Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Multimedia, Software, Apple, Deals, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch
Presidents of the USA release iPhone app with their music in it
Wired has a story up about an interesting tactic The Presidents of the United States have put into action (no, not the Commanders in Chief, the pop punk trio from the '90s). While they already do have their music in the iTunes Music Store, one of the band's members has joined a company that makes iPhone software, and they're also putting all of their tunes into the App Store as well. The app sells for three bucks and allows you to listen to tracks from the four albums of material that the band owns themselves -- though only through a stream, which, according to the reviews, can sound pretty bad at times.So interesting idea, pretty poor implementation. Still, this might be a good way for even smaller bands to get their music out there and into people's hands -- the only up-front cost on the App Store is the $100 registration fee, and Apple's fine with whatever you put out there. As Wired notes, they get paid their 30% whether you're selling your tunes via an app or through iTunes. Plus, with a dedicated app, you can add in news, throw in interactive extras, and put whatever else you can think of in there.
I doubt this is the last time we'll hear about an artist (or even a corporation) selling an iPhone app with content built-in to promote themselves. The only issue is that anyone releasing "promoware" like this should be required (either by Apple or just by consumers) to offer some actual functionality along with the promotion.
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
KomputarGuy said 4:34PM on 2-20-2009
wow, these guys are still around?
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Hawke said 4:46PM on 2-20-2009
What irritates me most about radio or music applications is that they don't work in the background. While I can listen to anything else on my ipod while checking text messages or email... no go for this app. Not worth it.
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Jack Chance said 2:26PM on 2-21-2009
I totally agree.
I love pandora on the iPhone (and at home) but it drives me crazy that if i want to check mail or send an SMS the music stops.
This is apple's fault, not the app's fault. But i also understand why apple wanted to restrict background apps.
Robert said 5:08PM on 2-20-2009
Doesn't this duplicated the functionality of the iPod app?
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L3 said 5:18PM on 2-20-2009
"Lump sat alone in a boggy marsh!"
POTUS FTW!!!
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Dale said 6:56PM on 2-20-2009
If you like PUSA, why wouldn't you rip the music to MP3 and put it on your iPhone?
If you don't like PUSA, why would you want shitty quality versions of their music in a $3 app?
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DavidW said 11:40PM on 2-20-2009
@Hawke
Not the fault of the developers, it has to do with Apples policy
@Mike
I don't know if ya'll talked about this, but Death Cab for Cutie actually released a free app with some of their music, album covers, pictures, etc...and it's free!
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fleshman03 said 12:56AM on 2-21-2009
@Dale. It's POTUS. Think of it like this... POT-US. I know I do.
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benjamin said 3:40PM on 2-21-2009
@fleshman03 It's POTUSA. Think of it like this... POT-USA. I know I do.
lanejasper69 said 2:35PM on 2-21-2009
Little Bluuuuee Duuunnnnnee BUGGAY! In the sand.....These guys are cool, I have this album and have listened to it recently, lol
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Jason Martin said 6:20PM on 2-21-2009
I love that artists are making their own iPhone apps that stream some or all of their music. This is a great idea, but it is seriously handicapped by the iPhone's inability to run these apps in the background. If Apple allowed that, I'd be all over apps like this. Nevertheless, I hope more artists follow suit. (Beck and Radiohead, I'm looking in your direction.)
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