It’s difficult to ignore – the music industry isn’t what it was a decade ago, let alone a few years ago. Experts agree that the music industry in its traditional form is dying. The shift towards digital has caused a slump in physical record sales, a decrease in full-album purchases, and consequently, a less lucrative industry as revenues continue to fall (It’s estimated that CD sales fell 9% in 2011.). And while the physical music industry is sliding down a slippery slope, the digital side is climbing as consumers become increasingly tech and mobile-savvy. Digital sales rose by 8% in 2011, elevating digital revenue to $5 billion.

For music artists, the surge in digital-savvy consumers is a good thing – actually, a very good thing. To compete in this cutthroat industry where only the best find success, music artists need to take advantage of the tools readily available in the marketplace. What can be seen as a wake-up call for the industry can also be a music artist’s best friend.

Technology has enabled musicians to promote their music in ways that physical records could never do. The Internet has given musicians the ability to reach a wider audience from all corners of the world; it has also made it easier for consumers to purchase all genres of music in a blink of an eye while spending less. With digital, the limitations of a physical record store are no longer. Music has become more global and more accessible with technology.

How Musicians Can Leverage Technology to Stay On Top

Musicians can use technology to promote their music and connect with new and existing fans.

1. Create Online Buzz

One of the most powerful and easiest ways to create online buzz is through social networks: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and others are easy to set up, free, and most importantly reach hundreds of millions of users a.k.a. potential fans.

YouTube can be used to share video content, including music videos, behind-the-scenes clips, and vlogs. The fastest way to be seen on YouTube is by uploading viral content, which can quickly be seen by the millions of users who watch over 3 billion videos a day.

Musicians can use Facebook to build their fanbase by creating a fan page to create photo albums, post more personal content, and view the demographics of their fans.

Musicians can use Twitter to give followers real-time updates on their whereabouts, music releases, and more; Twitter can also be used to host real-time chats with fans called Tweet Chats.

2. Foster the Community

Technology has created bridges between states, countries, and even continents. Back in the day, musicians connected with their fans on tour, during record signings, fan meets, and other events. But now, musicians can connect with their fans through the Internet and, increasingly, mobile devices. And it’s not just musicians who can connect with fans; fans can connect with each other as well.

With mobile devices, interaction is no longer limited to the desktop. Fans can be part of the conversation wherever, whenever. To have mobile presence, consider creating your own mobile app. Creating a mobile app from scratch is a big investment in both time and money- two things that most beginning artists don’t have enough to spare. Luckily, there are app platforms available for musicians to easily and inexpensively build their own social apps for fans.

3. Increase Music Sales

Creating online buzz and building your fan base are important; however, without sales, musicians can’t survive for long.

It used to be people had to go to their local record store to buy CDs and cassettes. This isn’t the case anymore. Technology has enabled consumers to make their purchases online. And with the introduction of digital music, consumers can purchase and download their music in an instant. The problems associated with physical merchandise like shipping & handling, available stock, and damages are gone with digital downloads.

Digital music is more convenient, customizable, accessible, and in most cases less expensive than CDs. People only need an Internet connection to access music from thousands of artists, both mainstream and underground, across all genres. To get their music out to the masses, musicians should aim to make their music available online, whether in digital stores and streaming services or on the homepage of their website. If consumers have more opportunities to listen to your music, they’ll be more inclined to purchase their favorite tracks.

In Conclusion

One thing is certain: Technology will continue to advance and change the music industry. Musicians must not fight this; they must embrace technology and take advantage of the opportunities available to climb to the top.

More than 12 million viewers tuned in to watch the 47th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards last night. From “Yee Haw!” inducing performances from Toby Keith, Brad Paisley, and Rascal Flatts (w/ Steve Martin) to funny power hosts Reba McEntire and Blake Shelton, the ACM Awards was a hoot.

We want to congratulate all the artists who won last night. Mobile Roadie artist Taylor Swift took home the biggest award of the night, “Entertainer of the Year,” becoming the second woman to win two ACM Entertainer of the Year awards. Other MoRo winners include Jason Aldean & Kelly Clarkson for Single Record of the Year & Vocal Event of the Year (“Don’t You Wanna Stay”), and Toby Keith for Video of the Year (“Red Solo Cup”).

Other big winners include Blake Shelton (Male Vocalist of the Year), Miranda Lambert (Female Vocalist of the Year & Album of the Year), Lady Antebellum (Vocal Group of the Year), Thompson Square (Vocal Duo of the Year), Scotty McCreery (New Artist of the Year), Eli Young Band (Song of the Year), and Dallas Davidson (Songwriter of the Year).

If you missed out on the fun or want to relive the show’s highlights, you can get a full recap in the official ACM app.

It’s official. Now you can preview your Android app before it goes live through Mobile Roadie Connect for Android. In October, we released Mobile Roadie Connect for iPhone, which is available for free download in the App Store. Now, customers can download Mobile Roadie Connect for Android for free in Google Play as well.

Mobile Roadie Connect allows customers who are building an app through our CMS to preview their app before it is live. They only need their login information to sign in to Connect. In addition to seeing what their app looks like, customers can test out all app features like scrolling through photos, viewing push notifications, and commenting on the Fan Wall and more to experience the app through users’ eyes before release.

With MoRo Connect, customers can test their app every step of the way, decreasing the chance for mess-ups and rushed, last minute chances before the app is submitted to go live. And the best part about MoRo Connect is you can view your app anytime, anywhere (as long as there is Internet connection.

We’re excited to offer you the latest tool to make the process of building an Android app with Mobile Roadie even easier.

To download Mobile Roadie Connect for Android, visit http://road.ie/mobileroadie

Today, TechNode, a popular internet & tech blogs in China and Asia, announced the launch of their official TechNode app on iOS and Android.

On their official blog, TechNode said they “were able to make this [the app] happen by working closely with Qmobao.com, the Guangzhou based Chinese operation of American based Mobile Roadie…The process of using Qmobao is very intuitive and simple to use. The really cool thing about using Qmobao is that you can instantly preview what your app will look like by downloading “Mobile Roadie Connect”, a customer app visualizer. With a little creativity, it is easy to create something for so many different purposes [using Mobile Roadie], like a blog!”

In the app, users can read the latest content, check for upcoming events hosted by TechNode, leave messages to the team, and much more. Along with their announcement, TechNode promoted their app with a banner on their site.

We’re excited for TechNode readers to experience Mobile Roadie through the official app. If you’re already a reader of TechNode or would like to learn more about the tech scene in China and Asia, download the TechNode app at http://road.ie/technode.

The main purpose of the app, according to Emery, was to “provide another communication platform” for fans of Adele. “The social aspect has been incredibly popular; there’s a whole set of people that use the app on an hourly basis.” Indeed, the #1 Top User in the app has made over 6,000 comments and 6,500 Fan Wall posts!

And when it comes down to iPhone or Android, there is no clear favorite amongst Adele fans. Both the iPhone and Android versions of Adele’s app are being downloaded by hundreds of thousands of fans in relatively equal numbers, with Android edging slightly over iPhone users.

With Adele’s tremendous success in her music career, it’s no surprise that she’s dominating the mobile world as well. This past weekend, her app took the top spot on the Top Free Music Apps chart in Android Market.

So what can we learn from Adele’s mobile success? Emery says, “If you have a mainstream artist or brand and get coverage on these stores, it [your app] can really take off.” Not only that, but mobile in the music industry is taking off: Music apps are the fasting growing category in app usage, above games; and according to Emery, around 10-15% of visitors are coming from mobile devices, including tablets.

Congratulations to Adele! To download her app, visit http://road.ie/adele.

It’s February 29th, a.k.a. leap day, a day that only happens once every 4 years, which makes it very special. We’re holding our very first Leap Year sale- 10% off any app package!

Enter coupon code “LEAPYEAR” when you checkout to receive 10% off the total amount. If you are purchasing an app under the Monthly pricing plan, the 10% off applies to the initial set-up fee and the monthly payments. If you purchase an app under the Annual pricing plan, the 10% discount applies to the annual payment. What’s special about this discount is it lasts the entire lifetime of your app.

But hurry, like leap day, the code only lasts TODAY!* So if you’re thinking about purchasing a Mobile Roadie app, take advantage of this sale. It won’t happen again until 2016. To get leaping, visit our pricing page.

*Code will be valid till 02/29/2012, 11:59 PM PST

With the passing of Whitney Houston just a day before, many wondered if her death would overshadow the show. But the production team beautifully planned and executed tributes throughout that celebrated her life as a music legend.

In addition to touching moments, there were also history-making performances including Paul McCartney, a Beach Boys reunion, and Adele.

Image courtesy of The Recording Academy

Speaking of Adele, she was the queen of the GRAMMYs this year. Winning all the GRAMMYs she was nominated for and delivering a soulful performance that was met with a standing ovation, this Mobile Roadie artist did not disappoint. To download her app, visit http://road.ie/adele

And neither did our client Foo Fighters who were nominated for 6 GRAMMYs this year. They won 5 in total. During their acceptance speech for Best Rock Album, Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl said this award meant a lot because they made the album in his garage with some microphones and a tape machine. Not many artists can say that! To download the Foo Fighters app, visit http://road.ie/foofighters

Image courtesy of The Recording Academy

Another Mobile Roadie artist who won was none other than Chris Brown who had all the right moves during his two performances- a solo show and the other with David Guetta and Lil Wayne.  He received the GRAMMY for Best R&B Album. To download his app, visit http://road.ie/chris-brown

Taylor Swift took home a few gramophones as well for her song “Mean”. This Mobile Roadie artist showed no signs of slowing down. To download her app, visit http://road.ie/taylor-swift

Congratulations to all the Mobile Roadie artists who won! To view the full list of winners, click here.

A prominent hospitality fixture in Southern California, sbe is expanding many of its brands into other hot spots like New York City, Miami, Houston, and Las Vegas. So to give fans a way to take the sbe lifestyle with them everywhere they go and to build buzz around the app’s launch, the team over at sbe did something big.

So what exactly did they do? sbe launched a billboard advertising campaign for the app with the headline “Finally something fun for your thumbs to do”. Multiple sbe app billboards- both traditional and digital- can be seen throughout Los Angeles and surrounding areas (See the below image for the billboard).

Bilboard Advertising can be a great way to market your app to “on the go” consumers in a specific location, especially if that location is where most of your customers live. And by making your app the star of a billboard campaign, viewers won’t be overwhelmed by a flood of information. After all, billboard messaging must be short and direct as you only have a few seconds to get your message across. sbe’s billboard messaging is short, to the point, focused, and tells viewers where to download the app with one featured link, sbe.com (click the image below for a larger view).

Billboard advertising is just one of the marketing campaigns you can implement for your app; it may be effective for your brand or it may not. So remember, before you plan for a billboard campaign, take into consideration your marketing budget, your target market, and the message you want to get across. But *Thumbs up* to sbe for rolling out the billboards for their app; it’s very cool if you ask us.

If you would like to promote an upcoming event, a new track or video release, news, or anything else in your app that you want your users to see or take action on, you can easily schedule promo popups via Mobile Roadie’s CMS. You can also schedule popups for content outside your app, such as a newly redesigned website or social network site that you want to direct traffic to.

One of the best features of promo popups/popup promos is that they are customizable- you can add a title & an optional message, you can choose from a set of default images or upload your own, and you can give the popup button a “call to action” term like “Buy” or “View” or something more creative. This customizability allows for different popups for each promotion, keeping your users interested and thus more likely to take action on each popup. Only one promo popup can be active at a time, but you can schedule additional promo popups for future dates.

Promo popups are simple to set up and effective at directing your users to specific content that is relevant at that time or needs extra attention; they can increase app section views, in-app purchases, website traffic, and much more with just a click of a button. And because you are directing your users to important content, they no longer have to wonder what is new with your brand.

For a complete tutorial on how to set up promo popups for your app, please check out our support article on this feature.

It’s the most wonderful time at Mobile Roadie! In celebration of the holidays, we are giving our customers a special gift- 20% off any app package!

Enter coupon code “LETITMORO” when you checkout to receive 20% off the total amount. If you are purchasing an app under the Monthly pricing plan, the 20% off applies to the initial set-up fee and the monthly payments. If you purchase an app under the Annual pricing plan, the 20% discount applies to the annual payment. What’s special about this discount is it lasts the entire lifetime of your app.

But hurry, this deal ends January 1, 2012. So if you are thinking about purchasing a Mobile Roadie app, there’s no better time.  To get started, visit our pricing page.

Happy holidays!