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MobBase Offers Artists Free Mobile Web App To Connect With Fans On iPhones, Androids, Tablets & Other Devices

MobBase introduced today a new, free way for artists to build just one mobile app that connects with fans on any Internet-enabled screen, including iPhones and iPads, Android phones and tablets, and Blackberrys.

MobBase is a favorite solution for artists to create, launch, and manage their own, custom mobile applications. With MobBase, artists share music, photos, videos, tweets, news, information about shows, merchandise, and other content with fans on-the-go.

“It’s never been this easy, this fast or this inexpensive for an artist to have their own mobile app and connect with fans wherever they are and whatever screen they’re using,” said Charles Feinn, CEO and co-founder of MixMatchMusic, MobBase’s developer.

Separate apps for different devices a challenge for artists
Feinn said the proliferation of systems and screens has been a challenge for artists. “It’s been too difficult, too expensive and too time consuming to make a mobile app for every device and every environment,” he said. “The new MobBase app changes everything because artists can now build a single app to reach everyone.”

Rebelution among artists with MobBase HTML5 apps
“A mobile app is one of the best ways for Rebelution to stay connected with our fans,” said Eric Rachmany, vocalist and guitarist for Rebelution. “We use MobBase because we get an inexpensive app that looks and performs great, and works on iPhones, iPads, Androids, and everything else our fans are carrying in their pockets or purses.”

MobBase built on HTML5
The new build-it-once, publish-across-every-screen capability is made possible by HTML5, the newest version of the common language used for structuring and presenting content on the web. HTML5 apps are used by developers, including MobBase, to build applications for use on personal computers, tablets, smart phones, and other devices.

A lot for free, even more for just $5
Artists can build, launch and manage their own MobBase app for no charge. It works on iOS (iPhone, iPad), Android (phones and tablets), Blackberry, and any other mobile device that supports HTML5. For just $5 to activate and $5 a month, artists can make a mobile app and feature unlimited videos, songs and other content.

MobBase a favorite of artists, labels and concert venues
More than 500 artists, record labels and concert venues have launched their own MobBase apps, including Tila Tequila, Pepper, Parkway Drive, 9:30 Club, Rebelution, Jump Smokers, John McLaughlin, Iration, the Jacka, Zion I, and Paul Thorn.

“MobBase has been so popular with artists because it makes it so easy and inexpensive to connect and engage with fans,” said Feinn. “The new build-it-once and publish-it-everywhere capability, and no-charge option, are sure to make it the first choice of even more artists.”

MobBase featured in Mozilla Marketplace
MobBase is one of the featured partners for the forthcoming Mozilla Marketplace, an app store for cross-platform HTML5 apps that aims to connect the ecosystem of HTML5 developers with the tens of millions of Firefox browser users. Hundreds of MobBase apps will be available in the Mozilla Marketplace in the coming months.

Mozilla Marketplace Partner Spotlight: MobBase

Big thanks to Mozilla for including MobBase in their Mozilla Marketplace Partner Spotlight! This video features MobBase co-founders Alan Khalfin and Charles Feinn and outlines how MobBase will use the Mozilla Marketplace and HTML5 to provide a cross-platform solution for artists to create mobile apps. Coming soon to a mobile device near you…

MobBase & the Mozilla Marketplace…coming soon!

Mozilla is unlocking the power of the web as the world’s largest marketplace, creating an open ecosystem of developers and content owners with limitless possibilities for consumer interaction. The Mozilla Marketplace will roll out to millions of Firefox users later this year. MobBase is thrilled to be a part of it and to make it easier for artists to build mobile apps!

MobBase Partners with Guitar Center

We’re excited to announce that MobBase, the fast and easy way for musicians to make mobile apps, has partnered with Guitar Center to create apps for Guitar Center employees through their GAIN Program. Thousands of Guitar Center employees are musicians themselves and through this partnership, they will be able to easily build their own iPhone and Android apps at a vastly discounted price. If you’re a member of GAIN, be sure to check this out.

The GAIN Program was launched in March 2007 to help Guitar Center team members achieve their musical aspirations. At the heart of GAIN is an extensive private social network where Guitar Center employees can post music, pictures, blogs and online discussions, in order to share with and learn from each other. In addition, GAIN presents a number of other benefits, deals, offers and opportunities to its participants, including partnerships with a number of vendors, services and institutions. The GAIN program continues to build relationships with companies, organizations and individuals who can provide exposure, insight, tools and opportunity to the musicians who work for Guitar Center, Inc.

Check out the poster we created for the campaign – it will be going up in every Guitar Center location in the US!

Iration Interview

Iration is a Southern Californian based band that formed in 2006 when the members attended UCSB. All coming from Hawaii, the band has created a powerful sound that fuses reggae, rock and pop. They released their “Fresh Grounds” EP in February and have been touring all year, most recently as part of the Winter Greens Tour with Rebelution. I had a chance to sit down with Iration’s bassist, Adam Taylor, and ask him about how Iration came to be, their influences, marketing strategies and their next tour.

TC: You guys are all from Hawaii but met in Isla Vista, California. How did Iration form?

AT: Iration formed while we attended UCSB. It started as a hobby and then developed into our career.

TC: Do you pull a majority of your influence from Hawaii or where you live currently? How is that influence brought out in your music?

AT: Initially from Hawaii, but these days I feel like we’re influenced by our surroundings here in Santa Barbara and while on tour. It comes out in the way we approach creating songs and the way we perform live.

TC: You released your “Fresh Grounds” EP in February and are setting out on tour. What are you looking at to accomplish with this next tour? How will this tour be different than other tours you have been on?

AT: We want to bring out all our fans as well as gain some new ones. We want to play well and give the audience a really fun and memorable experience. We’ll be playing new material off our new CD as well as two covers that are really fun to play. We’ll also be experimenting with some acoustic stuff on this tour.

TC: Who would your dream tour lineup consist of?

AT: The Police, The Beatles, Black Uhuru, and Iration!

TC: You guys have played at many colleges, especially in California. Which college town has given you the best fan response? Why did you choose to play colleges as opposed to regular venues?

AT: Calpoly in San Luis Obispo is great and so is Northern Arizona University. We play colleges because you typically get a large built-in crowd and often times students that have never heard of you get exposed to your music.

TC: What is one of the craziest things you have had happen on tour?

AT: My amp had a power overload and caught on fire on the past tour. That was pretty crazy!

TC: What is your best fan memory?

AT: Hanging out with Kelly Slater on stage!

TC: Your band’s website is set up like a blog on the homepage. Did you design it this way in order to connect more with your fans?

AT: Yes. Social networking and having a strong viral presence is really important to us and it’s a great way to connect with fans.

TC: What are some of your favorite ways to reach out to your fanbase?

AT: We like using Fantourage and Fanbridge. Fans can ask us questions and post videos and photos from the shows.

TC: Do you have an online marketing strategy in place?

AT: We basically like to keep up a strong presence online and be in constant communication with our fans. It just comes down to us enjoying what we do, and we love to write back to fans and hear what they have to say online.

TC: How does your MobBase mobile app fit in to this strategy? What has the response been from fans?

AT: Fans love it. Its a great tool for finding out where a show is or listening to music. Its free on iTunes and the Android Market, so pick it up!

TC: If Iration owned a coffee company, what would be the name of your special blend and most popular pastry?

AT: Our drummer does own a coffee company on the big island of Hawaii, called Kona Homestead Coffee! If the others owned one, we’d call our special blend ‘Kona Gold’ and our pastry would be the Butternut.

Iration is currently on tour around California their next dates are: