Late last week, we first wrote about SoundTracking, a new iPhone application from Schematic Labs that allows you to easily share not only the music you’re listening to, but the music you’re listening to in the context that you’re listening to it in. Yesterday at the SXSW conference in Austin, Texas, I got a chance to sit down with co-founder Steve Jang for his thoughts on the app and the space.
Jang talks about the rise of the “mobile-first” experience, noting that phones are good enough now to match the websites that have been built for years now. And in many ways, the experience is better because mobile is so personal. Jang talks about his inspiration for SoundTracking when he was traveling around Europe and wanting to share the music he was listening to on the go, but in a way beyond text.
He also talks a bit about the competitive landscape out there right now. With the mobile photo-sharing apps like Instagram, PicPlz, and Path all getting a lot of buzz, everyone is seeking to find the next genre that will hit. Schematic Labs aren’t the only ones betting on music experiences, AOL is as well with Play. Jang thinks that’s great, because it’s a space that probably should have existed earlier and competition will drive it forward.
Jang also talks a bit about the existing players out there like Shazam and SoundHound and his love for them. At the same time, they weren’t built “from the ground up” to be social. This is something Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is also fond of talking about — that social isn’t something you can just tack on.
Watch the full interview above. And find SoundTracking in the App Store here.