Two things.
It’s all about the love of music.
And a great personality.
There’s this thing about Einstein.
The world is so much in love for what they think he created and not so much about the man. He was lionized to the point where when people stopped him on the street, and he told his inquirers “Pardon me, sorry! Always I am mistaken for Professor Einstein.”
It’s not so much what he created but how he was as a person and his view of the world. Here’s a few things about him you might like.
He’d sometimes wear a motorcycle leather jacket.
He’d talk to you at the same time while eating a chocolate and vanilla ice cream and humming a tune.
If you annoyed him too much with questions about the theory of relativity, he’d stick his tongue out at you and shrug the answer off.
One of his quirks was that he’d always explore his thoughts and ideas no different from composing music and listening to it.
He was a great guy.
This man really , I mean ,Really!” loved music since he was a child, especially the violin.
So what does a music app and Einstein have in common?
It’s about how we experience the world and our passion for music.
Great mobile music apps bring that intimacy and special feeling right unto our phones.
It’s not about whether you’re a jazz joe , blues berk, rock n’ roll, classical and whatnot.
It’s about how that app actually understands what you want to feel and what you want to feel when listening to your favorite tunes and doesn’t screw around with you with pointless widgets and a crappy interface.
So we’re going in for app design and reliability,** but first let’s see what the mobile music industry is up to.
Ever since Steve Jobs brought the iPod into existence and his one liner ,,A thousand songs in your pocket”, our perception about how we can listen to music while on the move has changed.
We had walkmans, then mp3s, iPods and then we had the nice surprise of listening to music through our phones and tablets without sacrificing the experience and quality.
So it’s no surprise that according to the new Audio Consumption Study from global information company the NPD Group, forty percent of tablet owners report they use it to listen to music, while 56 percent of smartphone users say they use it for music listening.
That’s quite a big number when you add the fact there were 1 bn digital songs downloaded in 2012 alone.
Put that into a global perspective with other activities performed on our smart devices and it’s a natural outcome.
Music is about discovery, ease of use, streaming and creativity.
So what makes a music app hit it real big? How do you reach the music loving hearts of your mobile users?
So with that does it all begin?
Creative design.
A successful app starts with an appealing and catchy interface. Start with the music and content you want to put in your app. Is it the 80s music?
An app that catches that 80s feeling is MixTape, which features realistic tape-themed background and old-style computer font.
MixTape delivers on its promise. Whether you’re going for Michael Jackson, Bon Jovi or whatever brings back memories, MixTape hits the nail in the head.
Creative design goes hand in hand with user experience. If you’re going for a specific app with popular music, then a design such as the one NightFever app , by using slightly glamorous nightclub atmosphere by means of dark color scheme and flickering neon-like user interface elements establishes that live life to the fullest feeling.
No matter the nature of your music app – whether it’s a song discovery app, an app that composes music, a recognition app or just your old school music streaming app, creative design should be on your lips.
With a beautiful and intuitive interface, you’re working towards brand/app recognition and you’ll give your users something to remember.
Creative design nailed down, now we move on to what a music app is all about. Social engagement.
By focusing both on engagement and data, artists and companies are able to gain a better understanding of their audience while allowing them to retain their interest. ‘
But how do you leverage engagement into palpable results?
There are a lot of tricks to employ here.
Using efficient analytics and smart push alerts, you take advantage of the data you have to personalise the app as much as possible. Ads tailored to the browsing history of a mobile music app user are one way to make a dime out of your music app.
Do your mobile users prefer Steve Vai over other artists? A timely push alert with his concert tour and a landing page that leads to purchasing a ticket will generate emotional investment for your music app.
Studios, bands or individual artists have a lot to gain by developing a music app focused on the band’s or artist’s history. A great example of both a native application and creative engagement can be found with Slash’s new app, Slash360, promoting his latest album release.
The application developed by Mativision showcases both music and an interesting interactive element which allows fans to gain a 360 view of Slash, Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators, performing songs in the studio off the album, “Apocalyptic Love”.
The user can use their gyroscope to view the song from virtually anywhere in the studio while jamming with the band. The song is consistently playing in the background offering the user exposure to the new track and a great insight to how Slash is in the studio.
With both interactive and consistent elements of Slash intermixed, the application sets a standard for mobile applications.
Another example of how you can build an intimate experience beyond just listening to music, was the 2012 campaign for Jack White’s live stream concert and mosaic compilation. White joined American Express’ Unstaged concert series in April 2012 to provide fans with live streaming video of his concert at Webster Hall in New York City to promote his debut album, “Blunderbuss.”
Thirteen cameras were used, with three angles fans could choose from, all accessible from a mobile device. Additionally, fans were able to submit photos of themselves that would later be used to create a digital mosaic portrait of White’s face.
To what does it all boil down to?
Simple things.
A seamless user experience. An app tailored to your mobile users’ preferences. An app that builds relationship between music studios, artists, bands, media companies and fans.
A_
_ll of these things plus creativity = simplifying music discovery and boosting engagement, all leading up to a higher purchase intent and recognition.
How people listen to music has changed a lot, but why people listen to music has not.
Breathe life and a great personality into your music app and you’ll see the results out of it.
Got something on your mind and want to share your take on mobile apps and how they change the world? Want to develop a mobile app or see what they can do? We’re here to listen, help and get you started. Stay tuned and our newsletter is baking cookies for you as we speak.
(And yes, this is a rare photo of Einstein wearing a leather jacket, in case you didn’t believe it at first. He was a leather jacket and violin type of rebel, you know the sort, 1930s genius-unravel the mysteries of the universe-and music kind of guy.)
Related Content: 1933, Einstein: The genius next door
(Image sources: designmodo.com)
