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Music site TheSixtyOne overhauls design, now even cooler!
We've covered TheSixtyOne before, and the site has long been one of my favorite ways to discover new music online. It's chock-full of musical goodness -- including lots of Creative-Commons licensed music that can be freely downloaded. It turns music discovery into a social game and lets you "heart" songs (you only get so many hearts to give out each day, depending on your level). If others then "heart" those same songs, it means you've helped them discover good music, and you get more "reputation" points (which in turn allow you to level up and "heart" even more songs, and so on).
The songs most liked float to the top, so it's a neat little ecosystem letting unknown artists become well-known on their own merit. This is where I first discovered the fantastic Ingrid Michaelson, for example.
This morning they published something in their posterous about a "re-design," touting it as a "jump to HyperSpace." Yeah, right, I thought to myself.
Expecting at least some hyperbole, I went to check it out for myself. I have to say -- no hyperbole here! Well, I didn't actually go to HyperSpace, but this is one slick redesign, folks. To compare and contrast, you can still check out the old interface.
The new SixtyOne interface is super-streamlined. Just look at that screenshot!
That's all you see. No banner ads, no clutter, nothing but the essentials.
As before, music continues completely uninterrupted, no matter where you are in the site -- there's no skipping when you search or navigate between pages. The layout is ideal for a floating player-sized browser window on your desktop -- it doesn't have to be maximized to work.
All in all, TheSixtyOne crew just took something good and made it much, much better.
[EDIT: Wow, people really seem to dislike the new design! While I personally love the new design, TheSixtyOne's Facebook page is indeed chock full of fans raging about how awful it is. Time will tell what the developers will do with all that feedback (if anything).]
Comments
37
Subscribe to commentslabdiscoJan 22nd 2010 12:58PM
Basically, QuixoticNeurotic nails it. Your opinion, being an opinion, is no less legitimate, but you're praising a site redesign that destroys my ability to talk to people, or navigate the music as I see fit, or any of the myriad of reasons why I chose to use t61 near daily instead of Last.fm.
I mean, from what I can tell, Last.fm has been in hyperspace for years, if all it takes for hyperspace is no functionality and a giant picture.
jer56wiJan 22nd 2010 1:43PM
I started using the old T61 in late October and I was at level 12. I had just started taking advantage of the community aspects about a six weeks ago and I was having a blast sharing links and getting leads to new artist, listening to "radios" and posting messages back and forth. Now most of that is gone. Also, the ability to browse through an artist's or listener's catalog in a list is gone. The ability to browse recently submitted (except randomly through the open mic) is gone. You also can't navigate the site at all while just letting the music you're listening to play... the song changes at each new location. So, ezuk, for a casual listener, you get some new eye candy. For someone who was actively using the system to seek out new stuff and evolve relationships, you lose out big time.
jer56wiJan 22nd 2010 2:12PM
Erez,
Why don't you do an article into the backlash against the redesign? I think you'd be surprised at what you'd find. And the article would certainly be different from the me-too journalism you compete with. You might discover something about the culture behind web site users and the social phenomenon behind it. It would require some real research, but this would be a chance to do something more valuable and more challenging than the typical blog-o-sphere fare. I'm thinking Pulitzer, baby!!!
Seriously, think about it. This is more than just "haters" that don't like a Facebook change.
rafaelbrandaoJan 22nd 2010 8:11PM
I'm quite impressed you say you've been there for a couple of years. Congratulations, so you've never felt the pleasure to really meet people that may share the same musical taste, or never left a comment on an artist page just to tell him you really like his music and felt happy when he thanked you for the comment, you've been around when your favorite artist was about to post a new song and you wanted to be the first to listen it so you could discover it, etc, etc. Yea, I mean, the new design is fantastic!
Try to resize the screen. Try to use on Internet Explorer. Try now to meet some people there while you listen to music. Try to listen someone else radio. Try to really enjoy your musical adventure - as T61 was supposed to be.
Try to really use it and then let us know what you think.
C.G.Jan 22nd 2010 9:00PM
Your credibility was lost at "Try to use on Internet Explorer."
C.G.Jan 22nd 2010 9:02PM
Argh. Scratch that. I had to read your post twice. Sorry about that.
JasonJan 22nd 2010 8:44PM
I'm currently using a spreadsheet and jotting down all the songs I've "saved" via the old interface. I'm not planning on using thesixtyone any more because the new interface offers something completely different.
If they promise to keep the old interface up with community options and comments and radio listens... I'll probably come back.
In other words, NOT A FAN of the new site.
Clark DaviesJan 23rd 2010 5:40AM
There's every reason to hate the new design. I won't name them all as I'm sure everyone else has explained thoroughly the new features they dislike and the old awesome features which t61 tossed out.
I will say that t61 is going in the wrong direction. If they keep going in it, they will lose way more than they gain out of this, if not everything. If the people who did the redesign have any sense at all, they will listen to their users, change it back quickly, apologize for the inconvenience, and get back on the track they were at before. I have a feeling this may happen because of the passionate users they created in the first place, but my optimism is dwindling with everyday that passes where I see a gigantic background image of Metric (btw t61, you ruined Metric for me, i hate you for that).
LalaruJan 23rd 2010 4:18PM
Ah, I am so sad... I can't click through songs to get to my favorite parts anymore. And why does the song change everytime I go to a new page? Why can't I view what songs are coming up next? It's just horrible!!! Why did t61 do this?! It doesn't make sense, it's awful and I am really upset. This was my #1 music site and now I don't know where else to go. :(
JohnJan 28th 2010 6:02PM
A lot of the t61 refugees have headed over to uvumi.com. It's not quite the same, but it has some very similar features. At the very least, it's usable. The main difference is probably the hearts system, but I'm liking the site so far.
MarshallJan 23rd 2010 9:48PM
One thing is for sure, T61 has certainly taken a giant leap. Whether that leap is forward or backward, or sideways, is not entirely clear, because it is such a dramatic change from the original design that, really, it's an entirely new website now. Personally, I don't like it in terms of usability, but I do think it is quite impressive from a graphic design standpoint. So minimal, so cutting-edge. But is that good? Is it good for fans? Is it good for the music community?
Full discolsure: I run http://uvumi.com which is the only music website (other than T61) with a truly seamless music player that allows browsing around the site without any interruptions in the audio stream, and without the use of a popup window. Uvumi is different from thesixtyone because it is focused more on providing artists with a free and valuable promotional platform (including free PDF electronic press kits), and less on being a social game to discover new music (Uvumi.com is not a game, but it does have social features). There is a lot of independent music on Uvumi, but I absolutely recognize that we don't offer as captivating a discovery experience for fans as thesixtyone. At least compared to the old T61 site.
That said, Erez and commentors, I would love to hear your opinion of the Uvumi.com project, and I invite you all to have a look at our modest project which was built from scratch by a team that is absolutely dedicated to the music community and to the artists who work so hard to make it in today's music marketplace.
As for thesixtyone, I remain inspired and impressed by what they have done, even if I don't like the new interface. It certainly is visually pleasing! But it also is not nearly as easy to find music as it once was.
JohnJan 28th 2010 6:05PM
I'm really liking Uvumi so far from an artist's point of view. It's not quite the same as t61, but I think it's a great site nonetheless.
amoJan 25th 2010 10:31AM
I just wanted to point to the author that the article contains a mistake at least: unlike the "old" 61, the new website does not allow to navigate without the music to stop. Go to "channels", you end up on your group's page, the first song starts playing, go to "for you", the first song plays. Go to "hot", the first song plays, and so on.. Always. Go from one another, and you can play ping-pong with always the same song playing.
The second thing I'd like to mention, both as an artist and a listener, is that the communication means of the old site, AND the way an artist could see who likes him/her made the site attractive to many. Listeners radio are also something that made me meet like-taste-minded (sorry I'm french) people. Lovely.
I'm not against this change, which is major, but the feeling I get from it is to be trapped, alone, inside an iPod. I don't own any ;)
JohnJan 28th 2010 5:58PM
1) Removed comments from artist pages.
2) No longer shows comment count on individual songs without playing them.
3) SEVERAL places on the site require you to start playing a different song.
4) Social aspect is gone.
5) Rep and other notifications show up in the center, directly blocking the quest box.
6) Removing "recently submitted" means that most new tracks don't get heard.
I have no desire to head back to that site (and I've been giving it a go every day since the change). It's even more difficult to use from an artist's perspective. You more or less have to find a song on your own, instead of being presented with songs you might like. New songs have to have support from outside the site before anyone bothers to hear them.
b.kursonisFeb 5th 2010 1:33PM
I just found the site yesterday... I love it! It totally drew me in. There was a bit of a learning curve, but it was more like 'discovery'. Nobody likes change when it interrupts the way they use things. So I understand the complaints... but I like it.
SatchFeb 13th 2010 4:27AM
The new site is badly broken - causes browser crashes, many functions do not work - and the site owners are unresponsive to the degree of recalcitrence! It's a mess and your original article is badly informed and jumped the gun, you should retract it NOW in order to save face!
longvMar 22nd 2010 1:38PM
I think what everyone is trying to say Erez Zukerman is that you are a tool. I've been using The 61 for a good long while...I've built relationships with my listeners...hell a fan base...it was incredible haven't seen that since the golden age of MP3.com IUMA and Myspace (back in mid 2000)
The creators either have too much pride (apparent from their mocking blogpost...worst PR move in webhistory) or will eventually change it.
So don't come tell us what fn level you are.
Matt Romero from The Living Modern formerly Us Versus Them