume or outright mute the tunes when you mouse over the speakers that flank the turntable area. The service, like Songza, lacks lyrics and the ability to listen to full albums on demand. It also lacks true DJ features like scratching, mixing, and crossfading.
Between the speakers, on the front of the DJ table, is a marquee that displays the currently playing song's name, artist, and time. Mousing over that displayed music purchasing options. For example, clicking the iTunes icon while Aerosmith and RUN-DMC's "Walk This Way" opened that song's iTunes Music Store purchase page.
Unfortunately, if there aren't enough DJs in a room, you're only able to hear a short track preview. The people in attendance, however, hear the full track, which is lame. You can, however, invite others to become DJs to flesh out the ranks.
Head-bobbing avatars represent listeners who can vote on songs as they play. Too many "Lame" votes result in a skipped song. "Awesome" votes reward you with DJ points, which you can use for simple bragging rights or purchasing new avatars.
How Turntable Stacks Up
Turntable is easily the most social streaming music station available today?even more so than Songza, our Editors' Choice among free streaming music services. Turntable doesn't possess Songza's unique Music Concierge feature that serves up music based on time of day and mood, but its crowd-sourced music rooms are one to tune into from time to time?if the cartoon graphics don't irk.
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