Swedish rapper releases only one copy of mp3 single

'Pass It On' by Adam Tensta can only be heard by one person at a time through the musician's Facebook page.

We have already seen startups such as US-based ReDigi beginning to treat digital music files like physical records with its second-hand mp3 marketplace. Now Swedish rapper Adam Tensta has followed suit with his single ‘Pass It On’, which can only be heard by one person at a time through a Facebook app designed especially for the musician. Eschewing the traditional route of trying to get content to as wide an audience as possible as quickly as possible, the rapper’s single requires fans to visit his Facebook page and install the passiton app, after which they will be placed in a queue. A message is then sent to the email address linked to the user’s Facebook account when it is their turn to listen to the track, which must be done within one hour of receiving the email. The concept seeks to bring a unique experience to the listener through the exclusivity of being the only person in the world listening to the song at that moment, as well as attempting to recreate the feeling of passing on a physical record. The app allows users to see where in the world the song is currently being played, along with previous locations, and an infographic shows how far it has spread across the globe. With just over 100 listens at the time of writing, the single is destined to be a slow burner. However, the unique experience the app offers the listener, and the increased press the approach will bring to Adam Tensta, could reap rewards of it’s own. How else could digital products be given a novel twist by taking inspiration from their physical equivalents?