Hot App Alert: Milk Music Exclusive To Samsung Hits 1 Million Downloads

Samsung is boldly blazing a trail where several other mobile app heavy hitters have already tread the path with achieving more than 1 million downloads in its first quarter of release. First off, I want to mention why I am so excited about this app. I have said, time and time again, how neat it would be if someone could seamlessly incorporate all the best things about Spotify with all the best things about Pandora and create a streaming music app. That is a music app that I’d happily pay for.

Perhaps that’s the best the thing about Milk Music by Samsung (and offered exclusively to Samsung users). Samsung has not only accomplished my aforementioned streaming music dream come true, they’ve also done an even cooler thing: they’ve made the app both ad-free and free for use for the Samsung user.

From a marketing perspective, this move is brilliant for Samsung. Now, those users who are tired of paying for streaming music that is ad-free can have it-as long as they are a Samsung user. Currently the compatible phones are the S5, S4, SIII, Note 3, Note II, Mega, and S4 Mini. As for compatible tablets, The Tab S, Note Pro, Tab Pro and Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition can download Milk. Milk is accessible across all mobile carriers.

As for what I personally like about Milk Music? (Note: this is more of an end-user review, not specifically a technical one.)

To reiterate: I love that it is advertisement free. I see enough advertisements every single day and ironically get paid through advertising revenue, but after a while you just enjoy a break from all the commercials. Plus, for me, music is a very sacred thing, often an experience. Nothing completely breaks the mood that only music can create like the interruption of a commercial.

The selection of artists is relatively comprehensive: Let’s face it; we live in an age and time when just about anybody can download an app like Garage Band and it automatically makes them a musician. I point that out to say that there will never be any shortage of “underground” artists to choose from. Is it possible that you’ll find them on Milk Music? Yes. Is it possible that you won’t find your favorite, super esoteric underground group on Milk Music? Yes. But for me, a self-professed underground music junkie, I found just about every single underground or independent artist that I looked for. So that is a positive, in my very humble opinion.

Milk Music puts a twist on it: One really fun feature of the Milk Music interface is the interactive radio station dial. On your touchscreen Samsung, you can twist and drag the dial to adjust to your radio station preference. For those who find this method too clunky, there is a quick access button on the screen that, once pressed, offers a drop-down menu from which you can adjust your radio station. Much like Pandora radio, you can save stations based on specific artists and “seed” that station with similar artists. (The actual Milk Music command for this is “seed”). If you don’t like a song, simply command Milk Music to remove that song from your preferences. You can also customize each of your stations by creating a new name for it.

A downside to Milk Music is that as I am sitting here typing this post on my Samsung Chromebook, I do not currently have the ability to enjoy all the benefits of Milk Music directly through my notebook. This really is kind of a drag and makes me feel a little like a red-headed step-child. My one request, Samsung: get Milk Music compatible with your notebooks, stat!

Thankfully, I have my trusty Galaxy S4 to use Milk Music through. Which works out pretty well since the sound offered through my Samsung Chromebook is sub-par, at best. But that’s a whole other conversation in and of itself. While rumor has it that Samsung may decide to add a premium streaming service in the future and make the transition onto the typical advertiser-sponsored free accounts, I do have to say that I am impressed with Milk Music enough to pay for premium access should that day ever come.

Do you have experience with Milk Music? What are your impressions of this streaming music app?