Last night I had the pleasure of attending the CMJ @SoundCTRL and music:tech meetup, as well as the debut of Superglued (a cool new iPhone app… more on that later).
I went to the last SoundCTRL event and was impressed by the quality of attendees, as well as the panel members and content. This mixer was slightly different as it was a joint event with music:tech, who was celebrating their 1-year anniversary, as well as a product launch.
As is usual with the music and technology events I go to in the city, the best part of the night (by far) is discovering how so many different people can have so much in common. I always end up meeting people who inspire me to push the boundaries even more, and walk away feeling like the world has to be a slightly better place than it was before the event if so much positivity exists.
We all know that the music industry has changed. That ship sailed years ago. What’s great to hear is how people are responding to that change and developing their own framework and their own new path to walk. There are so many companies coming up with new technologies to help artists spread their music, or help fans find the music they want to listen to – all in a way that removes barriers and works with the user, not against them.
Superglued is one such company, and a product that I see myself using quite often (starting… last night).
Straight from their website:
SuperGlued is where people go to share and discuss live music shows with the other people who were there. Live music is such a collective experience so shouldn’t it be celebrated together too? We think so! Whether you were in the crowd of 55,600 to see the Beatles at Shea Stadium in 1965 or among the 200 to experience Arcade Fire in a Montreal church basement in 2005, your stories belong here.
As a marketer who now works in social media, I demand a lot from applications. For an application like Superglued, a few key things must be present if they want to gain and keep a loyal user.
- It has to be social. Connect me with people who like the same music I like, WITHOUT making me search
- It has to be easy to use. This is more a UI thing than a social media thing, but have you ever noticed how darn easy most social applications are to use?
- It has to keep me coming back. Why do I come back? To talk to other people like me, of course.
From the musician’s standpoint, they want a place to go and see what the crowd liked and didn’t like, a place to share their opinions and information about the show, and hopefully, a place to make more money.
Superglued is on the right track on both counts.
The app has proven useful already, showing me shows in Manhattan last night for CMJ. It uses the GPS function in the iPhone to find your current location, and shows you upcoming local shows based on that data. It was really easy to sign up (from the event itself) without having to go to a computer, and I set up my profile within a few minutes, in addition to connecting it to Facebook and Twitter.
On a seperate topic, Sonorasaurus (the DJ iPhone app) seemed to get positive reviews from the people that saw it. More on that in a future blog post.
Summary?
SoundCTRL and music: tech put on a great event. I’m looking forward to the next one(s).
A head nod also goes to to @nettap, @dubfiler, Dave Chaitt, @nmcgylnn, Seth and Justin for the wonderful conversations.