EMI builds music microsites for iPhone

Sigur Ros' 'Heima' DVD is being promoted using a new microsite

EMI announced today that it's making use of the roaring success of Apple's iPhone and iPod touch by marketing music products directly at owners of these gadgets. The English super-label is building a series of microsites to promote new albums and DVDs being put out by its artists.

The first campaign EMI is launching will promote the new DVD from Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós. The Heima music DVD will be promoted using a

special mini-site

designed especially for the iPhone and iPod touch's display and interactive interface.

Yahoo Maps mash-up

Including the full-length trailer of the DVD, the site offers finger-sized navigation, a layout that changes according to orientation and a video stream that adapts depending on whether the viewer is connected via Wi-Fi or the iPhone's EDGE connection.

The site makes also use of a Yahoo Maps mash-up tool, which allows you to navigate over the map of Iceland and click on the various locations where Sigur Rós has performed. EMI says the site's design has been kept purposely simple to complement the "evocative visual depictions of the Icelandic landscape and to convey the impact of the music".

Eric Winbolt, head of Digital at EMI Records, says the Apple devices offer the kind of opportunity unavailable on other phones and MP3 players. "These touchscreen wireless devices offer an exceptional user experience. Being the first truly converged mass market devices to do so, we were very keen to use them to showcase our artists' content and offer the consumer this unbeatable user experience."

It still seems a bit strange to us that oodles of companies seem to be developing specific websites for the iPhone, despite Apple selling the device on the basis of a full web experience.

The Sigur Rós song ' Hoppipolla' from the album Takk, was used by the BBC as the theme tune for the smash-hit wildlife TV series Planet Earth.

Also included in the site are links to buy, so the viewer can go straight to the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store to purchase Sigur Rós music. Full marks if you can pronounce the band's name correctly!

The Sigur Ros microsite can be found at www.heima.co.uk

James Rivington

James was part of the TechRadar editorial team for eight years up until 2015 and now works in a senior position for TR's parent company Future. An experienced Content Director with a demonstrated history of working in the media production industry. Skilled in Search Engine Optimization (SEO), E-commerce Optimization, Journalism, Digital Marketing, and Social Media. James can do it all.