Sing out! In the same spirit that merely a few weeks agone launched a thousand images documenting Israel's history for costless employ, the National Library of Israel, in cooperation with the Ministry of Civilisation and Sport, and the Digital Finjan projection, have announced the release of Shiri, a mobile telephone app for Israeli music.

Music lovers can access some 40,000 songs crossing all Israeli music genres, and featuring artists from decades past through the present day.

The sliding "Surprise Me This Much" scale lets users determine how ofttimes they want to hear new and unfamiliar tunes on Shiri. Photo: courtesy

Shiri ("my song" in Hebrew) offers music past beloved Israeli musicians like Arik Einstein, Aviv Geffen, Drupe Sakharof, Chava Alberstein, Dana International, HaDag Nahash, Hanan Ben Ari, Itzik Kala, Marina Maximilian Blumin, Netta Barzilai, Rita, Ronit Shachar, Shalom Hanoch, Shlomo Artzi, Shoshana Damari, Tea-Packs (Tippex), Yaffa Yarkoni, Yehudit Ravitz, Yonatan Razel and Zohar Argov, along with hundreds of others.

There are also old-timey tracks salvaged from the dustbins of Israeli audio history: kibbutz choirs, army entertainment troupes, musical numbers, children's songs and more.

Since its February 4 release, the gratis and ad-gratuitous app had already been downloaded 100,000 times, and ranked start on both Google Play and App Store, alee of music app titans Spotify, Shazam and SoundCloud.

The app also boasts an bogus intelligence component that analyzes user feedback–likes, dislikes and a sliding "Surprise Me This Much" scale that lets users make up one's mind how oft they desire to hear unfamiliar tunes – to larn the user'southward personal tastes and generate tailored playlists.

1954 Shoshana Damari concert poster and 1984 Yehudit Ravitz concert poster. Image courtesy of the National Library of Israel

Shiri's smart algorithm is not driven by manufacture music charts simply by guidance musicians and cultural leaders whose goal is to betrayal listeners to both new music and old favorites. The app streams a constant menstruum of songs the user already knows and, based on listening habits and feedback, offers others the user might savour.

Shiri app's AI component generates playlists by analyzing listener behavior and preferences. Photo: courtesy

According to youth amusement website Frogi,  "The Land of Israel is really trying to preserve Israeli music amidst the younger generation and not let information technology sink into the bounding main of foreign music. You lot can hear the artists you already know, and sometimes even new and immature artists, to expand your horizons in Israeli music."

The app is the brainchild of musician and producer Ariel Horowitz, who heads the Digital Finjan project. He also happens to be the son of celebrated national songwriter Naomi Shemer.

Naomi Shemer 1972 concert affiche. Image courtesy of the National Library of Israel

Three and a one-half years ago, Horowitz became concerned that her legacy, along with others of that founding generation, could be forgotten. The solution would be an app for Israeli music.

As luck would have it, a historic agreement had recently been signed between Israel's record companies and the National Library, allowing the library to use the companies' Israeli repertoire for preservation and accessibility purposes in render for a symbolic royalty fee on copyright-protected content.

These rich catalogues of Israeli music were added to the library'due south National Music Collection and Sound Archive,  the world's largest drove of ethnographic and commercial recordings of Israeli and Jewish music (developed in partnership with the Legacy Heritage Fund), and the Bella and Harry Wexner Libraries of Sound and Song, for the rescue, preservation and digitization of audio recordings, music manuscripts, printed material and ephemera, also every bit personal archives of composers and performers.

Yaffa Yarkoni entertaining IDF troops in 1967. Photo past Regime Press Office via Wikipedia

In 2016, an thought was floated at a Knesset commission hearing on a neb for the extension of the menstruum of copyright on recordings from 50 to 70 years. A publicly bachelor music app would be part of a "win-win proposal" covering preservation and accessibility; promotion of Hebrew music; and disbursement of royalties. The first role was existence handled by the National Music Drove, the second part would exist Digital Finjan'southward task. The third office was the topic under discussion.

At that meeting, Horowitz said, "I'm a musician who, along with my sister, had the good fortune to exist the heir of my female parent, the late Naomi Shemer, and so I'm as well interested in how we tin can preserve the culture that preceded our generation, and I've too founded an initiative together with the best Israeli artists from across the musical spectrum… for gratuitous access to Israeli music in anyone's pocket via an app… It is not for profit because we are very, very worried about the fate of this sector."

Recorder orchestra comprised of war orphans from Romania, rehomed at the Meshek HaPoalot Farm in Petah Tikva, 1946. Photo by Government Press Office via Wikipedia

In 2017, the Knesset plenum approved the neb extending the flow of copyright, adopting mechanisms to ensure public access to past treasures of Israeli music while at the aforementioned fourth dimension ensuring proper remuneration for performers on by repertoires.

The affair of royalties at present resolved, Horowitz's dream became reality at the beginning of February 2019 with a launch that exceeded all expectations. Israel's Ministry of Culture and Sport sponsored the successful promotional campaign.

Shlomo Bar of Habrera Hativeet playing at the Israel Peace Festival at Neve Shalom, 1985. Photo past Government Press Office via Wikipedia

The National Library stated that the app sets two global precedents. "For the outset time, a country has entered the digital music marketplace to protect and promote its local culture and unique language [and] for the offset fourth dimension in digital media, royalties are distributed as to creators, record companies and performers."

It was as well emphasized that the artists will earn a college fee on each song played on Shiri than on other music apps.

Shiri (currently only in Hebrew) is available for both Android  and iOS devices.

A few other Israeli music sites are bachelor online, including the National Library'southward own House of Hebrew Songs that provides non only music merely as well documentation – posters, programs, canvas music, photographs, etc.– relating to each artist.

Zemereshet  is a project focused exclusively on Hebrew songs from the early Zionist menstruum and up until the establishment of the State of State of israel, while Radio Nostalgia, a production of the wonderful State of israel Nostalgia site, plays songs dating from establishment of the State on through to the 1980s. For those who like to sing forth, lyrics to Israeli songs can be plant on Shironet.