Last week I went to a show for one my favorite bands, Rilo Kiley. It was part of Music Fest Northwest, an event here in Portland that takes place over the course of 3 days. Basically you by a $40 wristband and you can pick between 100s of bands playing in multiple venues across town.
One of the opening bands was Grand Ole Party from San Diego. I’d never heard of them before, but I liked their sound, and their lead singer had a great voice (AND she played the drums!). When their set was over and we were waiting for the next band to come on, I kept reminding myself the name so I could check them out when I got home. Then I remembered, I had my iPhone with me. I could get any kind of information I wanted about them on the Internet.
When I was younger I went to tons of concerts and saw opening bands that I might have liked to check out. Back then I’d have to remember the name, or write it on my hand, then head to the music store to try to find their CD…and it most likely would have not been available anywhere but the most obscure indie music store, which back then I had little access to. In the end it was just too much of a pain in the ass.
Like it or hate it, Apple’s iTunes has been largely successful. Now they are introducing the iTunes Wi-fi Music Store, which will allow people with iPhones and iPod Touch devices to purchase music directly on their device and download it on the spot. Had this been available at this concert, I could have very well went to the music store, listened to their music, bought the album and listened to it before the next band came on. On the flip side, if I didn’t like their music by listening to the samples, I can decide not to buy the album.
I believe easy mobile access to music from anywhere is the future of music…and the future is here with Apple’s iTunes Wi-fi music store. When people don’t have to think about how to find music they want, and just go onto their device and get it, they are much more likely to be okay with paying $0.99 for a song or $12 for an album without much complaint. I know I am, and I’m excited to try it out.
Right on, Matt. I think you couldn’t be more correct about the importance of the mobile space to the future of music. The less barriers that exist between the listener and the band for ways to exchange value for cash (such as songs and ringtones for US dollars), the more successful that band will be. Smooth integration with mobile devices is perhaps the most critical hurdle to remove. For example, how killer would it be to use your phone to take a photo of the band, have a facial recognition program identify it’s Grand Ole Party, which then brings up ringtones and songs to buy in 1 click from the iTunes music store. I know we’re almost there (minus the facial recognition), but the more user friendly the mobile space is the better. In Japan and a few other countries, people can already people can take a photo of a UPC label and have the money debited to from their bank account. Well written. This post will influence my response.
I really like your take on this topic Matt. You are absolutely correct on the importance of mobile to the future of music. However the relevance of the mobile space goes much deeper than just being able to buy music via your phone. As time and technology moves on we may find that discovery, sale and referral all takes place in the mobile environment.