Home Blip.fm Dominates Social Music Mindshare While Users Bash Apple’s Ping

Blip.fm Dominates Social Music Mindshare While Users Bash Apple’s Ping

A new study of online discussion around social music sites shows Apple’s Ping is the least-talked about among Spotify, Rdio, Blip.fm and Pandora. Of the relatively little being said about Ping, 43% is negative, 3% is mixed and 54% is positive, according to the study by Infegy, which analyzes “chatter” from millions of sites on the Web.

Infegy looked at a 10,000 post sample from the past 30 days to determine how the top music sites stacked up against each other.

A topic cloud of words from posts about Apple’s Ping.

Ping has been criticized as a half-baked social network where the real goal is to sell more songs on iTunes. An agreement with Facebook that would have made it more social fell through before the release. The service was quickly overrun with spam. All in all, it has not caught on with the fire of some of Apple’s other products, and people simply are not talking about it. “With the exception of a huge spike on the day of its release, Ping chatter has been surprisingly low,” Infegy said.

Graph of the amount of talk around social music sites.

So who do users like? The streaming site Rdio registered a distant last in terms of conversation generated, but 87% of the conversation it generated was positive despite the fact that it just launched last month and costs $4.99 per month. Rdio was founded by creators of Skype and the file-sharing service KaZaA, is integrated with Facebook, Twitter, Last.fm and iTunes.

Blip.fm, the streaming service that revolves around user-created playlists, was the most talked-about service, and 80% of the conversation was positive. Pandora, the streaming music recommendation engine, generated the second-most buzz, 81% of which was positive.

The real winner may be the free streaming service Spotify, which is integrated with Facebook and generates about as much conversation as Ping even though it is not available yet in the U.S. Spotify is available in seven European countries, but its launch in the U.S. has been delayed by legal negotiations. Spotify has faced negotiation delays but is aiming to launch in the U.S. in 2011. Conversation about Spotify was 82% positive, 14% negative and 3% mixed.

Do you use Ping or Blip.fm? Which social music sites do you prefer?

About ReadWrite’s Editorial Process

The ReadWrite Editorial policy involves closely monitoring the tech industry for major developments, new product launches, AI breakthroughs, video game releases and other newsworthy events. Editors assign relevant stories to staff writers or freelance contributors with expertise in each particular topic area. Before publication, articles go through a rigorous round of editing for accuracy, clarity, and to ensure adherence to ReadWrite's style guidelines.

Get the biggest tech headlines of the day delivered to your inbox

    By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. Unsubscribe anytime.

    Tech News

    Explore the latest in tech with our Tech News. We cut through the noise for concise, relevant updates, keeping you informed about the rapidly evolving tech landscape with curated content that separates signal from noise.

    In-Depth Tech Stories

    Explore tech impact in In-Depth Stories. Narrative data journalism offers comprehensive analyses, revealing stories behind data. Understand industry trends for a deeper perspective on tech's intricate relationships with society.

    Expert Reviews

    Empower decisions with Expert Reviews, merging industry expertise and insightful analysis. Delve into tech intricacies, get the best deals, and stay ahead with our trustworthy guide to navigating the ever-changing tech market.