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Musician Apps—What Do Fans Want? 5 Key Components.

By Ryan Van Etten on 05/12/2010

Last year I covered four platforms that musicians can use to build iPhone apps—Mobile Roadie, MobBase, iLike, and Kyte. Sound Around is another one, and is currently in private beta. Discussion from yesterday’s got me asking myself, “what do fans really want in an artist app?” I thought about it for a while and came up with 5 key components.

5 Key Components In Artist Apps

  • 1. Facilitate communication from artist to fan, fan to fan, and fan to artist…and localize it.
  • 2. Integrate deeply with existing social networks.
    e.g. Facebook, Flickr, Foursquare, Last.fm, Google, MySpace, Twitter, Ustream, YouTube.
  • 3. Empower fans to submit geo-tagged mobile media (photos/video/discussion) that
    everyone can interact with through the app.
  • 4. Stimulate competition through contests and/or games.
    e.g. scavenger hunts, artwork/photo/video contests, remixing contests, etc.
  • 5. Offer a point of sale within the app for tickets, music, and merch.

What features would you want in your favorite band’s mobile app?

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  • http://twitter.com/stevenklein Steve Klein

    Another interesting thing you can do in smart phone applications is allow fans to “exclusive content” that's only available on that platform. For example, if you 'check in' at a show or share enough songs on Twitter, you might be able to unlock maybe a live acoustic version of a song or maybe a video of the band practicing – something intimate that makes the App more engaging and keeps users coming back time and time again.

  • http://twitter.com/ryanve ryanve

    Definitely agreed. More fans would use the app if it's only place to get that content. Also a band could use their app to release stuff first, and release everywhere else later. The fans the download a band's app are probably pretty hardcore into the band, so it makes sense to give them the most content, and the most “intimate” content.

  • http://twitter.com/stevenklein Steve Klein

    Another interesting thing you can do in smart phone applications is allow fans to “exclusive content” that's only available on that platform. For example, if you 'check in' at a show or share enough songs on Twitter, you might be able to unlock maybe a live acoustic version of a song or maybe a video of the band practicing – something intimate that makes the App more engaging and keeps users coming back time and time again.

  • http://twitter.com/ryanve ryanve

    Definitely, and more fans would use the app if it's the only place to get that content. Also a band could use their app to release stuff first, and release everywhere else later. The fans that download a band's app are probably pretty hardcore into the band, so it makes sense to give them the most content, and the most intimate content.

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