International team? We've shipped for IKEA, ABC News, DaVita and Fox40 for 19 years. See our page for US / EU / UK / APAC clients →

2014 · US · Mobile · Entertainment · Consumer

A fan-connection app for music artist Thomas Fiss

A celebrity-artist mobile app that let Thomas Fiss's fans stream music, watch exclusive videos, message him directly, and shop merchandise — all inside one branded experience.

Mobile Entertainment Consumer
A fan-connection app for music artist Thomas Fiss

In one breath

  • Branded mobile app combining music streaming, video, messaging and merchandise for a single artist
  • Shipped on iOS and Android with a shared content backend
  • Designed to turn passive listeners into repeat-engagement fans
iOS + Android

Platforms

6

Core features

Audio · Video · Photo

Content types

01 · The challenge

What was broken, what was at stake

Thomas Fiss wanted a single place his fans could live in — not a page scattered across Spotify, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and a merch store. The goal was a direct-to-fan product that raised engagement per fan, not just reach.

02 · The approach

How we thought about it

We framed the app around four things a fan actually wants to do: listen, watch, talk back, and own something. Everything else was secondary. That kept the UX simple enough to ship on both platforms in one cycle.

03 · What we built

The actual solution

A cross-platform mobile app with music streaming, exclusive video, direct messaging to the artist, a photo booth with branded stickers, social sharing, and an integrated merchandise store. Content managed centrally so Thomas's team could push updates without a release cycle.

04 · The results

What shipped, what changed

The app shipped on iOS and Android with all six planned features live. Fans now had a single branded home that replaced the fragmented cross-platform experience.

Timeline

Phase by phase.

  1. 01

    Discovery & scope

    1 week

    Feature prioritisation with the artist's management team. Locked on four pillars: listen · watch · message · shop.

  2. 02

    Design

    2 weeks

    Branded UI, photo-booth sticker sets, merchandise flow.

  3. 03

    Build

    6 weeks

    Parallel iOS and Android builds. Weekly demos. Store submission in week 8.

  4. 04

    Launch support

    2 weeks

    Post-launch hardening, content-management handover to the artist's team.

Stack

Tools and tech used.

iOS (Objective-C)Android (Java)REST backendPush notifications

More case studies

Other work in this space

A live streaming radio app for WJIE

Mobile · Broadcast

A live streaming radio app for WJIE

Read case →
A mobile safety handbook for IKEA's field workforce

Enterprise · Mobile

A mobile safety handbook for IKEA's field workforce

Read case →
Celeb Calls — personalised celebrity voicemails and calls

Mobile · Entertainment

Celeb Calls — personalised celebrity voicemails and calls

Read case →

Your move

Tell us what you're trying to do. We'll tell you if we can help.

First conversation is thirty minutes. No pitch deck. You leave with either a clear next step — or an honest "we're not the right team for this". Both are useful.

Book an intro call Take the free FORGE Readiness Score
  • Response within one business day
  • Mutual NDA available on request
  • We'll say no if we're not a fit

19 years · 10M+ lines of code · 240+ mobile apps · IKEA · ABC News · DaVita · SBM Industries