Shuffler gives users a new way to enjoy music on the internet. The site lets the user literally channel surf through music blogs to find material they like. Shuffler calls it “internet radio made by music blogs.” Just about every genre under the sun is covered, from house and electro to Indie pop, experimental, and a category for music with under 2,000 listeners. Most of the challenges seem to be geared towards underground music and lesser known artists. Although certain genres, such as rap and pop are present, there is a serious lack of many other extremely popular genres, such as rock, classic rock, country, and classical.

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Shuffler came to be under Tone FM. Tone FM is an interactive entertainment and media agency that works hard to create unique products for the internet and mobile devices. Most clients are in the music and entertainment industries and come to Tone FM for brand identity, web development, interactive marketing campaigns and consultation services. Shuffler was created to help expand exposure to certain genres of music while giving listeners a chance to experience new sounds.

Shuffler is designed to help users discover new music in various genres. The user can narrow down choice by genre then see what they find based on that criteria. Shuffler isn’t an internet radio station. It is a new way for users to go channel surfing for music they can really get into. By giving users a way to check out underground music and other similar genres, Shuffler presents a unique listening experience.

The Shuffler website puts the focus on images and figures associated with each genre it covers. The site itself is rather sparse, with a lot of white space which lends itself well to the overall organization. Vibrant, stylish images in equally sized blocks add interest to the otherwise bland homepage. Each image represents the genre well, and really spices up the way a new visitor views the site as a whole. Navigation is simple, just click on a box and start listening.

Shuffler seems to be focused on presenting a very simple, streamlined interface for the user. Any visitor can stop by the site, click on a genre and start listening. It is as easy as a single click. Users do not have to create an account or provide any personal details to enjoy music on Shuffler. The site does offer an option that allows users that have their own music blog to include it in the collection. This isn’t really an actual registration. Clicking the blue “Add your music blog” link at the bottom right hand corner of the page opens up the user’s email to send Shuffler a message to check out a specific music blog.

Shuffler is offering a similar service, but doing so with the ease of the user in mind. There are many other places an individual can go to listen to music on the internet. That being said, Shuffler offers its channels up at no cost to the user. Anyone can stop by the site and begin listening right away. There is no account to log in, and no fee requirements to access all site features (which primarily consist of listening to the various genres of music).

Anyone who enjoys discovering new music can really appreciate Shuffler. The only catch is, the genres are rather limited and seem to have a somewhat common theme. That doesn’t mean the music isn’t good, there are many popular and lesser known artists available on Shuffler. However, if someone is searching for a specific genre, there is a good chance it is not covered by Shuffler.

• Listen to music channels with a single mouse click
• Email a request to Shuffler to include their music blog
• Gather the artist name and song title while listening
• View each blog to read more about the music
• Quickly switch genres using a drop down box in the Shuffler toolbar

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