read #2

iPhone Apps could be the new Myspace
http://blog.wired.com/music/2008/10/iphone-apps-wil.html

Some light reading that I agree with (except on a Google android not the iPhone)! The article has pics which make it look 'real&now' and not theoretical. And it's not too far away.

Key quotes "IPhone apps are becoming a viable platform for the promotion and distribution of music. "

and this is a key bit:
"Songs, images, news, videos and other content can be distributed for free directly to fans using iPhone apps that contain 'buy' links to the iTunes music store. If your favorite band has an app for iPhone (or Android) and you have one of those devices, you're going to download the app. At that point, the band has a friendly, band-branded Trojan horse on your phone to import whatever content it wants you to have, as well as an easy way to convert renewed into sales.

The bands mentioned" in the article "plan to use these apps to promote their music but the next step could be actual distribution, leveraging the iTunes store's ability to sell apps to offer band subscriptions. I would pay $40/year to have the latest recordings, photos, news and other material from The Fall sent to my iPhone in near real time, and I'd be willing to bet that others would be willing to do the same with their favorite bands."

Some thoughts:

interaction, immediacy & location

The article assumes the user is passive, it doesn't mention is what could happen when everyone with an iPhone/Android attends the bands' gig....... (and ties it with location based services ie virtual networking even when they are in the same room; blogging; interaction with band; other user generated content etc etc) ; chat groups via mobile device etc. These could all be included in that $40 band subscription (which I saw in the comments section of the article that someone deems is too costly)

I saw in the comments to the blog that omegaparticle deems $40 too costly - however they may be prepared to pay $40 if it gives them access to, and interaction with, a band/musician. The smaller the bands subscriber numbers, the better (more 'intimate', more frequent response rates) the interaction, the higher premium may be charged?

and for those suffering app-oplexy or app-ophobia, I refer you to the articles linked on the same blog -

http://blog.wired.com/music/2008/09/nine-inch-nails.html
"Dedicated fans of any band would probably pay $10-$50 per year to have everything an artist creates -- songs, ringtones, videos, photos, drawings, voicemail greetings, interviews, wallpapers, pithy phrases and audio clips delivered to them via a dedicated mobile application." and

"While the idea of subscribing to millions of songs hasn't attracted many consumers, the idea of subscribing to a band could find wider traction, and iPhone/Android apps could be the perfect platform for that strategy."

http://blog.wired.com/music/2008/09/apple-readying.html
"iPhone and iPod Touch users will soon be able to access extended, interactive album art for certain records by installing apps from Apple's App Store that include artwork, behind-the-scenes photos and lyrics"

Album art and liner notes are a key thing missing from digital music stores, fans tend to hunt out those details via band websites etc.

Review of CMJ: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/27/arts/music/27cmj.html

key quote: "it’s clear that music remains far healthier than the music business" ; and "A music business in bewilderment and disarray, fueled far more by musicians’ compulsion to create and perform than by any assurance of a career. Perhaps that’s the same as it ever was, only with the Internet twist that while record labels hold less power and sales potential than they have in decades, music can reach more listeners more quickly than ever. It’s a great moment for musicians who want to be heard and a difficult one for musicians who need to be paid." and "Many musicians who strive to support themselves onstage are writing material that doesn’t strive for radio-style catchiness but mesmerizes and clobbers live audiences instead" and "For much of CMJ, the large-scale music business might as well have been on another planet. Money is tight. Although overall attendance (including musicians) was up 5 percent from last year, there were surprisingly few exhibitors at convention booths in the Skirball Center at New York University, where CMJ’s panel discussions were held. The bands lugging their amplifiers around the Lower East Side and Williamsburg were envisioning not arena audiences and big royalty checks but the congratulations of a new fan or two and the chance to be mentioned on a music blog. Their music can now spread worldwide instantaneously, but in the meantime, they have to make it to the next club gig."