Blip.fm, The “Twitter for Music”, Gets Its Own API

by Mark Hendrickson

When Fuzz launched a microblogging service for music aficionados called Blip.fm last May, no one in the company expected it to rise above the status of an experiment. But before long, Blip.fm’s traffic began to eclipse that of Fuzz’s main site, which provides an altogether different service for bands that want to cultivate their fan base.

Fuzz’s attention has now turned primarily to Blip.fm as a result of its popularity, although it will continue to maintain its other service as well. Since May, its developers have added several distinguishing features, such as badges for members who accumulate a horde of followers. The idea behind these badges is to recognize the most popular DJs and identify them for new members. In the same vein, members can also give each other “props” points whenever they like the songs that others have shared.

And now, like any serious microblogging tool, Fuzz is releasing an API that lets developers integrate most of Blip.fm’s on-site functionality into their own web apps. The API can be used, among other things, to create playlists, post blips, see favorite DJs, and retrieve member information. It comes with three libraries for ActionScript, JavaScript and PHP, with Java on the way.

If you’d like to gain access to the API (still in private beta), email api@blip.fm and make sure to tell them we sent you and give a brief description of what you intend to use it for. Fuzz will let about 30 developers into the beta and perhaps more if demand is unexpectedly high.

Original here