“Bopdrop”: The App for Music Lovers

We’ve all tried sharing screenshots or album covers of our favorite music on Instagram, hoping for someone to swipe up and rave about how much they love our selections. Though this fantasy remains unfulfilled, hope should not be lost. Through the music-sharing app “Bopdrop,” users can both discover new music and share the songs they love.

I found out about Bopdrop while scrolling through TikTok (as one does in the middle of class) and immediately downloaded it. Though the app had been out for about two years when I discovered it, the interface still felt relatively basic. The design is straightforward, with a plain white background and various tabs, similar to Instagram, which allows you to see your notifications, edit your profile, and access the main page. The main discovery tab is basic: users can scroll through songs shared by random members, comment under and like posts, and even listen to a 30-second clip of the song itself. A standout feature is the ability to add a song to a Spotify or Apple Music playlist directly through the Bopdrop app. Though its features and layout are simple, as popularity grows, the platform is sure to see some new and exciting updates.

If you want to share a song on the “Explore” page, there is a large selection of tunes to choose from: everything from the Billboard Top 10 to your favorite obscure eighties band. But pick carefully––only one song is allowed per day. Users can have fun narrowing down their current playlist to a choice that would be unique and interesting to share with the world. When picking my first song to post, I spent a while perusing my library, trying to find the perfect pick that would set me apart from other users. I finally settled on my most-listened-to Fiona Apple song and wrote a brief caption about how much I love her. Once I posted it, I didn’t expect much of a response, but to my surprise, people immediately started liking it and commenting on how much they love her too. I soon received my first few mutual followers, and we started interacting with each other's posts more frequently.

While the one-song-a-day rule is somewhat limiting, it pushes users to carefully pick through favorites and find a song they are really passionate about. I generated a list of my all-time top picks and started looking forward to sharing them with the community. The time and care each poster spent selecting a song was obvious, and this sense of discovery and meaning was bolstered by comments about best moments from seeing certain artists live, cute anecdotes describing how a song made someone feel, and bittersweet memories people associated songs with. The diversity of music in each post is inspiring and distinctive, it encourages users to expand their music repertoire. However, many of the genres do emphasize Western and English music, and the user base is heavily English-speaking; a “global” genre or something similar would further highlight unique music tastes from around the world.

With apps like Instagram and TikTok dominating the airwaves, it’s easy to get caught up in the number of followers or likes you receive, and while those features exist on Bopdrop, the app itself focuses more on music and bringing music lovers together. It felt rewarding and validating to find someone who posted the song you've been listening to all week or discovered their new top track through your page. Bopdrop is gloriously simple, a fresh take on social media that has been a long time coming. For music aficionados and beginners alike, Bopdrop is the perfect way to both share tunes you love as well as find your new favorites while creating a community of like-minded people.