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Electronic artist deadmau5 releases subscription music app for iOS

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The music business landscape has changed over the last fifteen years from physical media to mostly digital transactions. Be it the iTunes store or streaming online, the way we consume music has radically changed. Accordingly, the way artists profit off their music has changed as well. Electronic music superstar deadmau5 has just debuted a new subscription based app exclusively for iOS. For $5 a month, users get access to new music, live streams, chat boards, and other random bonuses. It's sort of like a fan club, but with more actual content.

Subscribers can pay monthly or for a whole year for $4.99 per month or $44.99 per year. Here's what the app promises for your scratch:

* Live Video deadmau5 will be able to broadcast live to the horde from anywhere in the world

∗ Audio Player Listen to unreleased music while managing your custom playlist

∗ Chat Room Chat directly with deadmau5 or other members of the horde.

∗ Message Boreds Share and post topics and initiate discussions with the horde or deadmau5

∗ Photos See exclusive images from backstage, behind the scenes, and much more

∗ Videos With no limit on length, deadmau5 can share raw or edited videos with you from all over the world

∗ WTF? Learn the candid thoughts from deadmau5

∗ Private Messages Like never before, deadmau5 may be contacting you directly by email, phone or text

Given the hunger in the electronic music market for new content this is a brilliant idea, if deadmau5 can keep his "horde" properly fed. Fans may not want to buy an album with songs they don't want to hear a hundred times, but if you're providing a steady stream of brand new music they've got a reason to sign up.

I can't count the number of parties I've been to where the DJ was a iPhone hooked up to a speaker. It will be interesting to see if deadmau5 can keep enough content flowing to keep subscribers in the long run. On the video end of things, the clips on the app are equal parts beautifully shot live footage, interviews, behind the scenes content and shaky smartphone shots.

The app itself is free to download, with a block of videos and pictures available as a preview of sorts before you buy a subscription. You can find it now in the app store.