Tempo Tunes lets listeners shape playlists by tempo

Tempo Tunes, a free independent music platform built by veteran designer Dion Isselhardt, has launched with tools that let listeners control playlist pacing, energy and discovery instead of leaving sequencing to the algorithm. The app is available now on iPhone and Android and can export playlists to major streaming services.

Why it matters: - Tempo Tunes gives listeners a new way to build playlists around pacing and energy, not just genre or history. - The platform could also surface older songs, catalog tracks and unfamiliar artists by placing them at the right point in a sequence. - The app is free, has no advertising and says it does not sell user data or use tracking.

What happened: - Dion Isselhardt, a veteran product designer with 25 years of experience, independently built Tempo Tunes. - Isselhardt's background includes work at Amazon, Samsung, Bose Professional, Intuit, EA Sports, Romeo Power and Battle Motors. - Tempo Tunes is available now for iPhone on the App Store and Android on Google Play. - The platform sends finished playlists to Apple Music, Spotify, TIDAL or YouTube Music.

The details: - Listeners choose a starting tempo, an ending tempo and the shape of the playlist arc. - Tempo Shapes can hold one pace, build gradually, peak at the midpoint and return, or start high and wind down. - Users can add genres, artists, an era or reference songs. - Users can also decide whether a mix should favor familiar names or deeper cuts. - Tempo Tunes built and maintains its own music database because public BPM sources are often incomplete or inconsistent. - The playlist engine draws from more than 1.65 million tempo-verified songs. - The BPM search reaches 7.5 million measured tracks. - Users can search for a song, identify music playing nearby, tap out a beat or upload a track to establish a starting tempo. - Listeners can combine more than 90 genres, choose an era, favor particular artists and seed a mix with up to five songs. - A control lets users move from obscure recordings to popular names. - Completed playlists can be saved to Apple Music, TIDAL or YouTube Music, with Spotify available through a limited beta. - The app uses a visual style inspired by Isselhardt's childhood Sony Sports Walkman and cassette tapes. - Playlists appear as labeled tapes with handwritten titles.

Between the lines: - Tempo Tunes is trying to solve a different problem than most recommendation systems. - Streaming services already make music easy to access, but they still leave the order and momentum of listening largely in the hands of algorithms. - Isselhardt said he wanted to direct how music feels over time, not just what song comes next. - That approach could appeal to workout, commute and mood-listening users who care about build, release and finish as much as song choice.

What's next: - Tempo Tunes will likely lean on its tempo database and playlist tools to expand listening and discovery. - Spotify support remains in limited beta, which suggests broader export options could follow. - The app's success will depend on whether listeners want control of the playlist arc as much as they want song recommendations.

The bottom line: - Tempo Tunes is pitching playlist creation as an experience-design problem, with tempo and energy control at the center instead of passive algorithmic sequencing.