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.

“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.

“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.

The above quote is by Friedrich Nietzsche.
(I assume A.Z. is whoever put the quote on the bench.)

“We don’t like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out.” – Decca Recording Company, rejecting the Beatles, in 1962

“I don’t know anything about music. In my line you don’t have to.” – Elvis Presley

“If I were not a physicist, I would probably be a musician. I often think in music. I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music.” – Albert Einstein

“Music is everybody’s possession. It’s only publishers who think that people own it.” – John Lennon

“After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music.” – Aldous Huxley

“Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent.” – Victor Hugo

“When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace.” -  Jimi Hendrix

“There’s nothing remarkable about it. All one has to do is hit the right keys at the right time and the instrument plays itself.” – Johann Sebastian Bach

“Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” – Berthold Auerbach

“Music is love in search of a word.” – Sidney Lanier

“Music is the art which is most nigh to tears and memory.” – Oscar Wilde

“A jazz musician is a juggler who uses harmonies instead of oranges.” – Benny Green

“Master your instrument. Master the music. And then forget all that bullshit and just play.” – Charlie Parker

“When I first heard Elvis’ voice, I knew that I wasn’t going to work for anybody … hearing him for the first time was like busting out of jail” – Bob Dylan

“Music produces a kind of pleasure which human nature cannot do without.”  – Confucius

“If you can walk you can dance. If you can talk you can sing.” – Zimbabwe Proverb

“Where words fail, music speaks.” – Hans Christian Andersen

“Music is the shorthand of emotion.”  – Leo Tolstoy

“A composer is a guy who goes around forcing his will on unsuspecting air molecules, often with the assistance of unsuspecting musicians.” – Frank Zappa

“Anything that is too stupid to be spoken is sung.” – Voltaire

“I stole everything I ever heard, but mostly I stole from the horns.” – Ella Fitzgerald

“Playing ‘Bop’ is like Scrabble with all the vowels missing.” – Duke Ellington

“Too many pieces of music finish too long after the end.” – Igor Stravinsky

“MTV is to music as KFC is to chicken.” – Lewis Black

“I may not be a first-rate composer, but I am a first-class second-rate composer.” – Richard Strauss

“He has a woman’s name and wears makeup. How original.” – Alice Cooper, on Marilyn Manson

“If a composer could say what he had to say in words he would not bother trying to say it in music.” – Gustav Mahler

“Music is your own experience, your thoughts, your wisdom. If you don’t live it, it won’t come out of your horn.” – Charlie Parker

“The Irish gave the bagpipes to the Scots as a joke, but the Scots haven’t got the joke yet.” - Oliver Herford

Some great news straight from the MixMatchMusic garage (aka HQ)! MobBase is proving the market for iPhone applications that connect musicians with their fans, with more than 50 applications launched since the service debuted this past November.  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 Pepper iPhone app is helping us stay to connected with our fans 24/7 and the connection has been amazing,” said Bret Bollinger, a founder of Hawaii’s premier rock band. “We’ve seen a huge influx of new fans and have been able to reconnect with long time fans through our app’s integration with Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and many other sites since its launch.”

Pepper fans have installed the band’s MobBase iPhone app more than 25,000 times since the start of 2010, and have streamed Pepper’s music more than 500,000 times through the app. The Pepper app was featured in iTunes’ “What’s Hot” section in mid-January.

“For Pepper it starts with great music.  They are also a great example of a band using all of the tools at their disposal to connect and engage with fans online and on their mobile devices,” said Charles Feinn, CEO and co-founder of MixMatchMusic, MobBase’s developer. “A custom iPhone app is an important part of that mix, and key to the equation that results in engaged fans buying more concert tickets, band merchandise and music.”

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.

Bands like Everclear, RX Bandits, Rebelution, the Jacka, and Jump Smokers are finding it easy to create their own custom iPhone apps, and easy to add, manage and update content in real time through the MobBase dashboard.

IODA, one of the world’s leading digital distribution companies, is promoting MobBase as its premier solution for iPhone applications.

“We have had a great response thus far from our clients to MobBase’s iPhone apps,” said Adam Rabinovitz, vice president of marketing at IODA. “Mobbases’s web interface enables real time updating which is great for touring artists and busy, on-the-go label managers. We’ve also been testing the product ourselves with the IODA Promonet app and have been very pleased with the results.”

Additionally, indie labels 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 also offering MobBase apps and are promoting it to their artists.

MobBase is priced for starving artists and also artists who remember what it was like to starve, with many artists paying as little as $0.50 a day for their own app.

Heads up musicians, producers and fans! Dredg is inviting you to remix their song Gathering Pebbles and win some killer prizes! Here’s the invitation, straight from the horse’s mouth:

Hello all, thanks for taking the time to remix Gathering Pebbles. Feel free to do as you wish with the stems, and use only as many as you wish. We look forward to hearing some alternate versions of the song and we’ll be selecting our favorite in April. We will make the winning remix available for sale on iTunes and the winner will be granted a producer/remix royalty percentage!

Dredg (aka vocalist Gavin Hayes, guitarist Mark Engles, bassist Drew Roulette and drummer/keyboardist Dino Campanella) is a prolific indie band that has been building a worldwide following for over a decade. Through their truly captivating live performances, they have developed a devoted, cult like following (in a good way). While on stage, the band completely immerses its audience with their sound and strangely calming, yet intense, presence. For a great example of just how connected their fans are, check out this video that a dredg fan made for Gathering Pebbles:

Gathering Pebbles is a driving, psych-rock tune that has a lot of interesting layers to play with. The song is off of the band’s 2009 release The Pariah, the Parrot, the Delusion, their 4th studio album. Bassist Drew Roulette describes the album as “a rock and roll record, filled with experimental journeys and eccentric jousts,” and now it’s your turn to join the journey and take it wherever your creativity leads you.

The Gathering Pebbles remix contest, which is powered by MixMatchMusic, starts today (February 1, 2010) and runs until April 1, 2010 at 12pm PST.  All entries will be heard and winners will be carefully selected by dredg. The grand prize is big for any musician/producer looking to break out in the music industry, and the runner up prizes are pretty sweet as well:

• One grand-prize winner: The winning remix will be officially released by dredg. The remixer will get a royalty payment of 3% from the sale of the remixed version of Gathering Pebbles. The winner will also receive a bundle package that includes a signed The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion CD, a T-Shirt and a pair of tickets to a dredg show of choice.

• Two runner up winners: Each winner will receive a bundle package, that includes a signed The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion CD, a T-Shirt and a pair of tickets to a dredg show of choice.

To enter the contest, visit dredg’s website, or scroll down to the widget below. You can download the stems for free and make your remix using the software of your choice. Or, if you want to keep things even simpler, click on the MixMaker button and make your mix online. If you’ve never made a remix before and want to get a behind-the-scenes look at how dredg made the song, be sure to check out the MixMaker. Most importantly, upload your remix to dredg’s widget so that you can get credit for your masterpiece! Other people can listen to it, vote on it and share it. You can read the official contest rules here.

This contest is brought to you by music parody show, “The Key of Awesome” on Next New Networks. Click here, and enter the youtube link of your submission near the bottom of the page. Deadline is midnight ET, January 27th 2010.

Rivers Cuomo, the lead dude from Weezer, and the show host talk more about the contest here:

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?

It’s official! Pepper is what’s hot. The newest addition to the “What’s Hot” list in the iTunes App Store is Pepper’s app, which is powered by MixMatchMusic’s MobBase. Congrats to Pepper!

Pepper’s app has been installed over 12,000 times in the last week! Fans from all over the world are now connected to Pepper through their mobile devices, including fans from Japan, Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Switzerland, Great Britain. Korea, Russia, Germany, China, France, Taiwan. Turkey, and Italy.

MobBase is a new service for musicians that makes it easy for them to create, launch and manage their own, custom iPhone applications. For as little as $0.50 a day, MobBase will enable musicians to share music, photos, videos, tweets, news, blog posts, information about shows, merchandise and other content with fans on their mobile devices.

To check out the 47 MobBase apps available for download in iTunes, including Pepper’s, click here!

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!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

It’s been a busy few days for MixMatchMusic, as 34 MobBase iPhone apps are now live in iTunes! The apps turned out rather pretty, and they include a lot of great content that covers a wide variety of genres and styles. More importantly, artists will be updating their apps using the MobBase dashboard, so things will be kept super fresh! So what are you waiting for? Visit iTunes or check out the list below to download your favorite artists’ MobBase app!

Everclear: http://apps.mobbase.com/everclear
Ioda Promonet: http://apps.mobbase.com/ioda
Pepper: http://apps.mobbase.com/pepper
Rx Bandits: http://apps.mobbase.com/rxbandits
Greg Laswell: http://apps.mobbase.com/greglaswell
Zion-I: http://apps.mobbase.com/zioni
the Jacka: http://apps.mobbase.com/jacka
Rebelution: http://apps.mobbase.com/rebelution
Easy Star All Stars: http://apps.mobbase.com/easystar
Town Thizzness: http://apps.mobbase.com/thizz
Silverback Artist Management/Controlled Substance Sound Labs: http://apps.mobbase.com/sbsound
Killer Mike: http://apps.mobbase.com/killermike
Shanghai Restoration Project: http://apps.mobbase.com/srp
Jennie Laws: http://apps.mobbase.com/jennielaws
Throw Me the Statue: http://apps.mobbase.com/tmts
Black Gold: http://apps.mobbase.com/blackgold
The Blakes: http://apps.mobbase.com/blakes
Big Light: http://apps.mobbase.com/biglight
Enzyme Dynamite: http://apps.mobbase.com/enzyme
Eoin Harrington: http://apps.mobbase.com/eoinharrington
El Desayuno: http://apps.mobbase.com/desayuno
Life Love Misery: http://apps.mobbase.com/lifelovemisery
Gavroche: http://apps.mobbase.com/gavroche
Dee: http://apps.mobbase.com/deecrazylove
Kent Welton: http://apps.mobbase.com/kentwelton
The High Five Revival: http://apps.mobbase.com/thehighfiverevival
The Sleeping: http://apps.mobbase.com/thesleeping
Wink Sound: http://apps.mobbase.com/winksound
Joey Lenze: http://apps.mobbase.com/joeylenze
Street Credit: http://apps.mobbase.com/streetcredit
Roy Tal Music: http://apps.mobbase.com/roytalmusic
Kick Drum Decade Improv: http://apps.mobbase.com/kddimprov
My Boxing Fans: http://apps.mobbase.com/myboxingfans
Home Spa Goddess: http://apps.mobbase.com/ihsg

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.

Slightly Stoopid is giving away 7 of their classic joints this holidaze season. Included is the Stoned Saga, a four-track journey from The Longest Barrel Ride released as a one-track epic. Get involved and don’t forget to pass this joint along!!

FYI… this FREE download for the holidaze is only available till 11:59pm on Christmas Eve (PST) so get to downloading.

On a personal note, I just downloaded and am already on joint #5. It’s melting my brain, in a good way.

DOWNLOAD JOINTS & PASS TO FRIENDS HERE: http://tra.kz/joints

Slightly Stoopid:
slightlystoopid.com
facebook.com/slightlystoopid/
twitter.com/slightlystoopid/
youtube.com/slightlystoopidtv/
flickr.com/photos/slightlystoopid/
myspace.com/stoopid/

Inspired Flight. This band has a sound that is hard to describe. And yet, looking at the artists they list as influences on their MySpace page, their sound just makes sense. They’ve really learned how to incorporate some of the subtle and intangible things that make those musicians great musicians.

Their bio says it well. “Rooted in hip-hop and dipping into elements of indie rock, downtempo, dub and dance, Inspired Flight is taking your pre-conceived notion of what a band and DJ are and merging them into something new and quite hypnotizing.” Though their sound clearly incorporates a myriad of different elements, including vocals, keyboards, other exotic instruments, and laptops, this band is made up of just two people -  master turntablist, OpenOptics, and accomplished guitarist/songwriter, Chavez. To learn a little more about their respective musical backgrounds and inspiration, click here.

The duo wants you to join their remix contest, powered by MixMatchMusic. Go on. Have a long hard listen to their song, “It Always Takes,” feel it, breath it, internalize it. (This, by the way, is easy to do because the song is beautiful. It has a haunting melody and something generally mesmerizing about it.) Then, take it apart and re-envision it as your own. Add, subtract, multiply, magnify, simplify, or otherwise modify the song to your liking.

To do so, you can download the stems (for free) and use your own software to remix them, OR if you want to keep things even simpler, click on the MixMaker button and make your mix online. Most importantly, UPLOAD your remix so that you can get credit for your masterpiece! Other people can listen to it, vote on it and share it.

This remix contest runs until January 31st, 2010 and Inspired Flight will choose their favorite submission. The lucky winner will be the featured bonus track on their album, coming in March 2010. Nice! Oh ya, and you’ll also get a limited edition T-shirt and poster, as well as an Eyeball HD Webcam from Blue Microphones. Read the complete contest rules here.

Go. Be inspired!

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!!

When you approach a decade between albums, especially in a genre as fluid and fickle as Hip-Hop, you run the risk of falling into irrelevance. Hieroglyphics Imperium’s Souls of Mischief, however, isn’t worried about perception. They’re worried about putting out what they consider quality music on their time schedule.

This isn’t to say that the past nine years have been absent of new music for the crew. Opio and A-Plus have both released solo albums and Tajai has remained consistently busy with solo and collaboration projects. After the 2003 release of Hieroglyphic’s sophomore album, Full Circle, the rumors of a new Souls of Mischief album kept building, but nothing seemed to surface. Even after an early 2009 interview where Opio and Tajai mentioned plans for a new song for download every week from Hiero Imperium, the only news of new Souls was more rumor. After such a long hiatus, it wasn’t surprising to see the release date for the long-awaited album pushed from November 10th to December 2nd.

It’s worth the wait.

Sporting cover art from renowned artist Steven Lopez, Montezuma’s Revenge drops today and should provide a healthy reminder of why this crew has retained credibility and a solid fan base despite the lack of regular releases in the flavor of the month hip-hop industry. Cover art isn’t the only place they brought in talent though, and the results are fantastic.

You only need a minimum of knowledge of Hip-Hop to have heard the name Prince Paul. Over the past 20 years, he has carved out a spot as one of the innovators, creators and most well-known producers in the industry. He has participated in groups from the ’80s pioneer Stetsasonic to the horrorcore originators, the Gravediggaz. With Paul announced as the primary producer for the album, it was anyone’s guess what direction the sound might head towards.

Prince Paul has chosen to take the backbone of the Souls of Mischief sound and amplify it with his personal flourish. The heavy basslines, creeping melodies, kicked back beats and slick guitar and string loops the Hiero crew members favor are all here, combined with catchy hooks, clever samples and seamless production in vintage Paul fashion. The resulting tracks are audio canvases that provide Tajai, Opio, Phesto, and A-Plus room to roam lyrically while sounding completely at home. Under Paul’s production, the group finds a consistency and energy missing from their solo efforts and reminiscent of the debut album.

“Postal” offers a lush string background and uptempo beat as the group raps about heartbreak and break-up, effortlessly making a down topic into a head-nodder. “Proper Aim”’s addictive and naked bass line follows the one rapper at a time format and makes a good introductory track to new listeners still attempting to attach voice to group member. “Dead Man Walking” utilizes the constant keys and scales of West Coast rap to back lyrics dealing with vengeance and the street.

“Home Game” is an old-school cruising track with music, weed, driving and women as focus, lyrics finding the blend of relaxed flow and taut tempo. The album closer “LaLaLa” features quick back and forth between the group members over a drum and guitar sample combination and interspersed tambourines. The quick jigsaw exposes the chemistry of these four, never missing a beat or word between complex rhyme schemes and multiple voices.

And in between all of these songs? Tracks that show Prince Paul boosting the rich history of sound and style native to Souls of Mischief while letting Souls of Mischief effortlessly demonstrate the tenacity, chemistry and complexity of lyricism that has been their calling card since ‘93. This one could be around for a while too.

Have you heard of the Crunchies? As stated on the website, they “are to technology what the Oscars are to Hollywood.” This event is co-sponsored by GigaOm, VentureBeat and TechCrunch and for all of us start-ups, being considered for an award gives us some nice exposure. And the chance to win!

This is where we need your help. It literally only takes a few seconds, and you can vote everyday. You have until Friday, December 4th, but instead of putting another item on your to do list, why not just nominate us right now?!

If you want to be even more awesome and help us get the word out – or if you are a social media geek and can’t help but document your every move – you can easily broadcast your nomination on Twitter and Facebook or embed a voting badge on your blog (like we did below). Thanks!

MobBase is up for Best Mobile App:
And MixMatchMusic is up for Best Boot-Strapped Startup:

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.

This is for all you runners out there. You know how listening to music while you’re zipping through busy city streets or navigating that woodsy trail somehow just makes it easier? Of course, running in the woods and listening to the sounds of nature is a beautiful zen-like thing. However, I’m guessing that most of us fall into the category of those who are motivated by music.

That dance music in the gym probably helps you push it a little harder (at least when showing off for the hottie across the room isn’t enough.) Running though, especially long distance running, is a different ball game – a mind game, really. When you are fatigued and aching but still want to squeeze out another 5 miles, your internal monologue can seriously benefit from a soundtrack.

A new company called Hella Sound posits that “the right music can help you run faster.” A fairly logical assumption, to be sure. But, what constitutes the right music? One might think that something upbeat and with a good beat is best. Or is it just about which music speaks to you personally? Hella Sound thinks that the best running music is synced to your pace and designed to burn calories.

Apparently, the right music is an “ergogenic aid—an external influence that positively affects your physiological performance”. There are scientific studies and stuff. Some of those studies have made it very clear that tempo is one of the most important important factors, with 120-140 bpm being ideal for running. Similar to the average person’s heart rate while exercising.

To address this need, Hella Sound is creating customized running songs. Whereas mass market songs are usually around 3 minutes in length and between 86 – 120 bpm, these songs are 30 minutes in length and match your stride (between 135-175 spm for the average person.) Check out what’s currently available and see if any of it works for you. Or join their mailing list for updates. Their blog has lots of goodies for anyone interested in running, music, or the intersection of the two.

Pretty awesome. Or as Ryan Kruder puts it, “If the shuffle mix on your iPod were a weekend jogger, Hellasound is Kenyan. It’s that awesome.”

This ebook is FREE to all you readers of Evolving Music. You can download it here. Happy reading!

If you can’t get enough of this stuff and need more remix contests to throw yourself into, you should subscribe to the Remix Comps newsletter, which will arrive in your inbox on days when new contests are added to the site. Another great resource is Rhythm Creation, also by Edward Cufaude. You can also subscribe to the Remix Wizard new promotions feed.

Here, he’ll teach you things like: How to Get Fatter, Heavier, Different Drum Sounds by Layering Your Samples, How a Remix Competition Can Help Music Promotion, and How to Remove Clicks from the Beginning and End of Samples.

There is JamBase, one of the leading sources of live music and concert information. They’ve been around since 1998 and were quick to jump on the iPhone opportunity. Currently they are on V2 of their app. With their app you can find live shows in your area (with the built in GPS, of course), obsess over your favorite musicians on their artist pages, and get totally dialed in by checking out the event pages that are equipped with maps, ticket info, and lineups.

GigMap, a free service that helps both musicians and music venues communicate their upcoming gigs, is actually a “mashup of Google Maps, Twitter and music community Tribe of Noise, which they launched together with Layar. Read more here. Though not the sleekest looking website in the world, the features are pretty sweet. Their mobile app is both iPhone and Android compatible.

And then there’s Beck’s (yes, the beer) GigFinder. Similar to the above example (why reinvent the wheel when you can just make a mashup using existing applications or services…) GigFinder uses Last.fm’s database along with Google Maps. Watch the video below for more info:

iLike has entered the race with their aptly named Local Concerts app. One advantage here, for current iLike members, is that you can browse local concerts personalized to your music library. You can also buy tickets directly in the app or get directions to the show.

Lastly, we have onseeker music, with a lot of the same features as the apps listed above including GPS-based search, directions, etc. You can give feedback to the artists and venues, which is cool. For the anti-iPhone crowd, they’ve got versions coming for Android, WebOS, Blackberry, and more.

So, there you have it. Pick an app that works for you, fire up your GPS and never again wander the streets wondering where to find live music.

Yesterday, MixMatchMusic launched MobBase, a new service that makes it easy and inexpensive for musicians to create, launch and manage their own, custom iPhone apps. While a lot of information about MobBase has already been revealed, and you can now visit MobBase to start creating your app, there are some things that we would like to point. Here are 10 things that you may not know about your MobBase iPhone app:

Create your app for free
You can register for a MobBase account and create an iPhone app for free. When you’re ready to launch, you pay a $20 activation fee to submit your app to Apple for approval. Before submission, a MobBase team member will walk you through your app to make sure everything looks good.

Your app is a blank canvas
It’s your app, and it can have your unique image, look, and feel. The MobBase dashboard gives you a blank canvas to project your artistic vision — select from seven different layouts, arrange the features however you like, upload a loading image, upload background and button images, choose your title bar color, and select color themes. Don’t worry, you can change the app’s layout and design as often as you like.

Lyrics, album artwork and credits
Too much of the album experience has been lost in the post CD/Vinyl world, until now. With a MobBase iPhone app, you can give your fans the full album experience by adding lyrics to your songs, additional artwork for your releases, and even credits.

Fans can add videos too
In addition to featuring YouTube videos and piping in your entire YouTube channel, your fans can add video content to your app. Just pick a few tags for fans to use when uploading their videos to YouTube, and these videos will appear in your app. The tags can be as specific as you want, so if you want fan footage from a specific show or if you want fans to make their own music videos for your song, just hook them up with the tags!

There’s a whole lot of tweeting going on
Twitter is not something we take casually, and neither should you.  Add as many Twitter accounts as you want to your app, whether it be one official band account, or the Twitter accounts for all the members, even the drummer:) Then, track the buzz by piping in all the “@” mentions of your accounts. You can even have conversations with your fans about specific topics, by adding hashtags — add as many hashtags as you want, and we’ll create special sections for them.

All the music you want, from our servers or yours.
You can stream as much music as you want from your app, whether it be your full catalog or just your new single. And, you can mix up what music is playable by making songs inactive or adding new songs. To add music to your app, you can either upload the MP3s to MobBase, or you can paste in a link and stream the music from your own servers.

Update your app on the fly
After you launch your app, you can update it as often as you want, at no additional charge. And, only a few of the changes will require resubmission to Apple, which means most your changes will happen right away. Some of your updates will need to be made through the MobBase dashboard (adding new music, feeds, or featured videos; or changing the layout/customization), while others (all the feed-based content you provide, like the news, blog, shows, videos, photos, etc) will happen automatically.

Hands-on support, if you need it.
While we’ve built MobBase so that you can easily create your app through the MobBase dashboard without any programming or technical skills, we’re here to help. If you want our hands-on support while making your app, you can purchase 3 months of premium support for $200. Premium support includes unlimited phone and email support while building your app; exclusive features such as multiple news feeds, integration with your mailing list/street team, and extra content; a complete app audit that will identify ways to make your app more effective; and unlimited walk-throughs of your app before it is launched.

Photos Galore
You can add as many photos albums as you want to your MobBase app, each with an unlimited amount of photos.

To sell or not to sell?
It’s your app, and you can decide if you want to give it away for free in iTunes, or if you want to sell the app. If you sell the app, you can name the price and we’ll handle all the administrative logistics for a nominal monthly fee. After Apple takes its 30% cut, you keep the rest — we don’t rev share with you!

“Don’t wait is just a song about going out, finding a girl and dancing with her. Living life and having a good time. With everybody. Together. We don’t think that just because we have a reggae feel in some of our music that we should preach righteousness, sing about smoking ganja, or pretend to be Bob Marley. Enough people do that already. It’s just a pop song.” -- The Beautiful Girls

Now that’s a refreshingly honest and unapologetic introduction to what is indeed a catchy poppy song with a reggae feel. It’s called “Don’t Wait.” Have a listen:

The Beautiful Girls hail from Australia and are indeed beautiful, albeit not female. The sound they create is an electric harmony of rock, reggae, pop and folk, which at times sounds a lot like the boys from the softer surfer-singer-songwriter corner (most notably Jack Johnson, to whom lead singer Mat McHugh bears a striking resemblance), and at other times sounds much less soft…

The rootsy carefree sound of “Don’t Wait’ will get you grooving in no time.

Share and Enjoy:

]]> http://evolvingmusic.mixmatchmusic.com/2009/11/04/tra-kz-artist-spotlight-beautiful-girls-dont-wait/feed/ 1 http://evolvingmusic.mixmatchmusic.com/2009/11/03/mixmatchmusic-launches-mobbase-ioda-indie-music-labels-market-mobbase-iphone-app-to-artists/ http://evolvingmusic.mixmatchmusic.com/2009/11/03/mixmatchmusic-launches-mobbase-ioda-indie-music-labels-market-mobbase-iphone-app-to-artists/#comments Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:00:32 +0000 Alan Khalfin http://evolvingmusic.mixmatchmusic.com/?p=3824 The MobBase iPhone app for musicians launched today with an exclusive partnership with IODA, one of the world’s leading digital distributors of independent music and film, and with broad support from top indie music labels including Controlled Substance Sound Labs, Welk Music Group, Vanguard Records and SMC Recordings.  MobBase is the new service for musicians that makes it easy and inexpensive to create, launch and manage their own custom iPhone applications.

MobBase, a service of MixMatchMusic, helps artists connect with fans to share music, photos, videos, tweets, news, information about shows, merchandise and other content with fans on their mobile devices.

IODA promoting MobBase as exclusive app solution to artists and labels

IODA is offering a special version of the MobBase iPhone app to its roster of independent labels and artists, including Easy Star All Stars, Big Light and Shanghai Restoration Project, each of which are launching their own MobBase app this week.

“The MobBase iPhone app is an innovative and low-cost solution for independent artists who want to participate in the explosively popular iPhone app market” said Adam Rabinovitz, vice president of marketing at IODA. “Now IODA artists can easily create their own custom app and tap into the next level of fan communication.”

IODA clients will benefit from a custom version of the MobBase app that will integrate streaming music and real-time performance metrics from IODA’s unique promotional platform, Promonet.  Rightsholders will be able to track mobile app streams in real time alongside other online promotional activity such as blog downloads from across the Promonet network.

Additionally, IODA is launching its own music discovery and promotion iPhone app built with the MobBase platform. The IODA Promonet app will enable music fans to discover and listen to a wide array of new tracks drawn from IODA’s diverse catalog, now featuring artists such as Pink Martini, Deer Tick, Aventura, The Phenomenal Handclap Band, Tinariwen, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, The Apples in Stereo, and Vic Chestnutt.

Top indie labels promote acts with MobBase

The MobBase iPhone app has also received broad support from top indie music labels, including Controlled Substance Sound Labs, Welk Music Group, Town Thizzness and SMC Recordings. Controlled Substance Sound Labs, is launching its own MobBase app, and acts signed to the label, including Pepper, Rebelution, Fishbone and the Expendables will be launching their own apps as well.  Town Thizzness is launching its own MobBase app.  Other strategic partners include Vanguard Records, Sugar Hill Records, SMC Recordings, Red Bull Records, Sargent House, and 429 Records, who will be offering MobBase iPhone apps to their roster of artists.

“In addition to IODA’s roster of thousands of top indie labels, Controlled Substance, Town Thizzness, and SMC dramatically extend our reach,” said Charles Feinn, MixMatchMusic CEO and co-founder.  “With their help we’re making it possible for every artist to build and manage their own high quality app, and for every artist to connect with fans on their mobile devices”

Feinn said the labels and IODA are promoting MobBase as their solution for mobile applications, and that it is being marketed on the firms’ websites, via direct marketing and other channels.

Everclear, RX Bandits and other top indie artists connect with fans using MobBase

Artists including Everclear, RX Bandits, Greg Laswell, and Pepper are among the more than 20 bands launching their own custom iPhone apps built with MobBase, according to MixMatchMusic.

Feinn said the strong initial response is good but not surprising news. “Custom iPhone apps have for too long been just for the top selling artists,” he said. “With MobBase every artist can have an inexpensive yet high quality app.”

He said many artists aim to engage and involve listeners in their music in order to build deep and lasting connections with them.  Increasingly, these connections drive sales of concert tickets, band merchandise and music.  Likewise modern music fans are looking for more and deeper interaction with musicians.

“MobBase is the easy and inexpensive solution,” said Feinn.

Mobile music marketing

MobBase gives artists a mobile, interactive fan club, storefront, merchandise table, and more.  The MobBase application is highly customizable, so artists can pick and choose the content they offer to fans and also the way that content is presented. To see all the MobBase iPhone apps that are live in iTunes, click here.

A custom iPhone app for as little as 50 cents a day

MobBase is priced to be accessible to any artist. It costs just $20 to get going and many artists will never pay more than $15 a month to deliver music, photos, videos, tweets, info about gigs, merch and more to hundreds of fans.

Tomorrow (Nov. 3), MixMatchMusic will debut MobBase, a new service for musicians that makes it easy for them to create, launch and manage their own, custom iPhone applications. For as little as $0.50 a day, MobBase will enable musicians to share music, photos, videos, tweets, news, blog posts, information about shows, merchandise and other content with fans on their mobile devices.

“The iPod put music in fans’ pockets.  The MobBase iPhone app puts musicians in fans’ pockets, with the high value content that fuels the artist-fan connection,” said Charles Feinn, CEO and co-founder of MixMatchMusic, MobBase’s developer. “We’ve made it so inexpensive, even starving artists can have their own app and have the same mobile presence as major acts.”

Feinn said many artists aim to engage and involve listeners in their music in order to build deep and lasting connections with them.  Increasingly, these connections drive sales of concert tickets, band merchandise and music.  Likewise modern music fans are looking for more and deeper interaction with musicians.

“Just a relative handful of artists have launched iPhone apps,” said Feinn.  “MobBase makes it easy enough and inexpensive enough that every musician can have their own app.”

Rock-reggae stars Pepper among first bands to launch MobBase app
Twenty-two artists and labels including Pepper, Everclear, Zion I, RX Bandits, Silverback Music/Controlled Substance Sound Labs, Greg Laswell, Shanghai Restoration Project, the Jacka, Easy Star All-Stars, Rebelution, Town Thizzness, Throw Me the Statue, Killer Mike, Jennie Laws, Big Light, Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers, Black Gold, Enzyme Dynamite, The Blakes, Eoin Harrington, El Desayuno, and Gavroche have launched MobBase applications to deepen their connection with fans. To view all the MobBase iPhone apps that are live in iTunes, click here.

“Pepper fans can’t get enough about the band,” said Sally Nobbs, manager for Silverback Music, Pepper’s management firm.  “And were excited about the way that our app will fuel deeper connections with our fans, by giving them constant access to Pepper’s music, backstage video footage, photos and news, and the ability to interact with Pepper through their iPhones, no matter where they are.”

Feinn said MixMatchMusic is now making MobBase available to other musicians.

“Connecting more fans more effectively with the music they love is fundamental to individual artists’ success, and to long-term music industry revenue growth,” said Susan Kevorkian, IDC program director, Mobile Media and Entertainment. “Services like MobBase are expected to play a key role in connecting artists to their fans with cost-competitive, versatile apps as smartphones assume an increasingly central role as sources of music and related information.”

Labels and music 2.0 companies endorse MobBase
Music 2.0 pioneer IODA, along with indie labels Controlled Substance Sound Labs, SMC Recordings, Welk Music Group, Vanguard Records, Sugar Hill Records, Red Bull Records, Sargent House, and 429 Records have each agreed to offer and promote MobBase apps to their rosters of artists.

Feinn said partners are offering MobBase so their artists can build the deeper connections that result in fan engagement and ultimately sales of music, merchandise and concert tickets.  He said partners will promote MobBase as their exclusive solution for mobile applications, and that they will be marketing it on their websites, via direct marketing and other channels.

Content powers connection
MobBase gives artists a mobile, interactive fan club, storefront, merchandise table, and more.  The MobBase application is highly customizable, so artists can pick and choose the content they offer to fans and also the way that content is presented.

Feinn said there are no design constraints with MobBase.  “Musicians have a blank canvas to project their artistic vision.  We’re expecting an explosion of creativity and fun.”

Featured content supported includes:
Music.  Artists just want to make and share music.  By featuring their music in MobBase, they make it easy for fans to buy songs or even entire albums.

Videos.  With MobBase, artists can share video out takes, footage from backstage and at parties, or even feed their YouTube channel directly into the    application. Fans can also upload their own videos to their favorite artist’s app.

Photos.  An image is worth 1,000 words, so artists can create and share photo collections including album artwork, tour pictures and other images fans are clamoring for.  MobBase features seamless integration with Flickr and Picasa, so it’s easy to manage, update and add photos in real time.

News/Blog.  Artists can use MobBase to keep fans up to date on news, blog posts and behind the scenes info with RSS feeds.

Shows.  The best way to get fans to shows is to make sure they know when and where they are.  With MobBase, artists can update show times, venues, directions and other info to make sure their fans know where to find them live. MobBase features seamless integration with ArtistData and MySpace, so it’s easy to manage, update and add concert info in real time.

Discography.  Artists can connect fans with their entire catalog, album artwork, liner notes, and lyrics by featuring them in MobBase.

Twitter.  Artists can make sure their tweets reach their fans with MobBase, and fans can hear what others have to say about the band. Artist and fans can also have conversations to discuss specific topics of the artists choosing.

Store.  MobBase is like a mobile merch table, connected to artists’ web stores.  It’s a great way for artists to show their merch where it’s easiest for their fans to find it (in their pockets).

Biography.  Biographies provide fans with background and back story, information that makes the artist-fan connection that much more meaningful.

More and more.  Because MobBase is highly customizable and supports additional functionality, artists can expand on the platform to do more and engage fans more deeply.

Easy. Customizable. Dynamic.
MobBase is built on an advanced content management system that makes it easy to add, manage and update content in real-time.  Yet it is so easy to use, so easy to set up and so easy to maintain, even a rock star can do it.  And because it is highly customizable, every artist – rock star or rock star-in-the-making, can easily create their own unique app with their unique image, look and feel.  Artists aren’t locked in to a design either – they can change the app whenever the mood strikes.

Priced for starving artists
MobBase is priced for starving artists and also artists who remember what it was like to starve.  It costs just $20 to get going and many artists will never pay more than $15 a month to deliver music, photos, videos, tweets, info about gigs, merch and more to hundreds of fans.

Enter Google Music Search.

Though currently only available in the US (due to licensing and what not), the music search capability is already integrated into Google search, meaning you just search like you normally do. When you search for a song, an artist, random lyrics, or an album, Google will bring up streaming links -- similar to what Seeqpod did before it hit some legal speedbumps and (allegedly) got bought out by Microsoft (when you go to their website it redirects to Bing). Additionally, you can easily click through to one of the partner sites to to access info about the artist, buy the song, check out lyrics etc.

Apparently, music is way up near the top of the list of what people search for. Google would know. The problem was it just took too long to get to get there. Now, just as with everything else that Google touches, music search has become simple and elegant.