Ars rounds up iPhone apps released by a bunch of crappy bands so I don’t have to—they’re tacky trail mixes of promo clips with links to buy stuff, but point to a scary trend.
The apps released by five Universal artists—All-American Rejects, SouljaBoyTellem, Pussycat Dolls, Lady Gaga and Keri Hilson—are all of this shallow breed of app. They’ve got some promo video clips with interviews and stuff, a weird chat application to talk to other superfans, and then a section that’s really glorified links to the iTunes store to buy music.
In other words, they’re not totally awesome like Presidents of the United States of America’s, which actually gives you their entire catalog in a single app for like 3 bucks. But it points to a trend we’re not too keen on, the proliferation of dedicated content apps: One app for every band I like? Or even record label? It’s a recipe for ridiculousness, and it’s a trend that looks like it’s gonna keep growing as labels and studios look for new ways to extract every precious penny from our pockets. Luckily, for now, most of the apps suck so you don’t actually have to worry about downloading them. [Ars Technica]
https://gizmodo.com/presidents-of-the-usa-shes-lump-offer-complete-music-5156661
