Soundwave’s latest update hits right note

After a year of users "screaming" for an instant messaging function to aid their musical discoveries, the founders of Irish-based music app, Soundwave have given the people what they want.

The company, heralded as the “Instagram of music” yesterday unveiled the most significant update to the app since its launch in June 2013, allowing users to chat, share and create playlists with each other.

Soundwave CEO, Brendan O’Driscoll, said that the app’s ability to keep track of what people are listening to sets it apart from the crowd.

“We’re the only one that allows users to log what they’re listening to. The great thing is that it doesn’t matter if I’m using Spotify and you’re listening on YouTube; it’s universal, I don’t need to worry about whether we’re using the same music player.

“We built a very simple product with a very simple network and on top of that we’ve now built an instant music messaging feature. Users have been screaming for a feature like this,” said Mr O’Driscoll.

The app, which counts English actor Stephen Fry and owner of NBA franchise Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban among its fans, allows users to see what friends or even complete strangers are listening to on their smartphone.

Users can then follow friends, musicians or celebrities to keep track of their listening habits while the app logs their own song choices from any of the streaming apps on their phone.

The company, founded by Cork natives Brendan O’Driscoll and Aidan Sliney; and Dublin-born Craig Watson, has witnessed huge growth in just over a year with a million users in 190 countries now using the app.

The founders are now eyeing the US for expansion and are set to extend their 10-man Dublin workforce in the coming months.