By Dave Mainella
This week, Indaba Music, the online collaborative space for musicians, and Booktrack, the creator of a new and engaging eBook that synchronizes music and ambient sound to text, announced the release of the first crowdsourced Booktrack. Indaba Music challenged its community of musicians – over 700,000 – to score music and sound for H. G. Wells’ “The Time Machine.”
A Booktracks producer marked up the text with many cues, seemingly similar to the process of film scoring. Composer’s then submitted works for any, or all, cues for which hey felt inspired to write.
Indaba’s Booktrack Contest received a positive online turnout, with 265 entrants submitting 600 musical cues. 13 winners were selected by Booktracks as having the best entries for each cue. The entire book incorporated at least one submission from each of those winners. According to Sean Rosenberg, SVP of Business Development at Indaba, each winner receives a pro rata share of the music royalties from the sale of each Booktrack copy.
The competition was a natural fit for many composers and sound designers. “It was a wonderful opportunity. I approached composing the accompaniment to the novel ‘The Time Machine’ in the same way I would if it was a film,” said Graham Plowman, an Ireland-based musician who submitted for each of the possible components.
Each composer worked independently. However, the collaborative and supportive nature of the Indaba community provided significant positive feedback from one another throughout the creative process.
Booktracks feature a custom soundtrack that matches the text and action in the eBook. It senses your reading speed, so as you progress through the story, music, ambient audio, and sound effects seamlessly match the plot. The result, by incorporating the additional sense of hearing, is an even more immersive reading experience.
Sean Rosenberg explains that Indaba’s CEO, J. J. Rosen, reached out to Booktrack’s CEO Paul Cameron after reading about Booktrack’s launch. “When they connected,” Rosenberg continues, “they knew something special could be created by focusing the creative power of Indaba Music on scoring a Booktrack.”
With that in mind, keep an eye out for more Booktracks that feature the talented scoring collaborations of the Indaba community.
“The Time Machine” Booktrack edition can be purchased for $1.99 through the Booktrack Bookshelf App – a free download for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch from the App Store.
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