Today, we're releasing Twitter #music, a new service that will change the way people find music, based on Twitter. It uses Twitter activity, including Tweets and engagement, to detect and surface the most popular tracks and emerging artists. It also brings artists’ music-related Twitter activity front and center: go to their profiles to see which music artists they follow and listen to songs by those artists. And, of course, you can tweet songs right from the app.

The songs on Twitter #music currently come from three sources: iTunes, Spotify or Rdio. By default, you will hear previews from iTunes when exploring music in the app. Subscribers to Rdio and Spotify can log in to their accounts to enjoy full tracks that are available in those respective catalogs. We will continue to explore and add other music service providers.

So, if you’re interested in the songs that have been tweeted by the artists and people you follow on Twitter, you can navigate to #NowPlaying to view and listen to those songs.

Or if you’re scrolling through a chart and you want to learn more about a band, like Chvrches, you can tap their avatar to see their top song, follow them right from the chart, or tap their Twitter username to go to their profile.

Or if you want to listen to music from the artists Wiz Khalifa follows, you can search for his name using the search icon in the top right corner. Then tap one of the artists you’re interested in and hit the play button to begin listening, or press play on the player to listen to all the artists.

And as you discover new songs that you want to share with your followers on Twitter, simply tap the spinning disc in the lower left corner. This opens the player, and you can tweet from there using the Tweet icon in the top right corner.

You can download Twitter #music from the App Store today, or enjoy the web version, which will be rolling out over the next few hours: music.twitter.com. Right now, the service is available in the US, Canada, the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. Over time, we will bring the service to Android as well as to more countries.

Twitter and music go great together. People share and discover new songs and albums every day. Many of the most-followed accounts on Twitter are musicians, and half of all users follow at least one musician. This is why artists turn to Twitter first to connect with their fans — and why we wanted to find a way to surface songs people are tweeting about. We offered music artists an early look at the service. You can see some of their reactions below. We hope you like it, too.

playing with @twitter's new music app (yes it's real!)...there's a serious dance party happening at idol right now
— Ryan Seacrest (@RyanSeacrest) April 11, 2013

Man this new Twitter music app is insane!
— Wiz Khalifa (@wizkhalifa) April 13, 2013

Hey @twittermusic thanks for sending me the new music app... Y'all are the shit!
— Blake Shelton (@blakeshelton) April 13, 2013

playing with this new @twittermusic service. this is going to be really cool for music discovery when it's released
— ŦҤE GŁłŦ₡Ҥ MØB (@theglitchmob) April 12, 2013

Just got the Twitter #music app!! WAIT til ya see this shit!!it's epic!
— TOMMY LEE (@MrTommyLand) April 15, 2013

Twitter has some insane things in the pipeline. The new twitter #music app is big! Shout out to my peeps over at twitter ;) #HUGE
— Ne-Yo!! (@NeYoCompound) April 15, 2013

trying out the new @twittermusic service... it's really fantastic.gonna be huge!
— Soft Reeds (@softreeds) April 12, 2013

just listening to @jamesblakeon @twitter's new music app. not sure when it launches, but it's a really interesting music resource.
— moby (@thelittleidiot) April 16, 2013

Loving the new app by Twiiter #Music.I think this is gonna revolutionize things real fast...
— Nikki Sixx (@NikkiSixx) April 16, 2013

Thanks to my friends @twittermusic for sharing your new app and connecting us thru music. Congrats!
— Jason Mraz (@jason_mraz) April 16, 2013

Posted by Stephen Philips (@huntedguy)
Founder, We are Hunted

On most Mondays, we post “This week on Twitter” to alert you to key things happening in the coming week. Whether it’s a live chat with the cast of your favorite TV show, a Q&A with a political candidate or a pro sports team Tweepstakes, keep current about can’t-miss moments on Twitter in the week ahead. - Ed.

Saturday, Apr. 20; 12:00 p.m. ET / 9 a.m. PT 
Comedy legends Cheech and Chong (@CheechandChong) will host a Twitter Q&A in celebration of their new animated feature-length film, “Cheech and Chong’s Animated Movie”. Fans can follow the conversation or participate by using the hashtag #CC420.

Sunday, Apr. 21; 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT
Phil Keoghan (@PhilKeoghan) will live-tweet “The Amazing Race” (@AmazingRace_CBS) using hashtag #AmazingRace. Viewers are invited to tune in and tweet in, or simply follow along.

What's better than an all-new #AmazingRace? Watching & tweeting w/@philkeoghan! Join the live tweet Sun @ 8pmET/5pmPT on.fb.me/Zf71NI
— The Amazing Race (@AmazingRace_CBS) April 12, 2013

Sunday, Apr. 21; 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT
Fans of “The Good Wife” (@TheGoodWife_CBS) can follow set decorator Beth Kushnick (@GoodWifeSetDec) and join the conversation as she live-tweets this week's episode.

Don't miss the first of 3 episodes left of #TheGoodWife this season.I will be tweeting live on Sunday at 9:00 PM EST.
— SetDecTheGoodWife (@GoodWifeSetDec) April 11, 2013

Check back next week for more!

Posted by Alexandra Valasek (@AlzValz)
Communications

For this year’s MTV Movie Awards, the judges are stepping aside and letting the viewers’ voice be heard: fans can now cast their vote via a Tweet. As movie buffs tune-in, they can also tweet-in as they vote, comment on their favorite acceptance speeches, share their picks for best dressed, or join the conversation as their favorite actors live-tweet the show. Viewers can check out the MTV Movie Awards Discover page, for specially-curated content live, leading up to and during the show.

#BestHero Award
Fans can use the following hashtags to cast their vote:
#VoteBilbo - The Hobbit
#VoteBatman - The Dark Knight Rises
#VoteCatwoman - The Dark Knight Rises
#VoteHulk - The Incredible Hulk 2
#VoteIronMan - Iron Man 3
#VoteSnowWhite - Snow White and the Huntsman

It's K. Stew's birthday today and she's neck and neck with Bilbo for #MovieAwards Best Hero: on.mtv.com/XhsEOU #JustSayin
— MTV (@MTV) April 9, 2013

The “Giffies” 
Viewers should follow @MTV to keep up-to-date on the first-ever real-time awards show about the awards show.  @MTV has teamed up up with @VH1 to offer a unique perspective, creating gif categories based on the show that will be tweeted-out in real-time. Fans can keep an eye out for “giffie” categories like “Best smirk," “Best long drawn-out acceptance speech,” and more.

Live-tweeting cast 
Whether they’re at the show or on their couch at home, stars will be putting in their two cents on Twitter, live during the show. Fans can follow these VIPs to get an insider’s look:

Attendees: 
Ben Platt (@BenSPLATT): performer
Andrew Jenks (@AndrewJenks): creator/host of MTV’s “World of Jenks”
Hana Mae Lee (@hanamaelee): nominee, performer
MTV (@MTV): Official Account

Couch commentators: 
Nina Garcia (@ninagarcia): Creative Director of Marie Claire
Shawne Merriman (@shawnemerriman): former NFL player
Harry Shum (@iharryshum): Glee actor
Rebecca Minkoff (@RebeccaMinkoff): designer
Arlene Van Dyke (@Speakyteeth): costume designer
Gregory Smith (@Ju_Smith4): NBA player

Getting so excited to reunite with all of my fellow Aca-people at the MTV #MovieAwards this weekend!! #musicalreunions
— Ben Platt (@BenSPLATT) April 11, 2013

My bellas. Rehearse'n for #mtv #movieawards @alexisknapp@esterdean @therealannacamp @brittanysnow twitter.com/hanamaelee/sta…
— Hana Mae Lee (@hanamaelee) April 11, 2013

Posted by Grace Chu Lee (@Gracelee)
TV Partnerships

Today, we’re introducing Trends in more than 160 new locations. Included in that list are a number of countries that will be getting Trends for the first time: Belgium, Greece, Kenya, Norway, Poland, Portugal, and Ukraine, plus more than 130 new cities in countries that already have Trends.

Trends are an easy way to find out what people are talking about right now –– around the world, in your country, or in your city. By checking out Trends, you can easily find breaking news and current hot topics that are most relevant to you. To find these new locations, click “Change” in the Trends sidebar on twitter.com, and select the city or country you’re most interested in.

To make Trends more convenient and relevant for people around the world, we’re constantly working to bring Trends to more locations –– be on the lookout for even more in the future. In the meantime, don’t hesitate to check out our support article on Trends for more information.

Posted by Royce Cheng-Yue (@rchengyue)
Software Engineer

Day in and day out, tuning in with Twitter makes watching TV all the more enjoyable. You can talk to the stars of your favorite scripted shows, see behind-the-scenes peeks of what happens on talk show sets, or receive exclusive color commentary about a big game. Bridging its primetime, daytime, and sports programming, CBS is kicking of #CBSTweetWeek today, offering viewers an exclusive weeklong tweetstravaganza.

Between April 4-10, the network’s stars and talent will be live-tweeting programs ranging from March Madness to The Price is Right to NCIS. All in all, 47 stars will hold Twitter chats for 19 programs throughout the week. For a full schedule of live-tweeting lineups, visit http://www.cbs.com/TweetWeek.

Be sure to follow your favorite shows and stars this week:

Don’t forget that @drewfromtv will be live tweeting tomorrow’s episode @ 1pm ET/10am PT as part of #CBSTweetWeek. cbs.com/tweetweek
— The Price Is Right(@PriceIsRight) April 3, 2013

As part of #CBSTweetWeek ill be tweeting & answering questions bout #LMAD this Fri (behind the scenes dirt, scandal, & maybe some recipes)
— Jonathan Mangum (@Mangum1) April 4, 2013

Don’t forget that @melissarauch will be live tweeting tomorrow’s episode @ 8pm ET/5pm PT as part of #CBSTweetWeek. cbs.com/tweetweek
— The Big Bang Theory (@BigBang_CBS) April 3, 2013

You can follow (and contribute to) the conversation with the hashtag #CBSTweetWeek.

Posted by Grace Chu Lee (@gracelee)
TV Partnerships

We just released a new version of Twitter for Android. Its new design reflects a native Android experience: wider and taller timelines that fill the screen, a flat navigation bar, tap and hold for quick actions, and more. You can now quickly navigate between tabs by swiping across your screen. And as you type your Tweet or search, you’ll see username and hashtag suggestions, making it easier to connect with friends and join conversations.

In addition to the Android app, we’ve also updated Twitter for iPhone and mobile.twitter.com. All three mobile apps, plus twitter.com, now show more types of content in expanded Tweets: photo galleries, apps and product listings.

You’ll also see a new link right below content that is shared from another mobile app, such as Foursquare or Path.

The link lets you open or download the app right from the Tweet, depending on whether or not you have it installed. As an example, if you expand a Tweet to view a photo from Flickr, you can tap the link to open the photo in Flickr. If you don’t yet have the Flickr app on your phone, you can tap to install it from the Tweet.

These updates, which are rolling out to users over the next several days, are part of our ongoing effort to make it easier for you to connect with interesting and relevant content on Twitter. If you’re interested in the under-the-hood details, there are more on our Developer blog.

You can download these updates from the Google Play or App Store.

Posted by Jonathan Le (@jle)
Technical Lead, Android

Our second Hack Week of the year has just begun. (Yes, it is April Fools Day; no this is not a joke.) This is one of my favorite parts of each quarter –– as a company, we take a full week to work with people from other teams, explore new ideas, experiment with different projects and let our creativity run wild.

Some projects are hobby projects, and they may inspire new ideas or cause teams to think about a core feature in a new way. Other projects ship –– awesome and unique products have come out of Hack Week. Have you downloaded your Twitter archive yet? That was a Hack Week project. Or have you seen the Tweets from @twisitor, a birdhouse you can tweet from when you visit Twitter HQ? That was one of last quarter’s Hack Week projects.

Thanks for inspiring new ideas and motivating us to build this week.

Posted by Raffi Krikorian (@raffi)
VP of Engineering

On most Mondays, we post “This week on Twitter” to alert you to key things happening in the coming week. Whether it’s a live chat with the cast of your favorite TV show, a Q&A with a political candidate or a pro sports team Tweepstakes, keep current about can’t-miss moments on Twitter in the week ahead. - Ed. 

Ongoing; check local listings
NCAA (@NCAA) March Madness continues this week. For instant replays, updates and the latest throughout the tourney, be sure to follow @MarchMadness, @MarchMadnessTV and @HoopsonCBS. Tweet along during the final games with the hashtag #MarchMadness.

Real-time highlight: @uoflsports draining a final three before earning their ticket to Atlanta. #marchmadness - snpy.tv/YMznP0
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 31, 2013

Monday, Apr. 1; 8:00 p.m. ET / PT (ongoing)
World Wrestling Entertainment (@WWE) fans of "Monday Night Raw" will tune in to discover a big Twitter moment and help unlock the #BigReveal. @WWE will also feature Twitter elements in shows leading up to @WrestleMania. Look for live on-air Tweets, hashtag voting, Q&As and exclusive behind-the-scenes photos throughout @WrestleMania weekend, culminating in the big event on April 7 at MetLife Stadium (@MLStadium).

SIX MORE DAYS until @wrestlemania 29 at @mlstadium!!Full details on tickets, match previews and more at WrestleMania.com!
— WWE WrestleMania (@WrestleMania) April 1, 2013

Check back next week for more!

Posted by Alexandra Valasek (@AlzValz)
Communications

Starting today, we are shifting to a two-tiered service: Everyone can use our basic service, Twttr, but you only get consonants. For five dollars a month, you can use our premium “Twitter” service which also includes vowels.

We’re doing this because we believe that by eliminating vowels, we’ll encourage a more efficient and “dense” form of communication. We also see an opportunity to diversify our revenue stream. Here’s our mockup of the most retweeted Tweet of all time as it would appear in the new Twttr:

 
A E I O U and sometimes Y 
Because our users come first, we believe that “Y” should always be free to everyone — today and forever. You’ll notice in the Twttr example above, the “y” is clearly visible. Also, the vowels in URLs will be also be free for everyone, forever. You can also Tweet in non-Latin characters based languages, like Japanese, Chinese, Arabic or Korean. These languages will remain unaffected by our service change.

Extra room, better Tweets
In addition to our normal suite of Promoted Products for advertisers, we are now also offering a single character extension, expanding the length of a Tweet to 141 characters, for those moments when you need just one more character to finish your thought. The price of the extra character is based on a bidding system reflecting the popularity of the character you would like to add.

Sorry, only one-letter bidding is allowed. There is no option to purchase a second additional character at this time.

Early results We tested this new breakthrough product change with a few key partners in order to get the details right. For example, just moments after we rolled this out, it was inspiring to see how just quickly people are taking to the new service.

Twyttyr? Why byy vywyls whyn yyy gyt "Y" fyr fryy? Syckyrs! #nvwls
— Joan Rivers (@Joan_Rivers) April 1, 2013

@twitter Y R y00 d0yng thys? #nvwls
— rob delaney (@robdelaney) April 1, 2013

Product inspiration
Our own VP of Product, @sippey, got his inspiration for the new Twitter Tiers from several (perhaps surprising) sources. “I was carpooling home after Twitter’s seventh birthday party,” he told me, “with my head filled with images from our past, like our early logo where we spelled it TWTTR, in neon green toothpaste. And then Prince’s song “I would die 4 U” came on the radio. I felt like there was something there, but I wasn’t sure what or how to bring it to market.

Then later that night, I was watching “Wheel of Fortune” with @adambain, and a contestant yelled out ‘I wanna buy a vowel’. Everything just sort of clicked. Adam and I turned to each other and high-fived. It was one of those product moments that just felt like magic.”

twttr.com
Twttr will roll out slowly to a small percentage of users, growing to 100% over the next few days. We recommend that you practice using only consonants (and “y”) with the hashtag #nvwls (or if you have paid for our premium service, use #icanhasvowels).

To make the transition easier for you, we’ve built a site that automatically transforms your Tweets into a Twttr friendly format. Try it today at twttr.com.

We bet you’ll appreciate the time you save. Hr’s t mr twttng!

Posted by Kvyn Wl
Director of Product, #nvwls

On most Mondays, we post “This week on Twitter” to alert you to key things happening in the coming week. Whether it’s a live chat with the cast of your favorite TV show, a Q&A with a political candidate or a pro sports team Tweepstakes, keep current about can’t-miss moments on Twitter in the week ahead. - Ed.

Monday, Mar. 25; 8:00 p.m. ET / PT
“Dancing with the Stars” (@DancingABC) viewers can cast their vote via Twitter for which couple will enjoy an encore dance. Tune in Tuesday night to find out who won.

Monday, Mar. 25; 8:00 p.m. ET / PT
Fans of “Bones” (@BONESonFOX) can enter a Twitter sweepstakes for the chance to win a walk-on role in the season’s finale episode. Viewers will be prompted to tweet using specific hashtags, and the winner will be chosen randomly from the pool of entries.

Monday, Mar. 25; 9:00 p.m. ET / PT
FOX’s “The Following” (@TheFollowingFOX) is encouraging viewers to tweet using the hashtag #TheFollowing for a chance to get swag from FOX. Fans can also tweet to unlock a series of clues throughout the show.

Get the "Guilt" badge for tomorrow's all-new episode of #thefollowing! - fox.tv/FollowingWatch…
— The Following (@TheFollowingFOX) March 24, 2013

 
Monday, Mar. 25; 1:00 p.m. ET / 10:00 a.m. PT
“Young and the Restless” (@YandR_CBS) actors Christian LeBlanc (@CJLeBlanc) and Daniel Goddard (@DanielGoddard) will be answering Twitter questions during their live video chat using the hashtag #AskYR.

Monday, Mar. 25; 9:00 p.m. ET / PT
“2 Broke Girls” (@2BrokeGirls_CBS) actor Matthew Moy (@TheMoyWonder) will be live-tweeting. Follow along or join the conversation using the hashtag #2BrokeGirls.

Exciting news #2BrokeGirls fans! I'll be live tweeting the east coast airing of Monday's all-new episode at 9/8c! Don't miss out.
— Matthew Moy (@TheMoyWonder) March 20, 2013

 
Tuesday, Mar. 26; 8:00 p.m. ET / PT
“NCIS” (NCIS_CBS) fans are invited to follow actor Sean Murray (@SeanHMurray) and join in as he live-tweets the show with hashtag #NCIS.

I'll be live tweeting during the East Coast feed of "Squall" on Tues. March 26. #NCIS
— Sean Harland Murray (@SeanHMurray) March 22, 2013

 
Wednesday, Mar. 27; 10:00 p.m. ET / PT
Viewers of USA Network’s “PSYCH” (@PSYCH_USA) will have a unique interactive opportunity to determine the show’s ending live. This social, crowdsourced event marks the show's landmark 100th episode, ”100 Clues”. Fans can vote for one of five suspects via Twitter using hashtags #PsychButlerDDit, #PsychGroupieDDit, #PsychManagerDDit, #PsychAuthorDDit or #PsychHostDDit.

Your dream to solve mysteries with Shawn & Gus has come true. Interact & help them solve the #SocialSector mystery! usanet.tv/SocSctr
— Psych_USA (@Psych_USA) March 24, 2013

Friday, Mar. 29; 8:00 p.m. ET / PT
During the premiere of “Four Weddings”,  TLC (@TLC) will feature fan Tweets curated live into the program. Tune-in and tweet-in using the hashtags #FourWeddings, #BallroomBeats (for Rachele), #PepRallyParty (for Nicolle), #BlingtasticDiva (for Travia) or #RetroBookwork (for Alexandria). Additionally, viewers who tweet will be entered to win a year’s worth of #BrideDay cupcakes from TLC.

Check back next week for more!

Posted by Alexandra Valasek (@AlzValz)
Communications