MXP4’s i-music for new music
By Hugh Jordan. Sound apps. MXP4’s suite of creative tools are generating lots of interest from artists, according to Jeff Marois, vp of business development at the French start-up.
“Bands started getting great engagement times on their websites,” he says. “As soon as a band put up the Max It app on their site, dwell time increased to nine and a half minutes. Seventy five percent of the traffic was coming from friends sharing the app.”
Using tools such as Max It, fans can deconstruct and reassemble tunes to create a totally different sound. But rather than being a way of replacing musicians, Marois says MXP4’s apps enhance fan/artist engagement by allowing fans to participate in music rather than passively absorb it.
“Music should react to my mood. Music should react to my environment,” he says. “For fans [interactivity] is a new way to experience music, it is a unique way to listen. They become part of the creative process.”
One MXP4 tool allows wannabe Brian Mays to isolate guitar instrumentals, making chords easier to learn. Another removes vocals so fans can perform karaoke over their favourite tracks. There is even a Jacko app.
“The Michal Jackson tool is great,” says Marois. “If you isolate his vocal, you can actually hear people in the studio talking in the background. It’s pretty cool.”
But MXP4 may do more for the music industry than unearth the lost wisdom of Jackson’s crew. Marois believes his company’s products could be of real benefit to record labels.
“We are interested in generating new revenue opportunities for record companies through driving traffic to the labels’ websites and viral sharing,” Marois explains. “There are ways interactive music can generate new music. An iTunes LP imbedded with an MXP4 player means a record label can sell MXP4 content as premium content.”
Essentially, labels generate income from back catalogues currently gathering more dust than revenue. Ruined by fans determination to get something for nothing, labels may yet turn the very same trick to their advantage.
MXP4 has around 10 new products in development or about to come to market, according to Marois. The key right now, he says, is establishing more brand and band partnerships.
“It’s great to see other big companies [like Vodafone and MySpace] doing similar things,” Marois explains. “There seems to be a real interest in making music more interactive right now. It makes you believe that you are doing the right thing.”
