There are a lot of music apps available for the iPhone. What do most of them have in common? Actually the question is, what don’t most of these apps have in common? Artist and musician apps in particular seem mostly to be cut from the same mold, offering very little in the way of originality, which is why I generally don’t take much notice of them. My fandom does not usually extend beyond an artist’s musical work.
A few artists, however, realize that the iPhone represents more than just another conduit for your standard fan service fair, like a slightly more interactive mailing list. Nine Inch Nails, driven by the ever-experimental Trent Reznor, is among those few. He’s already set himself apart from the pack through his partnership with Tapulous for Tap Tap Revenge: NIN Edition. It was the first single-artist version of the iPhone’s most popular game, providing a model that both Weezer and, more recently, Coldplay would go on to follow. Reznor has also championed digital music and video downloads, and even torrent distribution, making him one of the few mainstream artists to really embrace Internet tech. Not to mention the fact that he once wanted to design video games.
Recently, Reznor revealed some details regarding his next project, a free iPhone application for NIN fans. He came up with the app’s concept when he saw fans standing in line for one of his shows and taking photos with their cell phones. Basically, the thought process was “Why not give these fans an easy way to share this experience with others?” And what’s the easiest way to tell a bunch of people you barely know or don’t know at all what you’re doing at any given moment? That’s right: Twitter.
Reznor revealed to Wired that the upcoming NIN app will be based on Twinkle, a popular Twitter client for the iPhone, and will basically be like a specialized Twitter for a Nine Inch Nail fan network. Users will be able to post updates and photos, and using a feature called “Nearby,” attach geo-location data to their updates and interact with other local NIN fans, for example at a concert. Reznor himself is an avid and regular Twitter user, so don’t count out seeing him interact personally with fans via the new app.
The app represents an attempt to deepen the interaction between artist and fan, and between fans themselves, rather than simply to extend the marketing reach of a musician. Hopefully it starts a trend that others follow, as Tap Tap Revenge: NIN did, though that’ll ultimately be determined by the app’s success.
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