A Music-Based Dating App Turns Songs into Streams —and Matches

Turkish dating app makromusic believes that compatibility often begins with shared interests. 

On makromusic, users connect based on their mutual music preferences. A hybrid between a dating app and a music marketing tool, makromusic is multidimensional. It’s a means of several forms of connection, from romantic to platonic to that of a celebrity and their fans. 

Like Vinylly, another music-based dating app, makromusic is yet another niche dating platform that suggests compatibility is strongest when based on shared interests. But makromusic isn’t only a dating app. 

It stands out as a dating tool and as a marketing tool for artists, promoters, and record labels. As Musically reported, makromusic has partnered with approximately 1,700 labels and created 5,000 promotional campaigns. 

makromusic’s success begs the question: Is it the niche music-matching theme that draws people in, or are cross-industry dating apps the future? 

There’s Evidence That Music Deepens Emotional Bonds

For the consumer, it’s the music on makromusic that really sings. 

“Imagine it’s 2 a.m., you’re listening to your favourite band while feeling down, and you connect with someone else listening to the same song at that moment. How would that conversation go?” makromusic asked Musically. 

The app connects to popular music sharing platforms Spotify, YouTube, and Apple Music. makromusic analyzes each user’s music tastes and matches people accordingly. “For instance, two people who love the Arctic Monkeys can find each other and start chatting,” according to the dating app.

Music is a surprisingly untapped niche in the dating app industry, especially considering the emotional power it often holds over us.

It’s no surprise that music can elicit emotions, but can it lead to genuine emotional bonding? A 2024 paper in Frontiers in Psychology seems to confirm as much:  

“Overall, the sexual selection and social bonding approaches suggest two different ultimate functions of music: music for attraction and music for connection,” according to the researchers. Dating apps like makromusic and Vinylly attempt to use music to facilitate both attraction and connection.

Attracting a mate with music is one thing; we hear birds do it in our own backyards. But keeping a mate, not to mention building an emotional foundation with one, is another thing entirely. Sharing a love for a certain type of music may foster attraction “in the early stages of any relationship (and) may help to build passion,” the researchers concluded. 

Other dating apps encourage users to be their authentic selves by limiting photo filters and providing messaging prompts. makromusic and Vinylly use the emotional power of music to facilitate authenticity between potential matches.

makromusic Generates Diverse Revenue Streams 

Music industry professionals, meanwhile, can make their own connections on the apps, albeit of a more professional nature. “All the campaigns created through makromusic for Artists are trackable and transparent,” the app said. 

It added, “Given our current user base, we can generate nearly 150,000 campaign clicks for a single song in just one day. With a conversion rate of approximately 90%, this translates to around 135,000 streams.” The app connects its dating and music promotion sides by recommending sponsored tracks.

And makromusic discovered that music platforms are, perhaps unsurprisingly, effective places to generate engagement:

“Our analytics reveal that the completion rate of songs users start listening to is over 90%. By comparison, this figure was only 0.01% for Instagram stories in our tests,” the app told Musically. 

Bumble, too, took advantage of music sharing platforms to connect potential matches more efficiently. In Date Mode, Bumble users can share their Top Artists on Spotify with their match.

“Knowing a potential match shares favorite artists can help you make meaningful connections faster, and can be a great segue into getting to know more about them and their personality,” according to the app.

Tinder’s Music Mode also proved popular on the app in 2021, according to VP of Product Innovation, Kyle Miller: “It’s amazing how adding music as another element of discovery elevates the whole experience on Tinder,” he said.

It’s not every day that a dating app operates on two separate fronts (romantic connection and music promotion, in makromusic’s case). A similar approach only recently popped up in the dating industry with Grindr’s new telehealth service, Woodwork. 

Still, makromusic claims that everyone can find satisfaction on the app, regardless of what they’re looking for, as makromusic “provides the best experience for users, artists, and music service providers alike.”

makromusic’s CEO, Ataberk Özaydın, said, “Our approach is always centered on creating value and addressing real problems through technology.” By addressing the needs of both online daters and music professionals, makromusic is carving a singular niche in the dating industry.