SPIN publishes some of the best editorial content out there. They’ve been doing it since 1985: topical, not mainstream, but still accessible. When we heard they wanted to jump into the mobile “space race” with an iPhone application — and that they wanted CG to take that first step with them — we were pretty fired up.

So it is with great excitement that we announce the SPIN Mobile iPhone application. It’s available today for free at the iTunes Store. (Update: check out this great video that our friends at SPIN put together!)

SPIN Mobile iPhone Application

For this initial release, we wanted to accomplish something really simple: get the writing, pictures, and music that makes SPIN one of the top music magazines in the world into the palm of its readers’ hands. We wanted to push the fresh daily content, and close the loop on the complete experience: from the music news, to the latest reviews, and photo galleries of shows we wish we had been at. We also wanted to add direct downloads from iTunes, letting users listen to and purchase the albums and songs that they were experiencing on their iPhones.

With things changing at the rate they are, there was a heavy emphasis on getting an app out there quickly, staking a claim in the App Store land rush, and building from that stake down the road with a killer app for the iPhone OS 3.0 launch.

We developed the core app in four weeks with a small group of our dev team members, meeting with Spin’s design team on a weekly basis. Adjusting plans mid-flight, in a truly agile way, we changed designs, integrated with their publishing workflow, their CMS (Drupal) and added a few new tweaks in the process. I won’t say it was all roses — developing an application in four weeks on a new platform, with a full page ad in the presses can put some pressure on the team — but we got it done, and SPIN was right there with us, positive and understanding the whole time.

It’s hard not to get a little sentimental and think about my first Walkman, a bulky yellow Sony thing that was supposed to be waterproof. I used to wait weeks to get the latest copy of SPIN and then run to The Garage in Harvard Square to find the latest tape from the band they were raving about, pop it in and walk around, knowing I was up on the latest thing. Here we are 20 years later with that complete experience condensed down to just few seconds, anytime, anywhere I want. That’s what mobile is all about.

With all the turmoil in the publishing world, its so refreshing to have a client who really ‘gets it’ — understands what its base wants, knows how to monetize without being offensive, and has a plan for the future. I’m glad we could be part of the team that got this out there, and I’m looking froward to all the cool stuff we have cooking for the 3.0 release this summer.

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