Wanted to give a quick shout to the folks over at LMB for pointing out this pretty cool program called iConcertCal - here's their brief write-up about it.....
iConcertCal
If you’re a live music junkie and use iTunes but you have not downloaded the iTunes plugin iConcertCal, do yourself a favor and go grab it.
I just recently downloaded and started using iConcertCal. It's free, easy to install (on Mac or PC), and does one key thing that iTunes has not yet done: it connects your digital music library to the concert listings in the world around you.
What this means is that when you load iConcertCal, it will scan the artist's in your music collection and present you with a calendar of when those bands are playing in your area (through the “Visualizer” function). If you're interested in a particular concert, you can click the link in the sidebar (screenshot here). It's a nifty plug-in, and is not unlike most other Apple-related applications: it's simple and easy to use.
However, it is not yet linked to all that much of the Internet world out there. The concert links either hit listings on Pollstar.com (which is pretty weak) or goes to the venue websites themselves, which, as we all know, tend to run the gamut of somewhat useful to completely useless.
That said, this is a step in the right direction for live music fans, and is even better because it taps into the enormous market of people who use iTunes. Also, it is clear that the folks behind iConcertCal have bigger ideas and are seeking out ways to further improve the plugin. They’ve already released version 1.1, which adds the following: 1) a search radius feature -- for those of us not afraid of traveling any distance for a band’s tour; 2) the ability to refine your search by making a playlist; 3) the addition of “opening bands” and other acts; 4) the ability to search for bands not in your collection...and of course, it includes the requisite fixes for bugs in the original version.
iConcertCal also recently joined forces with our friends over at Jambase.com, who graciously (and wisely) allowed the access to the mass Jambase database of concert listings. But I have a question for the iConcertCal folks…how about a way to link this iConcertCal to my personal calendar either on my system or in an online calendar app like Google Calendar? How about a way to have these links hit on one or several ticketing options? Maybe we’ll get these, and other features, in a future version.
1 comment:
Some Dude, thanks for the shout out.
This program is very cool and has a lot of potential. The more it gets out there, the more useful it will get in my eyes (esp. once bands and venues take notice). We'll see if the ticket angle ever has a chance of happening. It's an obvious "next step" but the ticket market is a problem bc of ticketbastard.
Anyways, I appreciate the link, but it'd be better if you linked directly to the original post itself. Kind of a blogger standard courtesy to give the specific source. Not a big deal though.
Have fun at Bonnaroo!
-mwp
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