Samsung subsidiary Harman launches music discovery app Drops

Harman, a Samsung subsidiary, launched a music discovery app called Drops in the U.S. on Monday, November 9. It borrows the endless vertical-scrolling format popularized by TikTok. Instead of watching videos, users swipe through song clips of 10 to 30 seconds, hoping to find a new favorite artist. The app is available on iOS and Android, but only in the United States for now.

Each clip comes with lyrics, album artwork, artist photos and captions. The idea is to give listeners just enough to catch their attention, whether a strong lyric, a catchy hook or a beat that makes them want more. The company says Drops is a return to how people originally found music: before platform algorithms, they heard about new songs from friends, music blogs or online communities.

Clare Hunter, general manager of Drops, said sharing songs was awkward: a friend sends a track and then has to add a note about which minute holds the best part. She said the idea took shape after Harman acquired music management software company Roon in 2023.

Features

The app has tabs named "For You," "New," "Showcase" and "Following," plus relevant and trending hashtags. Users can like, comment, repost, share and save tracks to collections called Droplists. They can also send songs to other users, follow profiles and exchange direct messages.

To hear a full track, Drops integrates with major streaming services, including Apple Music, Qobuz and TIDAL.

Rights and AI

The company says it does not use generative AI for audio or visuals. Songs appear as originally released, with official album artwork and licensed artist photography. Drops pays rights holders and reports plays to partners including Universal Music Group, Beggars Group, Empire, Symphonic Distribution and UnitedMasters. Plays also count toward streams on those services, so Drops is not meant to replace existing music subscriptions.

The app is currently invite-only, and U.S. users can join a waitlist.