.Evolving Music.

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.

We’re exited to announce the release of Evolving Music’s iPhone app! Built on MobBase, you can download our free app for your iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad and stay connected to Evolving Music wherever you roam. The app includes blog posts, tweets, videos, and other digital goodies for you to enjoy. It also features a selection of 10 songs that you can listen to while browsing the app. Currently, it includes some great tunes from RX Bandits, Easy Star All-Stars, Shanghai Restoration Project, Throw Me the Statue and Gavroche.

We built the app using MixMatchMusic’s new DIY app building platform, MobBase, which makes it easy for musicians, music companies and music blogs to create, launch and manage their own, custom iPhone apps for as little as $0.50 a day. And because MobBase enables us to update the app’s content and design whenever we want, be sure to check the app often because we’ll be keeping things fresh. Ya dig? Get the app here.

A year and a half ago I wrote a post about the Top 5 Music Discovery Sites. A lot has happened since then: MySpace acquired iLike, MySpace acquired (and buried) iMeem (and then brought back their users’ playlists), Google Music Search was born, and the mobile music space exploded all over us thanks to the iPhone and the whole new world of opportunities now open to iPhone app developers… to name just a few things.

So, what are the best options available for music discovery right now? Here is my updated list:

Pandora
The customizable internet radio station that knows your musical taste so well it’s just plain creepy. Assuming you use Pandora somewhat actively, i.e. click the thumbs up/thumbs down buttons or suggest songs, the service is shockingly adept at playing music you will dig. Cool features like station gifting and the ability to share songs via email, Twitter, or Facebook give it a social slant. Links to iTunes and Amazon let you quickly purchase songs for your personal collection. And of course, if you’re striving for musical snobbery, Pandora not only tells you all sorts of fun facts about the artist, the album, or the song, but also explains (in terms probably only the serious musicologists among us would understand) exactly why it recommended a particular song. Oh, and Pandora is coming soon to a car near you.
Mobile Status: Android, Blackberry, iPhone, Palm, Windows and more.

thesixtyone
Our current favorite place to discover sick ass new music is thesixtyone, which purports to make music more democratic: “artists upload their work for review, but, rather than allow a stuffy suit in a boardroom to decide what’s good, thousands of listeners do.” The site also rewards listeners who are active participants by allowing them to “earn reputation, level up [their] influence, and collect badges,” making it almost like a Yelp culture for music fans. You can connect your account to Facebook, share what you’re listening to etc. If you’re an artist planning to put your music on t61, here’s what you should know.
Mobile Status: Nothing yet, but fans are chomping at the bit (check out the comments on their Facebook note.)

Midomi and Shazaam
I’m grouping these two together because they are different versions of the same thing. While Shazaam seems to have the most traction (likely due to its simplicity and clean look and feel), Midomi has more features. It can recognize not only that song playing on your car radio, but also singing, whistling, and humming. Although it’s very gratifying to instantly identify a song you hear, the real power in this technology lies in the actionable options presented along with the search result. Once you’ve identified the song, you can buy it, share it, watch the video etc.
Mobile Status (Midomi): Android, iPhone, Nokia, Windows.
Mobile Status (Shazaam): Android, Blackberry, iPhone, Nokia.

Grooveshark
First of all, let me just say that I am not a fan of the current design. Specifically, it’s the sidebar on the left that I find very aesthetically displeasing. Besides that, however, Grooveshark is a very cool service. You can upload your own music collection and stream it from wherever. Or search for music and stream it instantly. Of course it has all the social goodies as well, including embeddable widgets for your blog.
Mobile Status: Android, Blackberry.

Hype Machine
This clever little site is a music blog aggregator. As they say, “every day, thousands of people around the world write about music they love — and it all ends up here.” Go ahead. Nerd out. Worth mentioning, also, is RCRD LBL, which is a “network of ad supported online record labels and blogs offering completely free music and multimedia content from emerging and established artists.” Yes, free mp3s.
Mobile Status: iPhone app in the works?

Honorable Mentions:

Blip.fm
Blip.fm is essentially Twitter for music, allowing you to share tracks (along with brief comments and messages) with other users in a real-time stream. Naturally, it’s also integrated with Twitter and Facebook, so you can showcase your awesome musical taste by becoming the DJ and showing off your skillz. Or, you can use the service as a music discovery tool by listening to other DJs.
Mobile Status: iPhone (“Boombox Pro”)

Amazon Music
Amazon created a lot of buzz early on with their recommendation engine for books and things. Why shouldn’t it work just as well for music? Turns out it does… In fact, it’s a pretty solid option. You can listen to samples, plus do all the usual nifty Amazon-y things.
Mobile Status: iPhone

JamLegend
While JamLegend (the computer nerd’s answer to Guitar Hero & Rock Band) is first and foremost a game, it’s also a totally viable place for music discovery. As you sort through featured or new artists and songs, you might just stumble upon some great new stuff… You might also get sucked in and spend 12 hours pressing the 1, 2, and 3 keys on your keyboard. Consider yourself warned.
Mobile Status: JamLegend hasn’t gone mobile, but RockBand has an iPhone app, and of course there is Tap Tap Revenge (the Guitar Hero-style game).

How will YOU discover new music in 2010?

We’re excited to announce that MixMatchMusic has been selected as a finalist for Red Herring’s Global 100 award! We are thrilled to be included in this very prestigious list that honors the year’s most promising private technology ventures from around the world.

The Red Herring editorial team selected the most innovative companies from a pool of 1,200. The nominees are evaluated on both quantitative and qualitative criteria, such as financial performance, technology innovation, quality of management, execution of strategy, and integration into their respective industries.  This unique assessment of potential is complemented by a review of the actual track record and standing of a company, which allows Red Herring to see past the “buzz” and make the list an invaluable instrument for discovering and advocating the greatest business opportunities in the industry.

Finalists for the 2009 edition of the Red Herring Global 100 award are selected from the regional recipients or finalists of the Red Herring 100 awards in 2007, 2008, or 2009 ranging from Asia, Europe, and North America. For the past three years, the award has been given to the top 100 global technology companies based upon their technological innovation, management strength, market size, investor record, customer acquisition, and financial health.

What a great way to kick of 2010 for MixMatchMusic!

SF MusicTech has come a long way since its inception less than two years ago. It’s kind of a big deal now – even Google was there this time. The media has become increasingly interested in the discussions happening at SFMT since they happen, you know, at the bleeding edge of music/tech. Naturally, SFMT founder – the ineffable Brian Zisk – is more than happy to chat with the cameras. You can truly see the passion in his eyes and hear it in his voice. This guy is the personification of music/tech.

If you’re new to Evolving Music or SFMT you might want to read our reviews of the previous four summits below for some context.

SanFran MusicTech Summit 1: Rockstars, Lawyers, Nerds and Me
SanFran MusicTech Summit 2: Guestlist Wish, Artist Activism, and Label Survival
SanFran MusicTech Summit 3: Albums Die, Social Media Kicks Ass, and Songs Find a Home
SanFran MusicTech Summit 4: Singalongs, Video Interviews, and Twitter Gossip

Google’s involvement this time around could be the harbinger of a new chapter in the music/tech saga. With their recent foray into music search, Google has presented the confused and conflicted music industry with a powerful new ally. While their new service is definitely still bumbling about in the dirty diapers of its infancy, it’s clear that Google has grand plans for it. At the summit, they emphasized a “search-driven, partner-delivered” strategy.

Another theme, especially among the geekier of the attendees, was that APIs can set you free. Not only do APIs enable the ever-increasing plethora of clever mashups out there (e.g. JamBase + iTunes music library = iConcertCal) to be born, but ultimately they help blur the line between content and context and serve up what the end-user has (knowingly or unknowingly) wanted all along: cool ways to experience music.

Whereas social media was a big talking point at past summits, it seems now to be a foregone conclusion. It’s not about convincing music people they need to use social media. Everyone pretty much gets that now. And if they don’t… well, “If your label and your manager don’t get digital or social media, FIRE them,” was one way to put it. Here’s another savvy social media quote overheard by the Hypebot folks: “Facebook doesn’t need a music strategy, music needs a Facebook strategy.”

The always cool Pandora admitted to working on what will hopefully be built-in Pandora capability in cars. Plenty of auto makers already offer built-in iPod adaptors. Why not built-in Pandora?

In addition to Google, a host of other cool sponsors were to thank for SFMT #5. Of note: Heatwave Interactive, which is seeking to “fundamentally revolutionize the entertainment landscape by creating innovative cross-media properties for gaming, film, music and television,” the web domain extension dotMusic, which is exactly what it sounds like, and Collecta, which offers real-time search through popular blogs and social media.

Once again, the SanFran MusicTech Summit brought together the thought leaders of music, tech, and that living breathing intersection of the two for hours of heated debate, deal-making, and good vibing. One can only wonder what cool new ideas and companies will be born as a result of conversations had and relationships built that day.

Looking for the perfect gift for the musician in your life? Something thoughtful but not too over the top. Something useful but not ordinary. Something exciting but not short-lived.

Custom iPhone apps are quickly becoming a ‘must have’ for musicians looking to build and cultivate their fan base. Now, Holiday shoppers with a musician on their list can give the gift of a custom iPhone app for just $50, with the MobBase Holiday Gift Pack. With MobBase, musicians share music, recording session out takes, photos, videos, info about gigs, tweets, merchandise and more. And because it’s all on their iPhones, fans get the info and content they want where and when they want it. Talk about the the gift that keeps on giving!

MobBase is the fast, easy and inexpensive way for musicians to build and manage their own iPhone app. MobBase is priced so low every artist can have one. And now for the Holidays, a special package makes it even less expensive — and super easy — for shoppers to give the musicians in their lives their own custom iPhone app.

The MobBase Holiday Gift Pack includes:
* One custom iPhone app ($20 value)
* Exactly the features and functionality musicians want & need
* Infinite customization (for all practical purposes, anyway)
* Three months of basic MobBase service ($45 value)
* Unlimited love from suddenly connected fans
* A MobBase gift certificate to put under the tree

All for only $50!

See full details here

Happy Shopping!!

Most musicians have started to realize the importance of social media. And by social media I mean more than just having a MySpace page for your band. While not all of them are on twitter like they should be, many have at least figured out where their target listener demographic hangs out. One band that is clearly ahead of the curve is British synthpop trio, Filthy Dukes. The first thing you notice on their website is the social media links to Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, YouTube, Flickr, Last.fm, Wikipedia, and Twitter.

In addition to being thoroughly dialed in to the social media world, Filthy Dukes also understand the importance of artist-fan interaction. Not only are they  letting fans into their world, they’re letting fans become part of the creative process. For example, on their site they had this announcement: “Come have a go at the Tupac Robot Club Rock rap and appear in a Filthy Dukes video!”

Get in on the action yourself and have a go at remixing their song, TupacRobotClubRock, using MixMatchMusic’s Remix Wizard. The song is an electro-rock banger, complete with dirty synths, driving beats and several different vocal tracks for you to play with. The winner will win a day with the Filthy Dukes in their very own studio! Not only will you get the chance to see the band at work, you’ll get to perfect your own remix on the mixing desk of Conny Plank, Kraftwerk’s legendary producer. This is the very mixing desk, built to Plank’s own specifications, that was used on everything from Autobahn to the Eurythmics’ debut and Ultravox’s Vienna. This piece of musical heritage is now pride of place in the Filthy Dukes’ studio.

Get remixing for your chance to bag this amazing unique opportunity! Depending on your audio editing expertise (or lack thereof) you have two options available to you. You can either download the stems for free and use any software you want (go nuts!), or just click on the MixMaker button on the widget to make a remix in MixMatchMusic’s simple online music editor, which is fairly intuitive and easy-to-use for the layman, yet still full of cool features. This is also a great way to just see how the song was made. Once you’ve completed your remix, don’t forget to upload it so that others can listen to, vote on and share it.

Filthy Dukes will select the winning remix, taking into account the votes and rating each remix receives on the Remix Wizard widget. The deadline for entry is 1/11/10. Date in the studio TBA on consultation of band and winner. No purchase necessary. No transport or accommodation included. No prize alternatives offered.

There has been a lot of talk lately about live music. Some of us have noted that concert sales are thriving despite the recession, and there seems to be almost a revival of festival-going going on. The Taking Woodstock movie is coming out, which is sure to conjure up some nostalgia and fuel some fires that have been laying dormant. One of the more notable festivals on the West coast is definitely San Francisco’s Outside Lands, which is taking place this weekend.

For those of you who live in or have ever been near the Bay Area in August you know it’s a big deal. The historic Sunset District of San Francisco plays host to this 3 day festival in Golden Gate park, which includes an incredible lineup spanning just about every genre and showcasing both big names and lesser known gems.

Fans who were looking forward to the Beastie Boys headlining will have to shake it off and get excited about Tenacious D jumping in instead. Hopefully, M.I.A. will be able to do the same. She was none too pleased about the change.

In addition to being highly interactive and social media friendly, Outside Lands has taken it a step further and is going where no concert has gone before. It is being broadcast live on YouTube! While we’re doling out the accolades, let us also mention that they are doing their part to keep it green.

Planning on going? Have you seen all the tools out there to help you get organized? First of all, you can stay up-to-date via twitter. (Please note that it’s a “twitterbot for people going to Outside Lands Fest. Send tweet to @osl to broadcast back to everyone following osl.”) Also, you might want to download the iPhone app, try using Ranger Dave’s Magic Scheduler, or hop on to CrowdFire (a place to add your photos, videos, and tweets.)