FATdrop’s New Mobile App Puts Promos First

KKeeping up with new releases and receiving new promo material as a DJ can be a real hassle. That’s what FATdrop is for, and the platform is now releasing an app. Here are our impressions.

By using the app you get access to campaigns, can listen to promo music and send feedback to the record label, just like on the regular platform. You can also download the music to your Dropbox account. With the release of the app, FATdrop has also launched an optional feature called PRO DJ, which enables you to sync the music for offline listening.

The app gives you a good overview of the promo material: Title, label name, release date and biography are all there. However, links in the bio aren’t clickable (but you can copy and paste them). At the bottom of the page you can rate the release and submit feedback. On the same page you’ll also find the tracklist, where you can download individual songs or the whole release (as a ZIP-file) to your Dropbox account.

A problem is that you can’t listen to a release outside of the release info page – if you click on the button which takes you back, the music that’s playing stops. Another gripe is the grey and dull design, the user interface could use some more color.

The PRO DJ account costs £3.99 (€4.99) a month, but I’m sceptical as to how many users will pay that sum to listen to promos offline when most users are almost always connected. Besides, the PRO DJ account only comes with an offline feature, which seems a bit meager. However, you can use the Pro feature free of charge for a month, and the subscription fee goes towards subsiding labels’ costs, which is a good thing.

Despite the above criticism, being able to download tracks to Dropbox is a great feature which enables you to listen to a whole promo (or just one song) from your desktop. There’s also a feature called Cue, in which you can see upcoming releases from various labels.

All in all, the FATdrop app is definitely worth checking out. It’s a nice complement to the web service and does what it’s supposed to. It would be even better with more fleshed out pro-features and an enticing look.

The FATdrop app is out now and available for iOS and Android.

Oscar Hjelmstedt, Editor of Dotted Music, is a writer from Sweden. Besides writing, he’s passionate about 90s rock music and Tarantino movies.