Tablet publishing experts from vjoon® integration partner MEI come together with entertainment title to develop custom iTunes previews, interactivity for fab iPad experience

Now complementing The Beatles’ music library in iTunes is a new tablet-friendly guide to the Fab Four’s music catalog. The app was created by Rolling Stone, thanks in part to vjoon K4 and the integrated Adobe Digital Publishing Suite (DPS) as production tools and digital publishing specialist Managing Editor Inc. (MEI). vjoon, a leading provider of cross-media publishing platforms and a global reseller of Adobe DPS right from the start, announced that Wenner Media has now released its iPad app version of “The Beatles Ultimate Album-by-Album Guide” special-interest publication.

Wenner, the publisher of Rolling Stone and other popular magazines, is using vjoon K4 to manage the project from soup to nuts. MEI designed an iPad publishing workflow that operates alongside Wenner’s print process — Rolling Stone has been managed with the vjoon K4 Cross-Media Publishing Platform since 2008 — tapping into an all-new medium using existing content and familiar tools.

“With vjoon K4 we were able to implement a workflow that really highlights our traditional design and editorial strengths, but also helps us enhance that content by adapting it to a new platform,” said Paul Leung, system administrator for Wenner Media.

vjoon K4’s industry-leading connectivity with Adobe DPS also made this project much easier. By managing most of the project — including its interactive elements — within the vjoon K4 database, MEI enabled an efficient process for Wenner to port its print-based special-interest publication as a rich iPad app. The app was even bundled for release directly within vjoon K4, thanks to the deep integration with Adobe DPS. Another of the many ways vjoon K4 enhances productivity is by substituting automated processes for routine manual chores, such as automatically converting layout pages into tablet format. This allows publishers to focus on creative tasks.

Wenner Media looked to MEI’s team of digital-publishing specialists to help build the app using a combination of custom development and Adobe DPS. MEI guided the production process, including training on the Adobe DPS software, editorial workflow development, template creation, app construction and final submission to Apple.

“MEI worked closely with us to make sure the app captured all the great information from our print product and expanded it with immersive and visually appealing tablet features,” said Paul Leung. “Their expertise and custom development were integral to the success of this project.”

“The Beatles Ultimate Album-by-Album Guide” is a comprehensive companion to the 13 albums released by the legendary rock group. For each recording, the app provides a main article, a playlist with audio samples and a link to purchase the tracks, an extra “Testimonial” story, pictures and more. It takes the wealth of Beatles history showcased in Rolling Stone’s original print album guide and transforms it into a full-featured iPad experience, enhanced with interactivity and engaging content only available in the tablet version.

MEI engineered the specialized audio playlist, which streams song samples directly from iTunes. Not only does this make for a convenient user experience, allowing readers to instantly hear and purchase the music they’re learning about, it also provides a new revenue stream for Wenner — as part of Apple’s Affiliate Program, the publisher gets a percentage of iTunes sales made through the app. MEI also played a major role in the iPad publication’s layout by helping Wenner build templates and implement interactive features using Adobe DPS, including multi-state objects, hyperlinks and touch-activated buttons.

“We expect this app to be a huge hit, and we’re excited that vjoon K4 played a part in its creation,” said Andreas Schrader, CEO at vjoon. “During the production process the profound, substantiated and long-term integration of vjoon K4 with Adobe DPS paid off. It facilitated the production process very much.”

“The Beatles Ultimate Album-by-Album Guide” is now available in the iTunes store. Download it by visiting itunes.apple.com/us/app/rolling-stones-beatles-album/id479662151.