Airplane Mode, the group that includes well-known iOS designers — and past iMore contributors — Dave Wiskus and Joe Cieplinski, along with Anna Stefanic and Patrick Spencer, released their debut EP last week.
What makes "Amsterdam" so interesting and cool from an Apple-perspective is the muti-faceted, multi-media way in which the group handled the release — music, ebook, podcast, and app. It was modern and relevant in a way the greater industry still struggles to be. Here's the gist:
We have a new record out called "[Amsterdam](https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/amsterdam-ep/id1080445752?at=10l3Vy&ct=UUimUdUnU36335". It's a four-song EP about the time I moved to Amsterdam for a girl I liked. But there's a little more to it than that."Amsterdam" is available on iTunes and Spotify and Amazon. We're also trying a new medium: iBooks.The book contains the same four studio tracks as the EP, but a new format allows us to go further; every song is a chapter, with the music, lyrics sheet, original demo, and stories that inspired the song.We're also including a short video we made while goofing off in the studio, some photos of our experience, and a special hour-long podcast with the band and producer Michael Wuerth talking about what it was like to make the record.
Joe also put up an article on the making of the accompanying app, Clickarus, and the band released the lead track as a GarageBand project.
Music. Book. Podcast. App. It's positively forward thinking. And as someone in the midst of enjoying it all, it's a much better, much more encompassing experience as well.
I don't know if we can expect this from Taylor Swift any time soon, but I also don't know that we can't expect it. The lines between music, entertainment, technology, and social have blurred and there's incredible potential for anyone savvy enough to ride the sum of all those bit-powered parts.
Can't wait to see what's next from Airplane Mode... and from the music industry.
Do you want more bands to experiment with multi-media releases? Let me know in the comments!
