Monthly Archive for March, 2010

MobBase: iPhone Apps for Bands, Musicians and the Rest of the Music Industry Too!

published
on March 30, 2010
by
Alan Khalfin
in MobBase, music, music business, social media, technology, and tools for musicians
. 1 Comment Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

You probably know that MobBase makes it easy for musicians, bands, artists and DJs to create, launch and manage their own, custom iPhone apps. You may have even downloaded one of the more than 150 MobBase artist apps available in iTunes. But, if you’re not a musician, band, artist or DJ, did you know that MobBase makes it easy for you to make your own mobile app too?

If you’re a music industry blog/publication, record label, radio station, venue, music festival, music school, recording studio, gear/instrument company, or other music related project/company, MobBase can greatly help you connect with your audience through a custom iPhone app. For as little as $0.50 a day, you can use MobBase to build a dynamic app that shares music, photos, videos, tweets, news, event info, merchandise and other content with fans on their mobile devices. Here’s a little taste of the different types of music industry players that are using MobBase to connect with their fans:

Music Industry Blogs, Publications and Resources:

  • Indie Music Tech: A blog that explores the technologies enabling the music industry.
  • Remix Comps: A community of remix contest enthusiasts that provides information on the latest remix contests going on across the web, and features streaming versions of remix contest winners.
  • Wink Sound: A resource for music production videos and tutorials on Ableton, Logic, Pro-Tools, Reason, and Cubase, as well as on mixing, mastering, recording audio, beat making and Djing.
  • Evolving Music: You’re looking at it dude 🙂

Record Labels and Other Music Companies:


Radio and Music Discovery:

  • IODA Promonet: A promotional distribution network from IODA that helps fans discover and share music from thousands of top independent artists and labels around the world.
  • House Music Channel: A destination for all things house music, featuring exclusive music, mixed sets, news, information, and events from today’s hottest names in house music.
  • Flawless Radio: An app that helps you discover new music and news from the hottest emerging and developing hip-hop artists.
  • LyricShare: A Gospel and Christian music destination that gives unrivaled access to music, pictures, lyrics, sheet music, and videos.

Soundtracks and Soundscapes:

28 MobBase iPhone Apps Released in Just 2 Days

published
on March 11, 2010
by
Alan Khalfin
in MobBase, music, music business, technology, and tools for musicians
. Closed Tags: , , , , , , , , , , .

It’s been quite a busy week over at MixMatchMusic HQ, where the MobBase team has released 28 new iPhone apps in just two days! Amongst all the fuss going on about “cookie cutter” iPhone apps earlier this week, the release of this batch of apps makes one thing pretty clear: MobBase apps are much more than just web-views and RSS feeds. All in all, there are now 134 MobBase apps in iTunes!

This batch of apps was made by musicians and music companies from around the world, and features a variety of eclectic content for you to enjoy. The apps turned out really well, and as you can see below, they aren’t cookie cutter at all — each MobBase app can have its own unique image, look and feel.  Check out all the new MobBase apps here. Or, find out how to make mobile applications.

Music in the 2010 Academy Awards

published
on March 5, 2010
by
Sandra
in culture, fans, film, music, and music production
. 3 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , .

“Movies without music are just snapshots”
~ Stephen Whitty

With the Academy Awards just a few days away, the exciting is growing. The heavy red carpet gets rolled out, Hollywood celebrities grin (hard under the influence of botox!) and bear it during their grueling last minute nips and tucks, starstruck fans buzz with anticipation, and talented artists from all facets of the film-making world hope and dream that this might be their year…

Let’s – just for a moment – bypass all the rest of the ruckus, though, and focus on the music. Though not a central theme, music plays an undeniable role in the biggest night of the year for film. In fact, though it rarely gets the attention it should, the music often makes the movie.

Naturally, we’ve got the four award categories that are music-related, which is all about the behind-the-scenes artists. These are the guys and gals who slave away composing, editing, and mixing and hardly get any recognition for their hard work. Unless, of course, they win an Oscar. Here is a breakdown of those categories and their nominees.

– Music (Original Score): Avatar (James Harner), Fantastic Mr. Fox (Alexandre Desplat), The Hurt Locker (Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders), Sherlock Holmes (Hans Zimmer), Up (Michael Giacchino)

– Music (Original Song): The Princess and the Frog for “Almost There” and “Down in New Orleans” (Music and Lyrics by Randy Newman), Paris 36 for “Loin de Paname” (Music by Reinhardt Wagner and Lyrics by Frank Thomas), Nine for “Take it All” (Music and Lyrics by Maury Yeston), Crazy Heart for “The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)” (Music and Lyrics by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett)

– Sound Editing: Avatar (Christopher Boyes and Gwendolyn Yates Whittle), The Hurt Locker (Paul N.J. Ottosson), Inglorious Basterds (Wylie Stateman), Star Trek (Mark Stoeckinger and Alan Rankin), Up (Mark Stoeckinger and Alan Rankin)

– Sound Mixing: Avatar (Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers, Andy Nelson and Tony Johnson), The Hurt Locker (Paul N.J. Ottosson and Ray Beckett), Inglorious Basterds (Michael Minkler, Tony Lamberti and Mark Ulano), Star Trek (Anna Behlmer, Andy Nelson and Peter J. Devlin), Transformers (Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers and Geoffrey Patterson)

Beyond the music-related categories, there are the movies about music, like Crazy Heart. Apparently, public opinion has Jeff Bridges taking home the Oscar for Best Actor. It’s his fifth nomination and this time, say fans, it’s his time. Over here at Evolving Music, we say movies about music and the profound role it plays in people’s lives should win more often! Actually, there should be more movies about music (and musicians) period. Interestingly, this year it seems the music stars themselves did not come out on top. Idolator points out that Leona Lewis’ Avatar theme “I See You” didn’t even get nominated (although it did get nominated for a Golden Globe.)

Whatever your predictions and sentiments are for the event his year, don’t forget to take a moment to appreciate the music because, as the wise Stephen Whitty said, “Movies without music are just snapshots!” Speaking of shots, here are some drinking games for Oscar night in case you’re interested.

MobBase Doubles Number Of Apps In Just One Month With 100+ iPhone Apps Released

published
on March 4, 2010
by
Alan Khalfin
in DIY, future of music, MobBase, music, music business, social media, startups, technology, and tools for musicians
. 1 Comment Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .


MobBase is again proving the market for iPhone applications that connect musicians with fans, more than doubling the number of apps released in just the past month. MobBase is the new service that makes it easy for musicians and music companies to create, launch and manage their own, custom iPhone applications.

“The MobBase adoption curve is getting steep, fast,” said Charles Feinn, CEO and co-founder of MixMatchMusic, MobBase’s developer. “It took about 90 days to launch the first 50 apps and just 30 days to get to 107. It’s more clear with every day that artists are adopting mobile apps to help build their careers, and that they choose MobBase as the fast, easy and inexpensive way to get their own app.”

MobBase is a low cost way for musicians to share music, photos, videos, tweets, news, information about shows, merchandise and other content with fans on their mobile devices. MobBase apps are priced for starving artists and also artists who remember what it is like to starve, with many artists paying as little as $0.50 a day for their own custom iPhone app.

Prominent artists including Pepper and Everclear are among the bands that have built and launched their own MobBase apps. Feinn said growth is also coming from long tail artists, such as Tribal Seeds, Cash Lewis, NatStar the King, Radagun, Supreme The Eloheem, and indie label, Let It Burn Records. The MobBase platform has also been used to create the official iPhone app for Showtime’s Nurse Jackie soundtrack.

MobBase is a great solution for established acts,” Feinn said. “It’s also a fantastic solution for artists with small but devoted followings who are making music for the love of music. The extremely low price, the super ease of use and the ability to customize it to reflect your own look and feel makes it perfect for artists in the long tail.”

Music distribution powerhouse, IODA, and indie labels including Silverback Music/Controlled Substance Sound Labs, SMC Recordings, Welk Music Group, Vanguard Records, Sugar Hill Records, Town Thizzness, Red Bull Records, Sargent House, and 429 Records are offering MobBase apps and promoting MobBase to their artists.

Feinn said there have been more than 60,000 installs of MobBase apps by fans.

Dave Holland Uses Topspin To Bring You Some Silly Dope Jazz

published
on March 1, 2010
by
Alan Khalfin
in artist/album reviews, music, music business, and technology
. Closed Tags: , , , , , , .
It’s big no secret that artists need to focus on web and mobile initiatives to promote, market and distribute their music in a dramatically changed music industry. Even the major labels now understand that you need to embrace, and not fight, technology in order to successfully engage the modern music fan. But, it’s particularly refreshing to see a legendary jazz musician embrace this concept.
Jazz master Dave Holland has enlisted the help of music technology platform, Topspin, to launch a new digital marketing campaign that includes a solid new website, an array of  widgets, and direct-to-fan distribution of creative bundles and premium offerings. For those of you unfamiliar with Topspin, the  platform helps artists generate direct-to-fan demand using three channels: viral marketing, target marketing, and direct marketing, as well as, providing data-driven feedback.
To kick things off, Holland is releasing a new downloadable Archive Series of  live performances. The first installment is an hour-long, four-song recording from a 2007 European tour with his water-tight quintet. If you’re into moderately acidic, yet organic modern jazz, you absolutely need to check this out! The concert is a nice amuse-bouche for the Dave Holland Octet’s upcoming live release “Pathways,” which is also available for pre-order on Holland’s site. What a great way to give fans some very special content and to build up interest prior to a new release. And, the best part? The 320 kbps MP3 download costs only a buck, and you can stream it for free!
What’s particularly interesting here is that Dave Holland is 1) legendary and 2) a jazz musician. Generally speaking, legendary musicians and jazz musicians think that they are in a special category of artists, where for marketing, promoting and distributing their music, they can just do what they’ve been doing for years — put out records and tour. They tend to think that because they’ve already built a fanbase over the years, that they’re immune from the effects that take place if you avoid using technology to engage with fans. Some even say that their fans aren’t using the web and mobile devices to discover and enjoy music.
But this can’t be further from the truth, and these artists are missing out on a massive opportunity to not only develop stronger bonds with current fans, but to also expand their fanbase. And the longer they hold out, the more irrelevant they will become with the modern music fan. So, Dave Holland, we salute you!