A music company has chosen UNM students to test out its new music app.
Gary Mekikian and his daughters Juliette and Grace Mekikian began offering Trebel Music at UNM and other college campuses earlier this month.
Gary Mekikian said his team chose UNM because it is a large school with a diverse population and a “socially active” campus.
“The way young people discover music most of the time is by talking to their friends,” he said.
Trebel Music, which piloted in 2014 at five universities, is a free app that targets young people -- students and non-students alike -- who don’t have the means to pay subscription fees to music streaming services or CD prices at music stores.
M&M Media, Inc. is able to offer free music downloading to Trebel users via the use of advertising.
Here’s how it works: Users are awarded virtual coins in exchange for consuming ads while searching, previewing and downloading music. Users can then use those coins to “pay” for playing uninterrupted music, or to own their favorite songs outright.
Because companies are paying to display their ads on the app, M&M Media is able to compensate artists for users’ downloads and “purchases” the same amount as if their music had been purchased on iTunes.
“I firmly believe artists need to be compensated for the work that they do,” Juliette Mekikian said. “Big-name artists get money from tours and stuff like that, but lesser-known artists… are not paid when their music is ripped.”
Virtual currency is not the only thing that makes Trebel stand out, she said. Most of the app designers are the students and young adults that make up its target audience, including her.
“Ours is the social media and mobile generation,” Juliette Mekikian said. “It’s really made for teens, by teens,”
On top of attempting to enhance the musical aspect of students’ lives, Trebel aims to connect with users on the social aspect as well, she said.
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Students using Trebel can see a feed of the most popular songs downloaded on their campus and share playlists for people to see. The app includes music from users’ existing iTunes and Google Play libraries so that playlists are automatically imported, and new playlists can combine music from the app with songs the user already owns.
The creators of Trebel are now offering select campuses the app on iTunes, which can be downloaded here.
The app is still in its early stages, Gary Mekikian said.
Students using this app may experience bugs and find some features that don’t work.
Jones said he and the creators of Trebel are eager to receive feedback so they can continue to improve the app. Users who have comments, suggestions, or need troubleshooting with problems with the app can contact Trebel Music on Twitter @trebelapp, on Instagram at trebelmusic, and on their Facebook.
For more information, go to http://www.trebelmusic.com/
Skylar Griego is the culture editor at the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at culture@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @TDLBooks.
