Here’s a novel one - the Presidents Of The United States band has released all four of its albums to the iPhone - not just as music downloads, but as a $3 app. Unlike music tracks, the self-contained app streams songs from all the recordings plus live shows. Whilst that would seem to undercut Apple’s usual music retail channel, the computer maker will still get its 30 percent of the app sale - and music-as-apps could be a potential new revenue stream for artists.

It’s the brainchild of former frontman Dave Dederer, who has since become VP of business development for Melodeo, maker of nuTsie, the service that gives you access to your iTunes library over web and mobile phone. Dederer told Wired the app can be dynamically updated with new content at artists’ choosing - indeed, to woo hardcore fans who may already own a band’s back-catalog, it may need to be. Dederer wants to replicate the Presidents app for other bands and labels, talking with one Seattle label reported to be Sub Pop.