Fan Trail

Fan Trail will be first offered to 2,200 bands. And there's more. Fan Trail is having a sweepstakes giving free recording session and $40,000 in equipment to the band that builds the largest following defined as the band's number of Fan Trail followers multiplied by their average LoveMeter score. So even if you have a smaller following but they are howlingly enthusiastic, you have a chance to win. Your Mother and Aunts finally have a key role in your career! Now, you're getting serious attention without having to appear nude, smash your guitar over the drummers head, or sterilize the groupies with lasers.

LoveMeter measures fans' activity such as buying music and going to concerts. This distinguishes those fans who are true, loyal but broke or 6 years old from those that are putting their money into it. These are the troops with serious dollar commitments. Now you get to know them, hug them to your bosom, reinforce their proven exquisite taste in music.

Another Fan trail innovation is LoveMail. You'll love this one if you are an emotionally starved musician with a desperate need to actively communicate with your fans warning them of your next tour or t-shirt, or, heaven help us, your next recording. You can give them short audio messages pumping your stuff and promising undying affection and lit candles, a much more personal touch than the ordinary tweets.

These innovations will help bands and musicians to target their markets better. For example, if they want to offer their fans at the upper 10% of the LoveMeter reading something special, they can do so with Fan Trail. Or they can offer them discounts to merchandise that they sponsor. They can also test out new tracks on their most loyal followers. It looks like there is even a virtual tip-jar allowing bands to collect extra money from fans or raise donations for favourite causes or their fans' causes. I bet you the more creative bands will always find ways to use innovations like Fan Trail which the developers have not even thought about. With luck, many can drop the whole music thing, give the world a break, and just do a massive Morris dance of self adulation.

Other mobile apps for musicians are also on offer in the market. Top Spin Media has a broad portfolio of services offered to bands now including organizing fan information and managing content rights. SkyGripGroups offers a service to bring together fans' conversations scattered around the Web. Mobile Roadie is also building mobile apps for musicians.

Fan Trail is raising investment now and has already captured $250,000 of investors' money and guess what, they want more. Fan Trail promises these investors advertising money, along with a cut from sales made through the app. Musicians and bands, apart from the standard royalties they receive from sales in Amazon or iTunes, will also be rewarded an additional cut through Fan Trail's payment method if their fans purchase music or merchandise offered on Fan Trail. This cut increases with their LoveMeter score. The squeeze doesn't stop until the fan is a hollowed out wine skin.