Changelog
What changed on amplifriends, newest first. During the beta, This Week in the Beta sums up each week.
Request Access
- No invite code? Request access right on the sign-up page: leave your email (and, if you like, your town and what you play) and we’ll email you an invite when there’s room. It replaces the separate waitlist page; old waitlist links and flyer QR codes still work.
Notifications Menu Fix
- On wide screens, clicking the bell now opens your notifications right under it. Before, the menu opened out of sight below the page. Anything you missed is on the Notifications page.
Drag to Reorder
- Put things in order by dragging them: your samples, a band’s samples and photos, and the bands on your profile. Grab the ⠿ handle on a row and drop it where you want it. It works with a mouse, on a touchscreen, and from the keyboard (Space to pick up, the arrow keys to move, Space to drop).
- Screen readers now tell Band Samples and Your Samples on the Band Page apart in Edit band.
Band Sample Order
- Band admins can put every sample on the band page in the order they like, in Edit band → Band Samples: the band’s own uploads and samples members shared, all in one list with Move up and Move down. The first one plays first on the page and in search.
- The Admin label on your bands in your dashboard (Pages) is tidier and matches the one on band pages.
Your Bands, Your Order, and Quicker Sharing
- Choose the order of the bands on your profile: in your dashboard (Pages), use Up and Down on Your Bands. Bands you join later go at the end.
- To share a profile, band, studio, or venue, click its address under the name (like amplifriends.com/m/dani): the link is copied. The separate Copy link button is gone.
Smoother Sample Players
- On profiles, band pages, and studio pages, playing a sample further down the list (or clicking its row) makes it the big player with the waveform, and the one before shrinks back into the list. The music keeps playing while it changes.
Band Photos and Band Samples
- Band admins can add up to 7 more photos besides the main one, in Edit band → More Photos. They show whole, not cropped, and you can caption and reorder them.
- Adding several photos at once is quicker: big phone photos are scaled down before they upload, and you see each one’s progress.
- When a band has more than one photo, its photo at the top of the page says how many. Tap it to see them all in a viewer over the page: swipe, use the arrows, or pick a thumbnail.
- Band admins can upload samples straight to the band page in Edit band → Band Samples. They belong to the band and don’t count toward anyone’s own samples. Members can still share their own, too.
- Band Samples also lists the samples members shared, in the order they play, so admins can listen to everything on the page in one place and take one off if needed.
Deleted Means Deleted
- When you delete a sample, a photo, or a verification clip, its files are removed for sure now: if our storage has a hiccup at that moment, we keep trying until they’re gone.
Open Spots
- amplifriends can go on your phone’s home screen like an app. In Message settings you can turn on notifications for that device: new messages, message requests, saved-search matches, and open spots, each switchable. Nothing pops up while you have amplifriends open, and notifications never show what someone wrote.
- Every scene has its own page now, like Hardcore or Honky-tonk: who plays it, its bands, and where its musicians are. Find them all under Scenes in the footer.
- Your dashboard (Profile) now suggests what would make your profile stronger, like a second sample or a few words on what you’re looking for, with a link to add each.
- Apply to a band’s open spot right from its page: pick one of your samples, add a note, and every admin of the band hears about it.
- Bands see their applications in their settings, where they can message you or decline (you’ll be told, kindly).
- When a band within 50 miles adds a spot for what you play, and you’re looking for a band or session work, it’s in your notifications (at most 3 a week). Switch it off in Message settings.
Bring Your Scene
- When you share your invite link, it now shows a proper preview: your first name, “invited you to the amplifriends beta,” and the logo.
- Print a flyer for your scene from your dashboard (Account). Its QR code opens the waitlist with your town filled in, and it doesn’t use any of your invites.
Saved Searches
- Save any musician search with Save this search. Once a day we’ll tell you in your notifications when someone new matches, like a drummer joining near you.
- Your saved searches are in your dashboard (Favorites), where you can open, pause, or delete them. You can keep 5.
One Logo
- The amplifriends logo is now the same size on every page, on every screen, at the top and the bottom.
Telling You What Changed
- This Week in the Beta: each week we’ll sum up what changed and what your feedback led to. It arrives in your bell and lives at This Week in the Beta, linked from this page.
- We may ask you one quick question twice: after your first conversation, and after your first week. Answer with a number from 1 to 5, add a comment if you like, or choose Not now. Either way we won’t ask again.
Waitlist
- When you join the waitlist you can tell us your city or ZIP and what you play. Both are optional; they help us invite people near each other, so there’s someone to find when you arrive.
Easier First Steps
- No invite yet? The front page, menu, and guides now take you straight to the waitlist. Have a code? “Make your account” is right there too.
- When a search finds nobody, it shows which filter to drop and how many people you’d see without it. If you have invites left, it reminds you that you can bring people in.
- Once you’re listed, your dashboard suggests a few next steps for your first two weeks: add a photo, favorite a few people, send your first message, and invite someone.
- You can help improve the beta: if you say yes on your dashboard, we record which pages you open and a few things you do, under a code instead of your name, for 90 days. Never what you write or who you write to. Say no any time in Account and it’s all deleted. The privacy page has the details.
Guides
- Guides, in the footer, has practical advice: how to find band members, how to find a drummer, how to join a band, and how to write a profile people message.
Find Musicians by City
- Musicians by city, in the footer, lists every city page: who plays what within 50 miles of each city.
- City pages now link to the other instruments in the same city and to nearby cities in the state.
- Your profile links to the city pages you’re listed on, under More Near your city.
- Neighboring towns now share one city page, named after the town most members live in. Links to the others take you there.
- Page titles say what each page is, like “Drummer in Austin, TX” or “Music Venue in Denver, CO”, so search engines show you to the right people.
- The front page links to Browse for bands, venues, and studios.
- On phones, each instrument in your profile now lines up the same, with Primary and Remove on their own row and the skill buttons in two rows.
We’re in Beta
- amplifriends is in beta: tell us what works and what doesn’t with Feedback, now in the menu.
- This changelog is in the menu during the beta, so you can see what’s new.
- On tablets and smaller laptops the menu now folds into Inbox and Menu instead of running off the screen.
- You can hide your profile from your dashboard (Profile) without removing anything: nobody else finds it, and you can show it again any time.
- Your dashboard is simpler: Profile, Pages, Favorites, Message settings, and Account, with verification now in Account.
- To see how many members come back, we now note which weeks you use the site (the week only, kept 6 months). The privacy page says so.
- The Feedback page now lists what you’ve sent and where each stands. If someone reported the same thing first, you’ll still hear when it’s fixed.
- You can change your email address in your dashboard (Account). The change happens when you open the link we send to the new address.
- Joining is invite-only for now. Every member can invite 5 people from their dashboard (Account), and anyone can join the waitlist.
- Browsing bands, venues, and studios is faster.
When Our Emails Can’t Reach You
- If our emails to you bounce or are marked as spam, your dashboard now says so and what to do about it.
- Tapping a tab on a phone no longer leaves it stuck pink.
More Results, Faster Messages
- Browse bands, venues, and studios now goes past the first 50: press More at the bottom.
- Messages send faster.
Smoother Messages and Settings
- Typing a message stays quick in long conversations.
- Band settings and each onboarding step load less, so they respond faster.
- Invites to a band, venue, or studio all say where to answer them.
Privacy and Polish
- When you change your link, your old one is kept for you for 30 days, so nobody can take it over.
- Your data export now includes who you blocked, your notifications, reports you filed, and feedback you sent.
- Deleting your account now also removes the invites you had and other small records.
- If you’re the only person running a band, venue, or studio, you’re asked to confirm before leaving hides it.
- Pages load a little faster.
Fixes for Bands, Venues, and Studios
- Saving a band, venue, or studio’s details no longer moves it on the map or fails for pages set up with a ZIP code.
- Buttons like Cancel invite and Remove now tell you when something went wrong, and errors show next to the field they’re about.
- Venues and studios follow the same privacy rules as bands: members under 18 aren’t shown to logged-out visitors, and blocks apply in Browse and invites.
- New messages, the bell, and your inbox keep updating after a brief outage, without reloading.
- Uploads that fail or are abandoned no longer use up your free samples.
- Confirm your email to get listed, add samples and photos, report, or favorite. You can still log in and fill in your profile first.
- A verified venue or studio that changes its name, link, or website is checked by a moderator again.
- You can start up to 3 bands, venues, or studios a day.
Safety Fixes
- “Keep my account” now always wins, even if you press it at the moment your account was due to be deleted.
- Moderators can’t decide reports, verifications, or claims that involve themselves; another moderator does.
- Very long uploads are turned away sooner, with the file’s real length in the message.
Photo and Privacy Fixes
- Band, venue, and studio photos now show on their pages.
- Profile photos up to 8 MB upload properly (larger phone photos used to fail).
- Photos and samples of members under 18 now load only for logged-in members, like their profiles. Nothing loads from a member who blocked you.
Videos on Band Pages
- Band admins can add up to 5 YouTube or Vimeo videos to the band page. Nothing loads from them until you press play.
- A video now counts, like a shared sample, toward putting a band in search.
Studio Pages
- Run a recording or rehearsal studio? Add it from your dashboard, under Your pages. A moderator verifies it first.
- Studio pages show services, rates, gear, the scenes they work in, and samples of their work.
- Browse has a Studios tab: find studios near you by the service you need.
Badges, Tidied
- Badges now show in the same order everywhere: ampliteam, Founder, then Early Adopter. On the home page they show as icons.
- The menu button at the top right is now called Dashboard.
Venue Pages
- Book shows at a venue? Add it from your dashboard. A moderator verifies it before the page is public.
- Venue pages show capacity, ages, the scenes they book, and open dates they want to fill.
- Browse has a Venues tab: find venues near you, by ages, and ones with open dates.
- “Message the venue” goes to whoever books it, free like every message.
Band Pages
- Start a band page from your dashboard: a photo, scenes, where you’re based, and the spots you want to fill.
- Invite bandmates by their handle; they join from their dashboard. Members can share their samples to the band page.
- Browse has a Musicians and Bands switch, and you can find bands looking for your instrument.
- “Message the band” goes to the band’s admins, free like every message.
A Musician Near You on the Home Page
- Logged in, the musician on the home page is someone near you: within 50 miles if there is anyone, then further out.
Early Adopter Badge, ampliteam, and No Ban Evasion
- The first 500 members to confirm their email get the Early Adopter badge.
- The people who build amplifriends now carry an “ampliteam” label.
- A suspended account’s email can’t be used to sign up again, and accounts used from its internet connection wait for a moderator to check them.
Safer for Younger Members, and Clearer Moderation
- Sign-up asks whether you’re 13 to 17 or 18 or older. Under 18, your profile is only shown to logged-in members, your age and last-active time are hidden, and adults can only send you message requests.
- When a moderator acts on your account, the email says which community rule it broke, what happened, and that a person decided. Reply within 6 months to ask for another look.
- We now delete old data on a schedule: expired sessions and links after days, and old moderation records after 2 years. The Privacy page lists every period.
Favorites, Feedback, and Cropping Your Photo
- Favorite anyone’s profile; your list is under Favorites on your dashboard. Profiles show how many people favorited them.
- Send us an idea or a bug from Feedback at the bottom of every page. Fixed bugs and shipped ideas show up here.
- Crop and position your profile photo, and adjust it any time.
- Save and exit now saves the step you’re on before going back to your dashboard.
- Fixed: message alert emails dropped every letter s from the message preview.
Choose When Message Emails Arrive
- Pick 5, 10, 15, or 30 minutes before we email you about unread messages.
- The bell shows how many new notifications you have.
Roles Beyond Instruments, a Tidier Dashboard, and First Names
- Producers, engineers, promoters, photographers, and graphic designers can now list what they do. Photographers, designers, and promoters are listed with a photo or a video link.
- Look for collaborators, promoters, designers, producers, or engineers.
- The bell opens a menu with your message requests and notices.
- See when someone is typing, and turn on a sound for new messages.
- The dashboard has tabs, and once you’re listed it shows your profile’s parts with Edit links.
- amplifriends shows one name: your first or preferred name.
Blues and Soul, and Taking Back a Declined Request
- Blues and Soul are now genres, from Delta blues and Jump blues to Motown and Neo-soul.
- Declined a message request by mistake? Find it under Show declined and move it back to Requests.
Your Samples, Message Requests, and a Notifications Bell
- A Your samples page: add more samples, rename them, change their order, and delete them.
- Add YouTube or Vimeo videos to your profile. They load only when someone presses play.
- Choose who can start a conversation with you: everyone, message requests, or no one new.
- A bell in the nav for message requests, report outcomes, and notices about your account.
- Deleting your account now waits 7 days, so you can change your mind.
- Adding a scene is easier: every genre has an Add scene button.
Delete Your Account, and Rock and Folk
- Delete your account from your dashboard. It happens right away, and you can sign up again later.
- Rock and Folk are now genres, with scenes from Indie rock and Shoegaze to Old-time and Folk punk.
- Mandolin, accordion, and harmonica players can now list those instruments.
- A volume slider and mute button on every player. The setting applies everywhere.
Landing Page, Footer, and the Pages Behind It
- A new front page with a real profile you can play.
- Changelog, Finances, Privacy, Safety and reporting, and About pages.
- Smaller photos in search results, so pages load faster on phones.
Membership Page
- See the free plan and the $10-a-month membership side by side.
- Membership isn’t open yet. “Email me when it opens” sends one email, once.
Reporting, Blocking, and Verification
- Report a profile or a conversation. A person reviews every report within 24 hours.
- Get verified with a code on a page you run, or a short voice clip.
- Email preferences: turn off message emails from your dashboard.
Messaging
- Message anyone for free, with no limits. Messages arrive in real time.
- Share one of your samples in a conversation.
- An email when messages have waited 15 minutes while you were away.
Search
- Browse musicians by instrument, distance, activity, genre and scene, commitment, and what they’re looking for.
- List view or one at a time, with arrow keys.
Public Profiles and Samples
- Every profile has its own link, with samples you can play and a preview when you share it.
- Upload audio or video samples. Video plays on your profile; search plays the sound.
- Add a profile photo.
amplifriends Is Live
- Make an account, set up your profile, and download your data any time.