Parallel Tracks (PT), an online music sharing and listening platform, launched in April and marks another noteworthy startup from the
Startup Shell incubator at the University of Maryland (UMD). The platform was created by Daniel Noskin and is already benefitting from a partnership with
Grooveshark.
Unlike other music sharing and streaming sites that rely on users to create and share playlists, music enthusiasts who sign up for Parallel Tracks can listen live into other PT users' playlists in "parallel" — in real-time. For example, if
RG III was a PT user, anyone with an Internet connection could essentially get inside his head on game day and listen to the music he's listening to as he preps for his next battle on the gridiron.
Once users sign up on PT, they can also listen to a host of radio stations. They can also search for specific songs or artists or friends that they might want to "track." Noskin envisions PT as a fully fledged social media landing site, with handles akin to Twitter handles. The company has set up a verification system like Twitter, and, in addition to the "celebrities and cool people" that he hopes to attract, Noskin sees a business buy-in as well.
"Brands could use Parallel Tracks," Noskin says. "Target has a voice on Pinterest and Twitter. Why not music too?"
Noskin says he will use his time away from an internship this summer to work on PT 2.0 and get it ready to launch in the fall. Whereas the company's marketing scheme so far has been word of mouth, with its second iteration, PT will go after "people who love music and want to share it and people who are almost egocentric—who think they know the best music" and want to cultivate a following.