I built an app that turns the song you're listening to into an animated vinyl wallpaper, now with two new scenes!
Hey! I'm Shiv and I built Vinyl, an app that turns the song you're listening to into an animated vinyl wallpaper. I shared it here a while back, and today I'm back with the latest release, v1.2.0, which adds two new scenes: Listening Room and After Hours.
Check it out here: vinylformac.com
What's new in v1.2.0
- Listening Room: a richly detailed listening setup with golden sunlight, soft moving shadows, and textured paper sleeves
- After Hours: a glowing glass lamp and layered amber light for late-night listening
- Your live album artwork now appears on the stand and the spinning record label, with up to five recently played covers stacked beside the turntable
- Wide, Mid, and Close framing for both rooms, with transparent background support so they sit on your own wallpaper
- Smoother artwork transitions, plus accessibility and reflection improvements in the original Turntable scene
Problem
macOS doesn't have any native way to connect your desktop to the music you're listening to. Vinyl picks up what's playing on Spotify or Apple Music and turns your whole desktop into a live animated scene with your album artwork spinning on the record.
Comparison
The two closest apps are VinylPod (free, App Store) and Sleeve ($5, replay.software). VinylPod has a spinning record widget and a "cover art as wallpaper" option, but the wallpaper is just a static album art fill with no animation. Sleeve is a nice now-playing widget that sits on your desktop, but it's a small overlay, not a wallpaper. Vinyl takes over the entire desktop with a full-screen animated scene, and now you can choose between three: the original Turntable, Listening Room, and After Hours.
Pricing
One-time purchase, $4.99. No subscription. Existing users get v1.2.0 free. Buy here
About me: I'm Shiv Shanmugam (LinkedIn). Reach me through the support page.