by Kyle Mammarella

NPR is diving deeper into the mobile music sphere with the launch of its new iPad app.

The NPR Music app – available for free at the Apple App Store – gives iPad users access to exclusive public radio live performances, interviews, signature programs, original reporting and commentary, advance album listens, and live station streams.  Audio from the app can be sent via Wi-Fi to a home stereo system and, in a nod to Spotify, it also features a visual playlist that users can cache for offline listening.

This is the fifth NPR-branded app, the second for music – the NPR Music iPhone app was released in June 2010 – and is the first to be built entirely in-house by NPR’s digital media team.

Fans can browse content selectively, filtering content by type (read articles, watch videos, listen to programs) or genre (rock, jazz, classical, folk, hip-hop/R&B, world or electronic/dance).  One entire section is devoted to their popular program All Songs Considered, where users can find weekly shows, a live concert archive, the Tiny Desk Concerts, new music exclusives, and video premieres.  Non-iPad users can access these same features on the mobile web, regardless of what device they own or system they operate.

NPR is celebrating the launch of the app with an exclusive in-app concert on March 7th with The Shins, who will be performing songs from their upcoming album Port of Morrow.  The concert will be displayed on NPR.org starting March 8th.

NPR has seen its radio presence grow over the years, with over 26 million listeners, but they also recognize where the future of radio is: in mobile-connected devices.

“We would be crazy not to be thinking about what happens if [radio] were to decline,” said NPR Music’s Anya Grundmann.  “People in their early 20s don’t usually own radios.  Our core competency at NPR is audio — and that can transform to multiple platforms.”

Indeed, a new study released on Tuesday by Cisco shows the dramatic growth we are seeing in the mobile Internet space.   The study reports that the number of mobile-connected devices will exceed the number of people on Earth by the end of 2012.  The number of mobile-connected tablets, in particular, saw explosive growth in the last year, tripling to over 34 million units in 2011.  By 2016, they predict that mobile-connected tables will generate almost as much traffic as the entire global mobile network does in 2012.  Essentially, if you are not focusing on addressing the needs of the tablet user today you are quickly going to fall behind.

“Every media organization — every organization that is a legacy institution — is thinking about how to remain relevant and how the work they’re doing is going to resonate in the future,” said Grundmann.  “We want to hold ourselves to the standard of being innovators in this space.  If you ignore these things, it’s at your peril.”

The NPR Music iPad App launch is sponsored exclusively by Lexus.

Below is a full list of features of the NPR Music iPad App (via the App Store)

Visually browse through the app to explore and filter content by:
- Media type (articles, music, videos)
- Genres: Rock, Jazz & Blues, Classical, Hip-Hop/R&B, Folk, World, Electronic/Dance
- Programs: First Listen Album Previews, All Songs Considered, Song of the Day, World Cafe, Alt.Latino, etc.

Immerse yourself in NPR Music content with:
- Story pages that provide rich editorial content
- The latest music news, interviews, reviews, and lists
- A “Related Stories” feature that offers additional content you might like
- Tools to share new discoveries and purchase featured music

Stream your favorite music stations and discover new ones with:
- Live music streams from 100 public radio stations and NPR programs
- The ability to browse by genre and editors’ picks
- The ability to set favorite radio stations
- Handpicked music by public radio DJs

Customize your experience with these playlist features:
- Groundbreaking visual layout for items added to your playlist
- Ability to save your playlist for offline listening
- Our “Recommended For You” section suggests other stories based on what’s in your playlist
- Opt-in feature suggests NPR Music stories based on artists in your iTunes Library

Other features include:
- Live video streaming of NPR Music concerts and showcases
- AirPlay-enabled (requires your device to be on iOS 5+ and latest version of Apple TV software)

Requires iOS 4.3.3 or later

Kyle Mammarella is a New York based artist manager and music enthusiast.

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