This isn't the first time we've come across this idea, and it probably won't be the last. Just as Popcorn Time and all its derivatives revolutionized online movie consumption, many believe that a similar technology can be applied to audio. That's where TorrentTunes comes in, a brand-new portal with a growing catalog and more potential than it seems.
The trouble with buying music online
Do you have any idea how complicated buying music online can be? In the United States and Europe you don't need to jump through many hoops, but the rest of the planet will run into demons along the way: geographical blocks, terrible virtual wallets, and a lack of compatible payment methods. Faced with so many difficulties, Valve's words come to mind once again: The pirate is nothing more than an underserved customer. Many users end up on file-sharing networks, while others have joined the ranks of services like Spotify and YouTube, which, it should be said, are constantly questioned and attacked. If we study the world of movies, Netflix sits at the top of the list, but close behind we find Popcorn Time and its variants. Could Popcorn Time's success be repeated in music?
TorrentTunes will try to answer that question. The service still has several sharp edges, and the speed at the start of playback leaves a lot to be desired, but its theory looks quite solid: a wide list of artists, each with their available albums identified, the complete set of songs, and the possibility of putting together playlists to our taste. TorrentTunes also offers shortcuts to the artist's official page, their Wikipedia entry, their YouTube channel, and the dedicated section on IMDb, among other things.
TorrentTunes' performance depends on the number of seeders, indicated by a small colored circle next to each song. A green circle tells us there are at least three seeders, while an orange circle is used to report one or two seeders. Those users who don't want to use TorrentTunes in the browser should know that its makers offer a Java-based client compatible with Windows, OS X, and those flavors of Linux based on Debian. TorrentTunes has quite a bit of work ahead, but it's worth keeping on the radar.
