As part of its ongoing desire to give fans multiple ways to hear their music in the digital age, R.E.M. have launched a new iPhone/iPod Touch application that will be available to users free of charge.R.E.M. iPhone is the official app that enables fans to stay up-to-date on all the latest R.E.M. happenings direct from the band's headquarters in Athens, GA. Features include access to the latest R.E.M. news and tour dates, which are updated instantly, 30-second song clips from the band’s complete catalog, a photo gallery that spans the band’s entire career, full-length videos from every R.E.M. album, and a guide to selected sights in the band’s hometown of Athens, GA, complete with built-in Google Maps locations.
Users will also be able to upload their own live R.E.M. photos directly from their phone to Flickr, watch fan YouTube videos from any date on the band’s 2008 world tour, purchase R.E.M. songs from Apple iTunes, and purchase t-shirts, videos, and more from the R.E.M. store. In addition, a feature called R.E.M. & You enables users to listen to a specific R.E.M. song and upload a photo of themselves listening to it at that very moment, as well as check out photos other fans have uploaded while listening to R.E.M. songs.
In October, R.E.M. released a double live CD + DVD, entitled R.E.M. Live At The Olympia, which features 39 songs that capture the best moments from the band’s “working rehearsals” at Dublin’s fabled Olympia club during which singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, and bassist Mike Mills tested out new songs for R.E.M.’s 2008 studio album Accelerate.
