Trebel may spell t-r-o-u-b-l-e for popular MP3 music download sites.
The music-downloading app allows users to preview and download songs that are stored on the app. The download is free and can be accessed at trebel.io/dl or the App Store.
Piracy is an unspoken phenomenon among music lovers, so having access to my favorite music while knowing the music artists will be compensated for their craft was a win-win for me.
I spoke to Gary Mikikian, who designed Trebel exclusively through the company M&M Media, Inc.
He said the mission was to create a medium for music lovers to download the music that they loved through a platform that compensated the artists behind the music and ultimately eliminate music rip and torrent sites.
"Music is valuable and should always be paid for," said Gary Mekikian, CEO of M&M Media.
One of my favorite features was the ability to share playlists with friends and family. I can download a song and add it to a playlist specially designed for anyone I choose to create one for.
The app also allows users to join a music community where they can add their peers to their networks and explore new music while sharing with friends. It’s a nifty feature to have when you want to share your favorite new Pitbull song with your lab partner.
Sounds too good to be true? Well, there is one little caveat. Ads. We all know what they are, and we all hate them. When using Trebel, banner ads run on the bottom of the screen, and when you accidentally click it, you get redirected to an even bigger advertisement.
It’s not enough to put me off, though, because the paid advertising is what compensates the artists. So to prove the old saying, you can’t have your cake and eat it, too.
I use the app in companionship with Spotify, which is a music streaming service most people are familiar with. So I don’t rack up tons of data, I find my favorite songs on Spotify and then download them into Trebel. Boom. Stored for as long as I keep the app on my phone.
I can jam out to whatever I’ve downloaded on the go without using up precious data.
Not all students are hip to the rhythm of Trebel.
I spoke to graduate student Shalanté Tyson who said even though music is her motivation, she doesn’t see herself using Trebel anytime soon.
"I feel like Pandora is enough," the 24-year-old counseling student said. "I just think anything else is excess."
Personally, I enjoy Trebel over the alternatives. It has neat design features that were created by co-founders Juliette and Grace Mekikian as well as about 200 other college aged students. It’s an app crafted for millennials by millennials.
My overall thoughts? Trebel is a great app for people who love music. Period. The ads don’t interrupt the downloads or previews, and the more that come your way, the more points you earn to actually keep the song. The most important part? The artists are being paid for their hard work.
Trebel may have the potential to make piracy via rip sites obsolete, but who knows? This app could be the start of a new musical revolution, or it could turn into another dud long forgotten. Time will eventually tell if Trebel is worth the space or even worth the trouble.
