We’re launching our new iOS and Android apps!
When we set out to create a new way to enjoy live music, accessibility was always front of mind. We started with our website, because it covered the largest cross-section of our audience, and was essential from the artist’s point of view. But we always knew that a mobile app was next on the list. After months of building, testing, and adjusting, we’re thrilled to today reveal our new iOS and Android apps!
Let’s be honest: Mobile apps are a dime a dozen nowadays — and, frankly, there are enough terrible ones already on the market. It was important to us that we didn’t add to the pile. From the outset we wanted to ensure that we delivered a sleek experience. We’ve kept the design simple, yet elegant — and included essential features, while ensuring your experience is smooth and seamless. We truly think the app is a real treat and we hope you’ll agree.
With the app you can:
- Purchase recordings from artists
- Listen to your owned recordings
- Discover new artists to follow, or listen to samples of their tracks
- Scan QR codes from qualifying tickets (more on that soon!)
…and don’t forget, you can still download the tracks to your device by heading on over to the https://exit.live website.
There’s more to come…
Like Exit Live as a whole, we’ll continue to evolve and rethink every facet of the app. The fact that we continue to develop our services in-house means that we are able to move fast.
We have lots of ideas to improve content discovery, deliver smarter notifications, bring the fan and artist closer, and much more.
We also want to hear your ideas. If you have any suggestions or comments, then we want to hear them. Tweet us, message us on Facebook, or email us — whatever’s easiest for you!
Understanding the cost
While we knew having an app was an essential part of our ecosystem, this was still a difficult decision to make. Unfortunately, both Apple and Google have a significant mark-up, of 30%, on any sales made in-app.
The question was: Do we keep prices consistent, or do we increase prices within the app? We spoke to a few artists and the feedback was clear: most artists would prefer a more consistent approach to pricing on the app. It would be better for fans to see a standard price, and that the convenience and additional sales via the app meant that earning a little less per sale was an acceptable trade-off.
As such, when launched the price on the app and on the website will be equal. The advantage is that this is a better experience for your fans — providing a consistent experience regardless of the platform.
Of course, this does mean that the additional charge from iOS and Android does need to be taken into account. This will have some impact on artist earnings via in-app purchases, but I do want to make it clear that we will be sharing this burden — we do not expect artists to absorb the entirety of the app store fee.
For those artists who are more concerned about the reduced revenue on app purchases, then we suggest that you take this into consideration when setting your price. However we think the convenience of being able to purchase via the app will significantly increase sales for artists and therefore may outweigh these concerns.
While I appreciate that this change may be a surprise to some, I do hope it shows how we continue to be as upfront and transparent as possible, and how we remain flexible to the suggestions we receive from artists on our platform. It’s essential to our own values that we provide artists with confidence in our platform, and control of their content.
A new opportunity for artists and fans
For artists, we see the new apps as an essential part of the toolkit that Exit Live offers. It allows their fans to buy more conveniently, listen on-the-go, and purchase on their phone in a matter of seconds after the show recordings are uploaded.
Releasing the iOS and Android apps were a huge step for us as we continue to grow. We can’t wait to hear your feedback, and we hope our artists and fans alike enjoy using them. Happy Tapping!
