ZooZBeat: Gesture-Based Mobile Music Creation

Have you seen ZooZbeat? It's wicked cool, and if you've got an iPhone or iPod Touch, you've got to download this app. Essentially, it allows you to create music through physical interactions with your device, like shaking it, tilting it, tapping it, etc. You can then upload and share your music creations with your friends.

ZooZBeat is a product of ZooZMobile, an Atlanta-based music tech startup from Georgia Tech's Center for Music Technology. Good luck guys!

Check out these videos of ZooZBeat in action:

Love this one and it has the ATL as a backdrop:

Rapid Mobile App Development for Artists

Looking to quickly build a mobile app for your fans with an iPhone or Android? Then take a look at Widget Press. They've got a software solution called ModelBaker that enables users to develop web and mobile applications with ease incorporating an MVC methodology. The intuitive interface is a timesaver for both beginner and expert developers, and it's packed with advanced features. Take a look at this short demo to see it in action:

Bandloop launches iPhone App

Bandloop announced today from SxSW the release of their iPhone app, a global, geo-located concert listings for bands and venues that allows music enthusiasts to quickly find live music shows - from local bars to stadium concerts.  I haven't tried it, but it looks really nice - congrats guys!  Here are some of its features:

• Automatically detects where you are, zooming into your vicinity without having to type in your location
• Fast-loading interactive map
• Represents as many artists as possible, no matter how underground they are
• Website links and MySpace images provided for almost every artist

MoFuse: Wicked Powerful Mobilization Tools for Musicians

Yesterday Hypebot announced you can now receive their feed to your mobile device via MoFuse. Curious about this startup which launched last fall, I set-up an account and was immediately impressed with their features and ease-of-use. Not to mention, it's Free!  For indie artists, this means you could use MoFuse as a Free tool to connect with your fans anytime, anywhere by allowing them to receive your blog feed on their iPhone, or via SMS to many types of mobile devices. All you have to do is register for a free account and provide your fans your mobile address (mine is http://m.mofuse.com/indiemusictech). Your fans will then receive links to your band's latest news (e.g. show updates). It will look similar to this on your iPhone:

 

You may also want to notify your fan community that you're now providing a mobile feed, as well as add a badge to your mobile landing page (mine is to the right of this post), which will display either a standard web enabled interface like this one or an iPhone interface. MoFuse has several additional tools like automatic mobile redirect, click 2 call and a tool to test your mobile display. I see lots of artist uses for this app, especially when you start combining it with other services like GrandCentral. What are you ideas for MoFuse as a tool to build your fan community?

Increase Fan Participation with BackNoise

If you're looking to create on-line conversations on-the-fly that will enhance your band's live performances and build a stronger fan community, than check out BackNoise. Essentially, it's a free, ad-hoc backchannel service that allows you to create real-time conversations about anything in less than 5 seconds. All you do is either join a conversation already in progress or create one by typing out the name - it's that easy!

There are a number of ways to use this conversation app., from interviews to meetups and touring discussions, but here's an example of how to use it for your live performances:
1) Go to BackNoise and create your band's conversation. You can name it whatever you want, but it might be best to name it after your band to make it easier for your fans to find. For example,  http://backnoise.com/eels. Again, BackNoise does not require you to create an account, as the service is entirely anonymous, so this step should take less than 5 seconds to do.
2) Create an iFrame with your BackNoise URL and post it on your web site, blog, video streaming site, etc. so folks can access the conversation directly from your sites.
3) Send out an email with the URLs to your fan base letting them know you're going to have free, open conversations available during your shows for everyone watching online via sites like Synchronicity Live or Ustream. Also send them the RSS feed (e.g. backnoise.com/eels.rss), the iFrame code in case anyone wants to add the conversation on one of their own sites (nice viral aspect ), and for those attending the show, let them know that they can also access the conversation from their web enabled phone. That's it, but you may also want to remind your audience as you begin your show. Then watch the comments fly as anything goes in an anonymous no-login required environment.

Last week I used BackNoise at Startup Riot to discuss pitches that were being presented with others attending the event at the same time. It was a great way for us to interact, and I think you will see that BackNoise will give your fans something to talk about for days after one of your shows.