Between writing music, recording albums, and playing live shows, there isn’t a lot of time to date as a musician. If you do find the time, you often only have fans and groupies to choose from, and that might not be what you’re looking for. How do you navigate dating when you’re a professional musician, a serious hobbyist, or someone trying to chase your dreams and become the next big thing?
Digital dating, whether online or through apps, is a great way for even the busiest of people to find romance—and it’s an amazing opportunity for the musically-inclined to find someone special. We have plunged deep into the world of music dating apps to determine which options are the real deal. Taking into account things like the user base, matching algorithms, and usability, this list will have you singing our praises.
Niche-Focused Music Dating Apps
Most people searching for a musician’s dating app come out looking for an option 100% dedicated to musically-inclined singles. And while we think the idea of something like that is stellar, it doesn’t always translate into practice. And when it comes to musical dating, that rings true.
You see, there are a few dating apps 100% for musicians only. Great idea, but there are two big problems. Number one—you’re never going to get a site with a ton of options. Because it’s so niche focused, there are fewer people looking to join and the app doesn’t have the marketing resources to drive the attendance needed to make it worthwhile. Number two—because of the lack of resources, you lose out a lot in quality. This means potential issues with security, user experience, features, and everything else that makes bigger dating apps a lot more fruitful.
Here’s the bottom line. The idea of dating apps for musicians only is great, but it just doesn’t work. That’s why we’ve recommended more mainstream dating apps that you can tailor to find exactly what you’re looking for.
In case you’re curious or want to see for yourself, we have included links to several of the music-only dating apps out there.
- Musician’s Friends Date – While this musician dating app looks to be 100% free, there are a few reservations we have. Number one—it looks like a super small site, which means not many options. When we did our last review, there were only 109 people online across the entire world. Number two—the site feels like it hasn’t been updated in decades. Maybe it has, but it still feels like a website straight out of the 90s. This dating app for musicians has the right idea but it’s a miss for us.
- Music Passions – If we had bad things to say about Musician’s Friends Date’s website, you better plug anyone under 18s ears when we talk about Music Passions’ website. The company looks like it was built in 2004 and that also looks like the last time any major updates were made to the look and feel of the website. The site is operation by Passions Network which operates over 260 niche dating apps. The problem, though, is they spread themselves way too thin (it looks like) and even clicking this link is probably a waste of your time.
- POM (Power of Music) – Technically, this app really isn’t designed for musicians, but more for people who like music. The app works to match people based on their musical interests. It connects with their Spotify or Apple Music and then links them with matches based on those preferences. While the app has gotten a decent amount of press, there are very few ratings on the App Store which usually signals a small user base. Additionally, we think that matching should focus more on personality, beliefs, and lifestyle than it does on which radio station you like the most. But, kudos for the new concept and could be worth checking out if it sounds interesting to you.
- Turn Up – This app looks to be a lot more popular on Google Play than it is on Apple with about 3k reviews there versus under 100 on Apple. Either way, the small number of reviews across the board is usually a sign of a small userbase. Again, much like POM, this app isn’t really for musicians, but more for people who like music. You input your favorite artists and then get matches based on that info. Cool idea to find people to go to shows and festivals with, but probably a bit of a miss when it comes to quality dating.
- Tastebuds – Surprise, surprise…another app that goes off of musical tastes and not really anything to do with being a musician. Much like Turn Up, you add in your favorite songs and artist and then look for matches based on that information. Neat concept, but as you can see it’s one that’s been done several times and really doesn’t cater to musicians.
The Good Parts
It’s important to share why our list of the best dating apps for musicians contains the options it does. We already addressed why we chose mainstream options over niche, but now we need to share why we chose these particular options.
- Singles in the music world – A great music dating app needs other people who share the same passion and love for music and playing that you do. If you’re looking for someone who is also big into music, these apps will help you find just that.
- Singles not in the music world – Just because you’re passionate about playing music doesn’t mean you need to date someone who also plays musical instruments or is in a band. Maybe you want to date someone with other creative passions? Because of that, we’ve shared dating apps for musicians that also cater to exciting singles outside of the music industry.
- Creative ways to showcase your work and talent – Your music is a big part of your life, and it is probably something you’re proud of! For that reason, you need ways to showcase your talent and hard work to potential dates. The apps and sites that do this right allow you to add pictures of you playing, share your interests for music, and even give you the ability to link out to online copies of your music and performances (not all sites allow links on the profile).
- Mobile dating capabilities – Most aspiring musicians don’t spend much time at a computer unless it’s their day job. The best dating apps for musicians allow you to search, flirt, match, and message from your phone, so that you’re never disconnected at a show, band practice, or when you find out you finally landed that big record contract (we can all dream, right?).
- Adaptive search functions – If all you can do is search by name, age, and location, you’ll be looking for a needle (or drumstick) in a haystack. The best music dating apps allow you to connect by interests (musical or creative ones), and they allow you to search by interests and keywords to find exactly what you’re looking for.
Is There a Tinder for Musicians?
You’d be surprised how often we get asked if there is a Tinder out there for musicians. The answer depends on what you mean by that question. If you are looking for a Tinder for musicians for online dating, then no, there is nothing special designed for that we are aware of.
If you are looking for a Tinder for musicians that helps you to connect with other local musicians to jam with (more like a social networking app), then yes, you’re looking for Vampr. It’s actually a pretty highly-respected app helping to connect musicians with other musicians and industry professionals. But if you’re looking for somewhere to date other musicians in a Tinder-type format, you’re out of luck.
Challenges with Dating as a Musician
The entire purpose of this guide is to help you conquer dating as a musician. But in order to be complete, we do need to talk about some of the challenges that you may face. Notice, though, how online dating does a pretty masterful job of assisting in most (not all) of these.
- Hectic schedule with gigs, practices, and/or touring – The schedule of a musician is never set in stone. One day you may be in Texas at a music festival and the next you might be on a plane for the UK. You go where the music takes you, literally. It is important that you find a partner that is content with your wild schedule, but you also need to make an effort to show them attention even from afar.
- Jealousy with groupies and fans – We all know groupies and fans can get a little out of line. While your partner may trust you to be faithful and avoid fraternizing with fans, that doesn’t mean they trust your fans to behave appropriately.
- The time demands of practice – When you are back home after touring or gigging, you also need to spend a lot of time practicing. This can make a partner feel like you are trying to avoid them or putting your music before their feelings. Having a partner who understands your demanding schedule is important to dating success as a musician.
- Belief in a dream – One of the worst things a partner can say to you as a musician is that they don’t believe in your dream. Having a partner who sees your music as a silly hobby or waste of time can ruin your self-esteem and hurt your career.
- Getting along with the band – If you perform with a band, you know they are like family, and just like with family, you will want your partner to be close to them. Trying to put your personal needs before the compatibility of a partner and your band members can be tough.