Music Ally

Artists have always had opinions about what music (other than their own) is great. But in the digital era, there are far more chances to trumpet those tastes to their fans. The idea of ‘artist as curator’ is gaining currency, with a variety of examples.

Usher’s Top 100 iPhone app

R&B star Usher is the star of Melodeo’s latest streaming music iPhone application. It’s a playlist of 100 songs apparently hand-picked by the man himself from his favourite ever tunes. That means Arethra Franklin, James Brown and Michael Jackson among other artists.

The app – powered by Melodeo’s NuTsie service – then streams the songs to users, who’ve paid $3 for the privilege of downloading it. Melodeo has released a number of generic streaming compilation apps like this, but Usher is the first big star to put his name to one.

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a.p.e. radio is a new startup that lets musicians produce their own online radio shows, playing songs chosen by the artist, interviews and other commentary. It’s launching in July with three channels from the Eagles, Christina Aguilera and Weezer, reports Billboard.

How has it got such big names on board? Well, the company is a joint venture between Clear Channel Radio and Front Line Management, complete with Irving Azoff as chairman. The stations will be ad-supported, and will also promote tours and releases for the artists.

“We feel that the old model of trying to get radio airplay and some video play is broken,” says Azoff. “Is it going to make a lot of money? No, it’s more of a marketing tool. But what is recorded music? It’s mostly a marketing tool, right?”