What do you do when a major music technology company releases an official version of its tablet app, when you’ve already been working hard to produce your very own unofficial version?
Do you ditch your plans and start afresh on something new, or shrug your shoulders and carry on regardless?
Well, NYC designer Max Petriv is following the latter route, after his attempt at beating Spotify to launch a dedicated iPad app was thwarted when Spotify, erm, launched an iPad app.
Whilst it was only a matter of time until the music-streaming service arrived in Apple’s tablet form, Petriv caused a minor stir back in March when he started tweeting images of his own app. Many thought it was the official incarnation he was working on, but this wasn’t the case.
When Spotify’s own version hit the App Store in May, you would be excused for thinking this would be the last we’d see of Petriv’s efforts, but it seems not. His project has now been accepted as a Kickstarter project, and he’s attempting to reach $5,000 in funding by August 8 to take his app closer to creation:
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“Before Spotify released their official iPad App, I had a few ideas of my own on how it would work best,” says Petriv. “A few images of the proposed UI I posted on Twitter caused a ton of excitement and press coverage. I’ve been getting emails from strangers, press, friends asking me when this app will be available on the App Store.”
And so the show goes on. But Spotify’s terms and conditions prevent developers from making money through app sales or advertising, which explains why he’s looking to fund the project up-front rather than recoup the costs further down the line. “That means I need your support to make this a reality,” he says. “At one point I even thought about dropping the project all together but the continued support from friends and strangers changed my mind.”
Fair play to Petriv for ploughing on with this. Personally, I’m not convinced there will be a massive demand for the unofficial iPad app, however, if he can produce a truly spellbinding alternative as the initial snapshots allude to, well, you never know.
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