HARMAN has launched Drops, a music discovery platform where listeners explore songs through clips lasting 10 to 30 seconds, shared by friends and music tastemakers. Drops is available in the U.S. on iOS and Android, and HARMAN says it connects those short discoveries with full songs through a streaming provider. The company positions the platform as a companion to listeners’ existing streaming services.
Each shared clip, called a Drop, combines a passage of music with a personal caption and accompanying material such as lyrics or album art. Licensed images of artists also form part of the experience, pairing the audio excerpt with visual information about the music. HARMAN says the selected passage can draw attention to a lyric, hook or beat, while the caption lets the person sharing it explain their choice.
Listeners can browse recommendations from friends alongside those from tastemakers, with personal taste guiding the stream of shared clips. HARMAN says this approach is intended to help users encounter emerging artists as well as find songs that appeal to them. Clare Hunter, General Manager, Drops, HARMAN, describes trusted personal recommendations as central to the company’s approach to music discovery.
For songs listeners want to return to, Drops offers collections that hold clips found through the platform. Users can save a discovery into one of those collections, building a personal library of excerpts to revisit and explore later.
Music businesses supporting Drops include UnitedMasters and Universal Music Group, alongside other labels and distributors. The broader group also includes music publishers, PROs and providers of music data, with MusicBrainz and LyricFind among the named participants.
Andrew Migdail, VP, Distribution & Sync Operations, UnitedMasters, says the partnership gives its community of independent artists another discovery opportunity. Jorge Brea, Founder and CEO of Symphonic Distribution, says personal recommendations can help emerging artists reach listeners through their music.
