If you currently use MusicHostr, you may want to read the following information:

Profile URL Change

Previously profiles could be accessed via the following form:

The update that should be coming out by the end of this year or within the first week of next year changes the address to the following:

The old pattern will still be supported, but deprecated.

Music URL Change

Along with the profile URL being altered, the music URL is also being changed.  The old format is as follows:

The music_id represents the ID number in the database.  The new format is as follows:

The address becomes much more readable.  Thus, the song Apex would have the address:

As with the previous URL change, this change will deprecate the old format.

Changes to Music

Genre

Many genres are being added to the site.  Due to technical issues, all songs currently on the site will be assigned the genre of “Other.”  This will be easy to change by clicking “Edit” next to the song on your My Music page and changing the genre as desired.

Uploading

Uploading now supports WAV, AIFF, FLAC, Ogg Vorbis, and MP3.  MP3 (44.1 Khz and 192 kbps) is still the recommended format.  All formats uploaded will take a few minutes to process to gather information on the file and to convert it into an MP3 compatible with the player.

Downloading

Although it is impossible to completely block people from downloading music, attempts will be made to protect your music from being downloaded.  Downloading can be enabled on a per song basis.  For this transition, all music will have downloading disabled by default and all new music will also have downloading disabled by default.  You can change this while uploading or editing each upload.

Embedding

MusicHostr finally supports embedding of music (finally!).  This is going to be turned off by default for public use but will still be on for artists to use to embed music on their blogs/websites/etc.

Featured Compositions

All songs are capable of being featured on the front page.  This is a new feature and is controlled by the website.  In other words, I have no control over what song is featured, the website will decide based upon a simple algorithm.

Lyrics

Are you a songwriter?  Well, MusicHostr is gaining support for having lyrics accompany your MP3s.  The design decision has still yet to be made as to whether to require an MP3 if lyrics are being submitted or not.

Profile/User Account Changes

Profile Pictures

Profile pictures are finally being added on.  There will be some restrictions on the content of the profile pictures (the site must remain suitable for minors).  The picture can be uploaded on the Settings page.

About/Website

An about field is being added along with a website field.  Only one website will be allowed at the time of transition.  This may change in the near future, depending on site growth and the amount of time I have as a college student.

Comments on Profiles

Just like on your music, your profile now can receive comments too.  You will also be notified of all comments posted on your profile and music via email.  Also, all comments are being switched to using AJAX so it will not interrupt any music that is playing at the time.

Fans

Each profile will have a fan button so you can follow other composers and be informed via email of new uploads by them.

Timezone Support

Utilizing the timezone support from zymio, MusicHostr now has support for timezones.  You will be asked to set your timezone during registration.  All current users will be set to “America/New_York” by default.

Other Major Changes

Messaging

MusicHostr is gaining zymio’s messaging application.  It will allow for multiple recipients to a single message plus WYSIWYG editing.

Suggestion Box

Also coming from zymio is the suggestion box.  The suggestion box will allow for artists and users to submit new ideas for the site and to vote on them.

Change of Name

The website is no longer MusicHostr.com but rather MusicHostr.

Change of Design

The design is being altered to be brighter, cleaner, and more minimalistic.