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Instagram is launching a dedicated music account

Instagram is launching a dedicated music account

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With the average user and outlets like MTV already sharing tons of music-focused content online, Instagram is launching a music-focused stream of its own. Simply called @music, the account will share photos, lyrics, and videos exploring music around the world and the artists that make it.

The account launched this morning with an announcement post from CEO Kevin Systrom, in which he states that @music will show a "different side" to the up-and-coming and popular artists Instagram's more than 300,000 users care about. The account will update six times per week, and updates will focus on talented unsigned acts, how an artist goes about writing a song, or the people that make consuming music powerful. "It means highlighting music photographers, album illustrators, instrument makers and, of course, fans," Systrom writes.

The first feature focuses on Roots drummer Questlove, in which he talks about how he works a room:

When it comes to music, Roots drummer and "Tonight Show" bandleader Questlove (@questlove) is all about the highs and lows. Take DJing, for instance. Give the crowd too many hits and you’ll numb them into the ground; too many non-jams and you’ll drive them off the dance floor. "When I first started, I was just desperate," he says about the lack of pacing in his shows. "I was like, this is a hit, this is a hit, this is a hit. And you get addicted to the adrenaline rush of, ‘OH MY GOD THIS IS MY SONG.’ You kill them so much. I realized that now I am more obsessed with the opposite. I will put a bad song on and actually watch them filter out the floor. And I will wait two minutes [then play] ‘Uptown Funk’ –– ‘OH MY GOD IT’S MY SONG’ –– and then the scream is bigger than before. –Instagram @music Photo by @questlove

A photo posted by Instagram @music (@music) on

This isn't the first time a social platform has made a concerted effort at making content about music. Twitter famously launched Twitter #Music in 2013. The service allowed users to search for music their friends were listening to, and featured Spotify, Rdio, and iTunes integration. However, the service never took off, and was officially dead a year later. Instagram's ambitions for @music seem to be focused more on storytelling than streaming, however, so there's a good chance the new account will stick around for awhile.