Manchester City Launch CityBeats Music Remixing App

Club harness mobile technology to engage fans and promote unsigned artists

Manchester City Football Club today announced the launch of the CityBeats Music App in the Apple App Store. After announcing the competition in June to find the best new music from bands and producers, the top ten winning tracks have now been selected and one new track will be made available in the app to remix and share over the next 10 weeks.

CityBeats, which is free to download from the App Store, allows users to discover a host of music from the winners of the competition and remix their own versions of the songs, which can then be shared online with friends and other members of the ‘City music community’. The app builds on the Club’s deep connection with the Manchester music scene and rich musical heritage.

As part of City’s music engagement strategy, the remix app offers fans a highly interactive experience and uses the reach of the club’s fan base to promote unsigned artists from around the world. MCFC partnered with Soniqplay, an interactive music start-up which creates branded audio engagement solutions to create the app.

Hundreds of bands and producers from all over the world submitted their tracks hoping to have them included in the CityBeats app. The 10 winning tracks were then chosen by industry expert and lifelong City fan, Mike Pickering. Currently Head of A&R for Deconstruction records, Mike works with some of the UK’s most successful acts including Calvin Harris, Kasabian and the Ting Tings.

Quote from Mike: “I was really surprised by the high standard of entries in the competition, and across a wide range of musical genres.”

“I hope that the CityBeats app will help to propel some of the winners to stardom by providing the vital exposure emerging bands need. The way fans can use the app to get involved and easily remix and share their own version of the tracks is fantastic.”

MCFC will also counting down the winners by announcing a new track available for download each week and also running regular competitions for fans to get involved in including having their remixes played at the Etihad Stadium on match day to thousands of people.

Russell Stopford, Head of Digital, MCFC said “CityBeats helps us to not only reach fans in new ways and offer them access to new music, by also actively engage them and empower them to become creators of digital content. It’s also great that we’re able to help some great new artists reach a global audience by connecting them directly with our fans via their smartphones.”

Martin Macmillan, CEO Soniqplay said “We’re delighted to be working with MCFC in developing CityBeats as part of their ongoing music engagement strategy. We have a shared vision of how interactive music can be used as a way to provide a deeply engaging fan experience, and are working on some exciting developments to further enhance the fan experience.”

The CityBeats app is available to download for iOS devices from the App Store. Please visit www.mcfc.co.uk/citybeats