Music Tech News: ReDigi, SoundTracking, Songkick, Bela Fleck, Project Glass
Recent music tech news highlights include the impending launch of a Europe-specific ReDigi service, an update of SoundTracking's iOS app and Songkick's news that their signups are now 60% via mobile. In addition, a profile of Bela Fleck focuses on his use of music tech tools. And, in closing, I wonder if there are any music tech developers participating in Google's upcoming Project Glass hackathons.
ReDigi to Launch in Europe
ReDigi, a resale site for used aka "pre-owned" digital music files, is preparing for an official launch of a Europe-specific service that will include both digital music and ebooks. Expect more legal action but there's a logic to this concept to which the courts may ultimately respond in a positive manner.
SoundTracking Updates iOS App
SoundTracking recently redesigned its iOS app with two goals in mind:
Make the app "more faithful to the way people share and discover music in real life."
Give users the feeling that "there was less app and more content."
The first included improving their dedication and tagging system so that tags were automatically formatted for different social networks. The second was inspired by their earlier Twitter Card integration that increased referrals 30%. So they focused on reducing text and increasing images.
SoundTracking also added user profiles and now has verified artist accounts.
Songkick: 60% of New Signups Occur via Mobile
Concert listing and alerts service Songkick recently shared the news that 60% of their new signups are now coming via new iOS and Android app users.
While that's good news for Songkick they're also now facing the fact that downstream purchases on ticketing sites are not going so well because they are rarely optimized for mobile. Songkick CEO Ian Hogarth stated that ticketing sites are "frequently light years behind other eCommerce site like Amazon, eBay, etc."
Bela Fleck's Use of Music Tech
Many buy into the myth that it's the young folks who are all about music tech, mobile and social media, despite the fact that most of these things were invented by baby boomers and Gen X'ers. I typically gather evidence debunking myths about Gen Y but it's important to find positive data points as well. So a recent profile of Bela Fleck focused on his use of music tech tools seems worth mentioning.
The profile includes details of his live duets with Macs during the late 80s, his use of Avid's Sibelius 6 notation software, his current favorite mobile apps and his use of Twitter.
You can see Bela Fleck in 1988 dueling with a Mac on YouTube from which the above thumbnail was taken.
Google's Project Glass Hackathons
I'm not sure if Google's upcoming Project Glass hackathons are music tech news but I'm kind of hoping they are. Unfortunately the deadline passed for participating in the upcoming events so it's a bit late for any new music tech developers but I'm hoping some got on the list.
If you're a Project Glass developer bringing music into the land of augmented reality, please be in touch at the email below. I'd love to cover you at whatever point you wish, even if it's a buggy hack that simply indicates the future possiblities.
Hypebot Senior Contributor Clyde Smith (Twitter/App.net) also blogs at Crowdfunding For Musicians (@CrowdfundingM) and All World Dance: Videos. To suggest topics for Hypebot, contact: clyde(at)fluxresearch(dot)com.
That video of Bela Fleck is amazing!
Bela Fleck is very talented! Thanks for sharing this post.