Superfan, a free social music app that offers the real-time tracking feature and personalized AI-generated vibes. Credit: Will Matz
Social music app Superfan, created by Ohio State alumnus Will Matz, is on a mission to revolutionize the way music lovers look for new songs and share their love of music.
Matz, who studied physics and computer science before graduating from Ohio State in 2019, built Superfan as a free social music app that tracks songs streamed by users in real time and offers a weekly check-in feature where friends can view one another’s top songs, favorite albums and new discoveries.
“Anyone can create a group and invite their friends, and it gives you and your friends a recap every week,” Matz said.
Matz said he often talked about music with friends but eventually realized there was no social element to the consumption of music on platforms like Spotify.
“Music is a big part of our conversation,” Matz said. “We go to concerts and live shows together and always send music back and forth. But the way we do it isn’t very social.”
This realization inspired him to create a platform for music enthusiasts in search of a more interactive way to connect with their friends through a shared love of music. In addition to real-time tracking of streamed songs, the app uses artificial intelligence to generate weekly “vibes” — descriptive phrases — based on users’ music choices.
“Every week, everyone gets a specific vibe. It’s all personalized,” Matz said.
Since it launched in November 2022, Superfan has seen a significant increase in its user base. The app reaches 7,000 users in 85 different countries at the time of publication and is growing between 10 and 20 percent per week, Matz said in an email.
Matz said Superfan started to get a significant number of downloads in March. He credits the surge to a TikTok video made by Carly Bogdajewicz, who frequently posts about indie music and artists.
“I’m a huge music nerd and love any Spotify stats I can get my hands on,” Bogdajewicz said. “Superfan is such a fun app for that. It gives you a creative vibe for each week based on your listening, often playfully roasting you for your taste in music. I’ve made a few groups for the people that follow my music blog and it’s so fun that we all get to see what each other are listening to.”
There have been major improvements to the AI-generated vibes, making them much more interesting, Matz said. Some examples of the new vibes include “chilling in a velvety cloud of existential thoughts” for fans of Frank Ocean, Tyler the Creator or The Weeknd; “singing along to love songs while crying into your pillow” for followers of Taylor Swift, Harry Styles or SZA; and “psychedelic summer nights on a car ride to nowhere” for lovers of Jimi Hendrix, The Animals or Kali Uchis.
Timothy Rohr, a go-to-market manager for Superfan, said he encourages Ohio State students to give the app a try.
“It’s also a way to support a local startup that is able to give you a fresh take on something that everyone can participate in,” Rohr said.
Superfan is currently available for download via the iOS App Store, where additional information on the app can be found.
