First tablet launch for NPR Music? The iPad, of course!

The latest app from NPR's digital team brings NPR Music to Apple's iPad, and it's now available for free download from the iTunes App Store. Designers created "a true multimedia music magazine," NPR said in a news release, merging original NPR Music content such Tiny Desk Concert performances with its own 24/7 music stream and the live streams of public radio stations. "I think it shows off the flood of amazing stories about music that makes its way to our site from our member stations and our staff," writes Bob Boilen, All Songs Considered host, in a blog post unveiling the site.

To introduce more iPad users to the NPR Music experience, NPR will produce an exclusive in-app concert on March 7 with The Shins, a Portland-based indie-rock band that's about to release its first album in five years, Port of Morrow.

When Apple first launched the iPad in 2010, NPR was among the top news organizations to create a killer app for the new device.