EarBuds

EarBuds is an Austin, Texas company that operates a social music listening application for iOS and Android. Users connect a paid Spotify or Apple Music account to the app, import their existing playlists, and either broadcast them live in a DJ-like format or tune into streams run by other people. Listeners can comment on streams, record short voice clips over their own track selections, save a stream's playlist back to their streaming service, or share it as an Instagram story.

The app launched in 2019 as a way to find playlists curated by sports stars, musicians and other public figures, and later broadened so that any user could publish and narrate their own playlists. Figures reported on the platform include the artist Nelly and NFL quarterbacks Baker Mayfield and Patrick Mahomes, both of whom are also investors. Because streaming rights sit with the connected service, EarBuds layers social features on top of third-party catalogues rather than licensing music itself, and the company has stated intentions to add support for paid tiers of Amazon Music and Pandora alongside Spotify and Apple Music.