Facebook's research and development division, the so-called New Product Experimentation team, has unveiled yet another experimental iOS app with a focus on music. It is called Bars and is intended to give aspiring rappers the ability to record with studio vocal effects and professionally created beats, as well as share their creativity on social media.
Bars will allow you to record and upload minute-long videos in which users are invited to rap to ready-made beats. The application feed is reminiscent of TikTok. Followers of "rappers" will see their videos and be able to mark them with "fire" instead of likes. During recording, "studio-quality vocal effects" will be available, including the popular AutoTune feature.
When registering in Bars, you can specify your rap experience by choosing one of three difficulty levels: beginner, intermediate, or advanced. For beginners, the app will offer a rhyming dictionary, while advanced users will be able to rap in a Challenge mode, in which they can rap in freestyle mode by enabling auto-suggested prompts.
The Internet Protocol
Users can choose from several available beats, and if they write text in the app, Bars will automatically suggest rhyming words. The application has audio and visual filters, as well as an automatic processing function to give the result a more finished look.
It looks like Bars is yet another attempt to create a competitor to TikTok since the app even has a similar user interface with a vertical video interface and two tabs.
Late last year, the NPE team released Collab, an experimental app that allows users to collaborate on music videos without having to get together in person. The developers say the pandemic played a role in the creation of both applications.
The Internet Protocol
Bars is currently in closed beta and is available only on iOS in the US and by invitation. The first videos were uploaded by members of the development team itself. However, as with the Clubhouse app, users can download the app and join the waitlist to secure their username in advance and get access to the app once it starts opening up.
