iLike had already established itself as a social music discovery site on the web, and the company has taken to the mobile realm for expansion. Today, iLike is releasing apps by 250+ artists, as well as announcing the Local Concerts application for iPhone users. The newly released apps for artists are somewhat par for the course. iLike launched its apps platform for musicians to be able to create their own iPhone apps through iLike’s service, not entirely different from the promotional pages they can create on iLike’s website.
But the Local Concerts iPhone app is what caught my attention. What this app will do is look at your playlist on your iPhone or iPod Touch, and then creates a custom concert list for matching artists that are playing nearby. You will be able to purchase tickets directly, get directions on in in-app map, and receive notifications regarding upcoming local concerts based on existing music on the device.
Another notable feature will be the Social Hooks, which enables users to share the concert information with friends via email, directly from the application. What would be a great addition to the Social Hooks feature would be additional sharing options, such as integration with music social networks or other non-specialized social networks. Social Hooks could even go so far as to create an auto-update feature that shares concert information with friends via status updates across Twitter, Facebook, gChat and more.
These personalization features are actually upgrades to the existing Local Concerts application, which are still awaiting approval for the Apple Store. But the level of customization, on a conceptual level, is a step in the right direction. Just as Last.fm took your iTunes playlist and turned it into streaming radio full of recommendations and user-generated fan pages, so too will iLike be able to parse your listening preferences and turn it into recommendations for your own personal benefit. It’s a great example of how consumer data can be used for both research and recommendations. Layer in the geographic variable and you’ve got a highly personalized look at how iLike can provide a great deal of value to its core demographic.
This type of application also speaks to the benefits of Apple’s developer platform, and long-term potential for the iPhone and iPod Touch devices themselves. More and more these mobile handhelds are becoming personal assistants, thanks to the platform which supports an array of applications. And tapping into the collection of consumer data that the iPhone is becoming is a way for Apple to regenerate the value of its platform while providing services to developers and customers. It’s opt-in and non-intrusive.
Breaking consumer data down into niche services such as music-matching for concert recommendations is a more acceptable way in which companies can go about this. And most virtual assistant services are banking on this shift in order to build their own businesses. PageOnce and MyStrands are both taking basic, broken down pieces of consumer data for the purpose of offering recommendations and auto-task services to end users. iLike is smart to leverage Apple’s mobile devices and developer platform in order to achieve this.