Right now, there are few areas of the music industry moving as rapidly as the apps sector.
In the new issue of Music Week, on sale now, we take a deep dive into app world with a special report that brings together executives from AWAL, BMG, Sony/ATV, LiveStyled and HD360.
James Rodley is marketing manager at artist app company HD360. He told Music Week that the sector has come a long way since the “awful” early days in the market.
“Not only that, but they weren’t built to achieve anything,” he added. “It was like a box people wanted to tick early on, but then they moved on. Because they didn’t support them, didn’t give them any backing or promo and as a result the apps flopped.”
Rodley said the sector’s latest challenge has been “making apps affordable for the majority”.
“This is difficult as it’s still fairly expensive technology and development, if you do it well. And then they require maintenance, whether it’s a new iOS version, a new API change or just keeping them bug-free,” he said. “We have tried really hard to get the prices for our customers down, we are offering very competitive rates in order to make applications as attractive as possible to the artists and hopefully an integral part of their campaign and future brand development.”
Independent artists and labels need support, tools and insights into this data
Simon Dennett, AWAL
Simon Dennett, chief product officer at AWAL, which provides services to independent artists such as You Me At Six and Laura Marling, put expansion in the app market down to “exponential growth in appetite for data”.
“It’s no mystery that the growth of streaming has changed the dynamics of the music industry, changing the business while creating more opportunity for musicians,” he said. “As this industry continues to grow and evolve, independent artists and labels need support, tools and insights into this data in order to properly navigate this new ecosystem.”
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