iLike Unveils “Local Concerts” iPhone App and Releases Apps by More Than 250 Artists

Local Concerts app scans the music on any iPod Touch or iPhone and delivers notifications of nearby concerts by those artists

More than 250 artists use iLike platform to launch their own iPhone apps

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--iLike, the leading social music discovery service, today unveiled its new “Local Concerts” app, which provides personalized concert listings and notifications based on scanning the music on any iPod Touch or iPhone. iLike also announced unprecedented adoption of its recently launched iPhone app solution for artists. For a list of the top iLike artist apps, visit: www.iLike.com/mobile.

“This is one of the first apps that’s optimized not just for the iPhone but also for the iPod, because it customizes itself to your entire music collection.”

iLike’s Local Concerts app, already the top-ranking free concerts app in the iTunes App Store, lists upcoming shows in a user’s area and provides links to buy tickets. The new upgrade (available soon pending Apple approval) adds key features that leverage iPhone 3.0’s new capabilities:

• Personalization: The app scans the music on an iPod or iPhone and provides custom concert listings to match.
• Notifications: Users can opt to be notified whenever an artist in their music collection announces a local concert.
• In-app Maps: Maps to venues are displayed directly inside the app.
• Social Hooks: Users can share concert information with friends via email without leaving within the app.

“Finding out about local concerts has never been easier,” said Ali Partovi, CEO of iLike. “This is one of the first apps that’s optimized not just for the iPhone but also for the iPod, because it customizes itself to your entire music collection.”

In the two months since iLike announced its iPhone Apps for Artists program, more than 250 artists from all genres of music have already launched iLike-powered iPhone apps.

“As an independent artist, I truly appreciate this direct connection that I now have to fans, whether I’m announcing new tour dates, releasing a new album, or just have something to say,” said singer/songwriter Ingrid Michaelson.

“We’re encouraged by the positive response our create-your-own-app platform has generated, and this is only the beginning,” said Ali Partovi, CEO of iLike. “We’re helping artists save time, make money, and remain in constant contact with fans.”

More about iLike iPhone Apps for Artists

In May 2009, iLike announced a turnkey system enabling any artist to create their own app featuring concert dates, video messages, photos, blogs, bulletins, games, and exclusive content. Bands can post content and messages to fans who install their app via the iLike Artist Dashboard, already in use by more than 300,000 artists.

The iLike iPhone app platform has been selected by established and emerging artists, from proudly independent musicians to major label acts, across a variety of musical genres. The list includes:

Brushfire Records (includes Jack Johnson and Mason Jennings)

Reba McEntire

DeVotchka

Official Album App for Sonic Youth’s The Eternal

Information Society

Ingrid Michaelson

The Cribs

Josh Turner

John Butler Trio

Jimmy Cliff

Rusted Root

Sara Evans

Swing Out Sister

Tanya Tucker

Vertical Horizon

For artists, the benefits of using iLike to create a custom iPhone app include:

• Ease-of-Use: Artists can create apps using a simple web-based wizard, and post new content at any time with the click of a button.
• No Technology Headaches: iLike maintains a technology platform and team that supports artist apps, alleviating the need for an artist to hire programmers and designers whenever an update is needed.
• Post Once, Publish Everywhere: Participating artists sync their presence on iLike, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and beyond, rather than posting redundant content multiple times.
• Marketing: iLike promotes artist-created apps to its more than 50 million users, with 500,000 new users being added weekly.

In addition to artist iPhone apps, iLike’s “post once, publish everywhere” model helps artists reach their fans among more than 50 million music fans across the iLike network, including iLike’s leading music applications on iGoogle, Facebook, hi5, Bebo, Orkut, and iLike plugins for iTunes and Windows Media Player.

For Artists: To learn more or create an artist iPhone app today, go to: www.iLike.com/mobile.

For Consumers: To download an iLike-powered artist app or Like’s Local Concerts App, go to: www.iLike.com/mobile.

About iLike, inc

iLike is the Web's leading social music discovery service and the dominant music application on iGoogle, Facebook® and other leading platforms. With more than 50 million registered users, iLike helps people share music recommendations, playlists, and personalized concert alerts. iLike offers musicians and labels a convenient Artist Dashboard from which to reach fans, manage their presence across multiple channels, and cultivate the viral spread of their music. iLike, inc also runs indie music site GarageBand.com.

Facebook® is a registered trademark of Facebook Inc. iTunes® is a registered trademark of Apple Inc. Windows Media Player® is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corp.

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