Turntable.fm is back from the dead – and now there are two

It is rare for apps to come back from the dead, but it looks like it could be what’s happening with Turntable.fm, a website that allows you to create your own radio stations and DJs with your curated music before they close in 2014. Even rarer, it seems that there are two versions involved in the revival: the original Turntable.fm website is back up and running (with the involvement of its original founder, Billy Chasen), but then there’s Turntable.org, which is supposed to be released in beta in April.

The two sites seem to be taking different directions – Turntable.org, the new version, mentions that there will be a subscription fee (perhaps not a bad idea, given the fate of the first version), while the original seems to be largely unchanged from the one that closed in 2014. Although the original founder confirmed that he is involved with the .fm version, the .org version also has OGs working on it: the Our team section mentions an original founding member of Turntable, as well as the artist who designed the original avatars in 2011.

The original application, and the current Turntable.fm, allows you to create a virtual room and then select the song you want to play for those who want to listen. At the moment, the song selection appears to be limited to what is available on YouTube, so you probably won’t be able to sneak into your mixtape. There seems to be an integration with Soundcloud that is still not working.

In addition, the entire site appears to be going in and out of existence, perhaps due to news of his return spreading:

Assuming you make it in, the audience can chat about your great (or terrible) music selections. You can also be a co-DJ with collaborators, if you want to chat with a friend or co-worker. Although the app looks the same as before, there are about 2021 updates: my avatar is wearing a mask and GameStop stickers are available for virtual DJ laptops.

Screenshot: The Verge

Turntable.fm closed in 2013, after a long struggle for survival that we observed closely, hoping that the app would work. All the news since then seemed to indicate that he would never return, but today the site has appeared again – asking for a password to gain access. To have access to the password, the site asks you to send an email with your favorite song (says it will let you in if it is a good song, so here are my chances).

The original site was loved by many, including us here at The Verge, and it is a welcome surprise to see it back. The world, especially the music industry, has changed a lot since 2013, and it remains to be seen what, if any, the lessons that Turntable.fm and Turntable.org learned from the first time and other substitutions that have emerged since their disappearance. The About page of Turntable.fm still boasts that it is music selected by people, not algorithms, which may just be the new / old things I needed today.