We’re in the Era When Every Band, Old and New, Needs an App
Jac Holzman is the 81 year-old founder of Elektra Records. Back in 1966, he signed this weirdo artsy band out of Los Angeles called The Doors. They did okay.
Last week, Holzman–who, by rights, should be enjoying a well-deserved retirement–unveiled the a band new iPad app for his former charges. Having met Jack, I’m not surprised. The man has more energy than people half his age.
From The Guardian:
[H]e’s sat down with The Guardian praising the internet’s ability to disintermediate labels; claiming the music industry was “stupid” to sue Napster rather than partner with it; and giving a sharp summary of App Store dynamics at a time when music execs half his age still look blank when you mention Angry Birds.
“The App Store has a hierarchy of success. The first layer is games, and the second layer is utilitarian applications. Weather, atomic clock, all those things,” he says. “Number three is free apps. And music is stuck some place below number 25, because nobody’s really tried to make a good app.”
Which brings us neatly to the reason Holzman hasn’t retired. He’s spent the last year and a half leading the development of an official iPad app for The Doors, which tells the band’s story through articles, photos, videos, music clips and even a graphic novel.
It sits somewhere between a box-set, a coffee-table book and a DVD, and it’s very good indeed, whether you’re a hardcore Doors fan or a more-casual admirer.
