SoundCtrl » music

Web App-ening: Sound Calendar

SoundCtrl — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 15:30:50 +0000

User-oriented apps for music fans are blowing up more and more in the music tech world with the further developments in iOS-based products. Some of them have responded to the many needs and desires of fast-moving navigators, and others just haven’t seemed to live up to the match. It isn’t just the users that are quick to act, but also artists who consistently put out new material for the fans faster than they can get their hands on them.

If you find yourself unable to satisfy your musical appetite, and are constantly looking for something new to listen to (and I mean new!), then you might find yourself in luck with the recently released app called Sound Calendar.

Sound Calendar was developed by Australian-based Harmonic New Media, who is responsible for the creation of Australian-focused iPhone apps such as Your Local Greengrocer and 96fm.

What Sound Calendar does is take the music that exists on your iOS device (iTouch or iPhone), and lets you know of when the artists that you listen to are releasing new material.

All artists in your iTunes are automatically synched with Sound Calendar, and whenever you open up the app, Sound Calendar will immediately pick up on any updates that you might have made to your iTunes library.

Not only that, but in the Pandora fashion, it finds similar artists that match up to what you have and also let you know when their music is being released as well. If you rather not be told about similar artists and their releases, you have the option to disable this feature.

All in all, Sound Calendar gives you the opportunity to get ahead of the curve with new music possibly before anyone else does, (unless everyone else has Sound Calendar).

Don’t be mislead into thinking it’s simply a news feed app, because you can also preview and purchase the music that you are notified with via Sound Calendar as well.

Not everyone is willing to sift through the Apple iTunes store, which seems to be growing at an unimaginable rate everyday, so hopefully Sound Calendar will alleviate some of the stress that music consumers get about feeling behind with the times – even if they do have everything.

Sound Calendar is currently available in the iTunes store for $2.99.

As a musician and writer originally from New York, Mike currently contributes to a number of music industry blogs, offering his social critiques of music and culture on ZME Music, entertainment articles on DX3.net and even a blog about craft beer and the community on the Washington Times Communities blog. Mike currently resides in Raleigh, NC.

DreamWorks Launches “Ptch” App for Sharing Photos and Video Mashups

SoundCtrl — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 12:45:55 +0000

by Dave Mainella

DreamWorks Animation presents Ptch, a social photo and video app, with a soft launch Monday in the United States. The app, developed by DreamWorks CTO Ed Leonard and a small team from inside and outside the Glendale, CA studio, had been kept under wraps for quite some time. Ptch is a standalone company, with DreamWorks as its only source of funding. It was being beta-tested in Canada at the NXNE music festival.

Ptch, pronounced “pitch”, is a sort of “living media” that incorporates elements of other apps like Instagram and Viddy. The idea is to use photos and videos from your phone or the internet, add comments, tweets, captions, animation styles, and music, and present a video slideshow of one minute or less to share within the app and over other social media networks.

An interesting component of the app is the separation of individual pieces of material – photos and videos – that can be rearranged and edited at any time. And as long as allowed by the original creator, any other Ptch user can use the content in their own projects. The app then tracks the “genealogy” of each piece.

A band might release professional photos and backstage footage on Ptch, and fans could then use the same material in a mashup-montage with their own original content from the audience’s perspective.

You can see Ptch in action here.

SoundCtrl Top List: Dress Up Your Gadget — iPad Gear

SoundCtrl — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 17:14:00 +0000

By Jessica Wunsch

Want to really make your iPad your own? Luckily there are so many options out there to give your pad a pop, whether your looking for a fun, unique design, or something a little more utilitarian, SoundCtrl has got you covered.

Decals

The growing trend right now is iPad decals, which can really give your iPad a fun element with its cute designs and pop culture references. The Decal Guru has plenty of great options, all for $12.99, while Etsy also serves as a hotspot for decal design at great prices ranging from $5 to $10.

Apple Juice, $13, The Decal Guru Superman, $7, Etsy

Keyboard Cases

Many cases come with keyboard sets now, turning your iPad into a more lighter, compact laptop. Brookstone’s keyboard cases come in both leather and non-leather options.

Bluetooth Keyboard Pro with Leather Case for iPad Tablets, $150, Brookstone

Designer Cases

Today, it seems like every designer as developed their own iPad case, and some of them are actually pretty neat. From Burberry to Marc Jacobs to Tory Burch, Bloomingdales has an attire array of high-end covers to choose, allowing you choose your favorite case from your favorite designer.

Tory Burch iPad Case – Robinson Flip Handle, $165, Bloomingdales

The Echo Nest Receives $17 Million of Funding, Provides an Incredible Music Database

SoundCtrl — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 19:06:36 +0000

by Dave Mainella

A significant aspect of today’s digital music environment involves the compilation of music data. It’s a growing field in the music industry, and the Echo Nest is ahead in the race to provide a giant database of raw music information.

The Somerville, Massachusettes based Echo Nest unveiled yesterday that they have received $17 million in additional funding, launching the company into a position to expand its musical data services into social discovery and other areas.

The Echo Nest was founded in 2005 by MIT Media Lab PhDs Brian Whitman and Tristan Jehan. The two have built the company into a powerful music intelligence force that powers a wide range of music applications, with clients that include MTV, the BBC, Warner Music Group, and about 7,000 independent app developers. They also have deals with Spotify, iHeartRadio, and Vevo.

Their customers reach over 100 million music fans each month on over 350 applications – from music search and discovery, to music games and analytics driven marketing applications.

The genius behind the entire process is the “musical brain”.

After years of research at UC Berkley, Columbia, and MIT, the Echo Nest built an incredible thinking database that collect and analyzes music and the online music environment for several factors (http://the.echonest.com/company/). It scans millions of blogs, reviews, playlists, and discussion forums to form a complex understanding of how the online community describes every artist, album, and song. The “brain” analyzes all of the online musical behavior to identify trends, buzz, and fan opinions. And it actually listens to audio files to extract musical attributes, like tempo and time signature, to describe songs in ways similar to actual musicians.

The Echo Nest is hoping to branch out, using this powerful database to provide clients with user research in a variety of areas outside of music. This latest round of funding, led by Northwest Venture Partners and previous investors like Commonwealth Capital Ventures, help to ensure that the Echo Nest will find other ways to use their massive database of music information.

The newest projects released and under development include ways to connect and uncover preferences and tendencies among music users. The “Fanalytics” program focuses on helping media companies better understand their users through music taste. And an “affinity predictor” uses musical preferences to predict, for example, political preference.

Happy Birthday Spotify! Love, SoundCtrl and the USA

SoundCtrl — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 14:00:19 +0000

Spotify first landed in the US on July 14th, 2011, which means this Saturday will mark its one year anniversary in the States. So how’s it doing? Here’s a look at a few metrics, based on information pulled from Spotify, leaks, and analyst estimates.

I. Paid Subscribers (US)

July 14, 2011: 0

July 14, 2012: ~800,000 (est.)*

II. Active Users (US)

July 14, 2011: 0

July 14, 2012: ~4 million (est.)*

(note: year one expectation set by Spotify: 50 million users)

III. Limitations on Free Plays (US)

July 14, 2011: unlimited (w/ ads)

July 14, 2012: unlimited (w/ ads)

To see some more stats visit our friends over at Digital Music News.

Offbeat: A Knitted MIDI Controller

SoundCtrl — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 14:47:41 +0000

By Dave Mainella

Electronic music composer Jeff Bryant found a way to play the piano with a scarf. By weaving conductive silver thread into yarn and attaching tiny wireless radios, Bryant was able to manipulate the fiber and harness the voltage produced by twisting and turning the scarf.

“The conductive thread, used with regular yarn, makes a big, stretchy variable resistor,” Bryant explains. “If it’s twisted, pulled or compressed, more of the conductive thread is touching itself and that distortion affects the amount of voltage that we can read.”

He then programmed a score-generator to convert the wireless voltage signal into musical notation, which then in turn activated an antique Vorsetzer device that powered the player piano.

Bryant’s “push_push” interactive performance showcases the technology, with a dancer manipulating the MIDI scarf.

You can read more at here, and a demo performance can be seen below…

The Reactable: Breaking Music Tech Boundaries with More Than the Push of a Button

SoundCtrl — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 15:38:27 +0000

By Mitch Camarda

As electronic dance music continues to flourish, DJs are now seen in the same light that Barry Bonds once was pre – Jose Canseco’s new found guilt complex. Companies like Native Instruments, Serato, Ableton and Apple are the big players in the DAW and Live DJ Software industry. When it comes to experienced and new DJ/producers alike, we at SoundCtrl are always looking to discover what’s next in the development of their respective softwares. Traktor has enabled newbies to skip the learning of beat matching (auto sync feature), which at one point was what DJing was all about. This now makes DJ Joe Schmo from down the block the master of mixing 4 channels even though he’s never puts on a pair of headphones. Ableton has made remixing as easy as chopping up an original production, rearranging it in different ways with minimal original input, then clicking and dragging a few automation effects to provide the inexperienced producer with his or her first remix.

So, what’s next? There will always be new VST’s, software updates and midi hardware (and software) to take the production experience somewhere different. But more simply, I have been searching for the next stepping stone into a new live setup. That is to say, some future music technology that takes DJing from just using CDJs and a Mixer and recreates the Chemical Brother’s mind-boggling setup was 10 years ago. Technology must go foreward to evoke the awesome of going backward.

Enter a new piece of hardware called the Reactable Live! (€9,700). The original concept was conceived by a research team at Pompeu Abra University in Barcelona around 2003. After a couple years of development by four researchers, it was finally unveiled at International Computer Music Conference in 2005. Following this event and the release of demonstration videos shortly after, the Reactable spread like wildfire throughout the musical community. Eventually being dubbed “Hot Instrument Of The Year (2007)” by Rolling Stone and also winning a number of other prestigious awards, the Reactable was ready to move out of development and into the marketplace.

What is it? The Reactable is a platform that enables users to manipulate sonic structure and sound waves while offering a refreshing way of making music. Boasting a hi-tech intuitive software which works through a circular translucent table, the Reactable brings “hands-on” to a whole different level. The concept is based around the ability to use tangible objects called “pucks” to interact with one another while they serve different functions. From synthesizers to loopers to effects, these pucks represent all aspects within the production tool shed and can be used in any way the composer sees fit. Everything is done on the actual table, which is touch screen. The makers of Reactable boast a multi-touch feature as one of the key aspects to the table’s functionality. Multiple fingers can be used at one time at any place on the table without interfering with one another. Essentially this means that the table can handle being told multiple different things at once without an issue.

Although the Reactable has slowly entered into circulation with a small number of artists incorporating it into their acts, it has still not gotten the attention of the more ‘mainstream’ DJ pool. Although that might remain true, it wouldn’t surprise me if in upcoming years the boundary pushing producers like Richie Hawtin or Dubfire never pick up a Traktor controller again. “Conventional” was once learning with two Technics and some vinyls, but eventually graduated into a laptop and X1 controllers being the new starter kit. As technology enables artists to do something that was once considered a speciality occupation, it is these boundary pushing concepts like the Reactable that offer true experimental musicians an avenue of uniqueness to set themselves apart from this over-saturated crew of button pushers.

And for you aspiring DJs out there who’d like to give the Reactable technology a try, if the €9,700 price tag is a little too steep, don’t worry. Reactable has a mobile version for both iOS and Android for just $9.99.

Check out Reactable’s demo video:

Insider Tips From Pro Music Engineer and Producer Eddie Jackson

SoundCtrl — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 13:31:41 +0000

In the early 2000′s Eddie Jackson often slept on the couch at Avatar Studios in NYC where, as a lowly intern, going home to his Queens rental seemed pointless what with a 16-hour daily work schedule (seven days a week).

Fast forward to 2012. Jackson has become one of the go-to engineers in the biz, as well as a musical brand unto himself. Sought after by top tier aural acts looking to put their tunes into trustworthy hands, Jackson skillfully takes tracks, recordings, ideas, riffs, lyrics, and brings them to flawless fruition (aka a hit song).

Gone are the days of hustling gigs, working tirelessly (and often thanklessly) for big name recording studios for spare change wages. Thanks to a combination of killer technique, years of dedication and hard work. and the digital boom, Jackson leveraged timing and talent, which garnered him massive success, as well as his own studio attached to his Los Angeles home (every producer’s dream). These days, Jackson can roll out of bed, walk down the stairs and create remixes, produce, engineer and more, on his own terms. Warner Brothers Records calls on him for tune engineering and mixing regularly, while Sony Red has Jackson mix engineering tracks and even play drums for their acclaimed artists.

For all the sonic sculptors trying to break into the world of music-making, check out these insider tips from the engineering aficionado…

By, Eddie Jackson

1. Go to School.

There is a definite argument against it but, I advise getting a degree. I studied at Berklee College of Music, and it was there that I met so many people whom I still work with everyday. For this side of the music business it’s important to learn all the fundamentals of how to be a producer and engineer. Get the “in” in rudiments by having a degree on your resume when applying for internships/runner positions at studios. My schooling helped me get in the door at my internships at Sony Music Studios as well as Avatar Studios, where I worked my way up the ladder from intern, production assistant, assistant engineer and finally staff engineer. Without the intensive training I never would have been able to have my own studio.

2. Develop your own style and be a cool guy (or girl).

Working your way up through a major studio, such as Avatar, is the BEST way to learn the real deal. You get to stand side-by-side with the pros, and learn actual production and engineering techniques, which you will later apply to your own unique style. Not everything works for everyone. One thing is for sure, everyone likes to work with someone pleasant and easy to get along with. It is not uncommon that you will be in a studio with an artist, a band, or a producer for a LONG time, so you better be cool. No one wants to work with a jerk, no matter what your job is on a session. I am not exaggerating when I say that just about every “first” opportunity I had in the earlier part of my career was because “I seemed like a nice or guy”, not because I was qualified. That comes into play once you’re established in the business, engineering or producing for artists, labels, etc. Then it will become more about how good you are, your style, and of course, who you’ve worked with.

3. Methodology/Theory.

It is important to have the right tools. They make you better. I like to work in the big studios here in LA and in NY where I get the best sounding tracks. You can’t beat a great sounding room, top-of-the-line microphones, an analog console, great outboard gear, and high quality instruments and players. I surround myself with all of those things as much as I possibly can because they make me better. This leads to that irksome problem of budget restraints. Sometimes you don’t have the budget to use the best studio. This is when I use my own studio and some tricks to keep costs down. I’ve Invested in the most important pieces of gear, a Pro Tools HD system, Logic Studio, a bunch of plugins, speakers (important!), and a room to put it all in so I can still mix and record projects with smaller budgets. It is important to put yourself in a position in which you can make any type of project work while maintaining a high level of quality control. This way, you’re always working and making the best product possible.

4. Stay on top of your game.

Never ever be lazy! It doesn’t matter how small the project may be, give it your all. Everything you ever work on, will have your name on it. It will always represent you and can forever be heard once released. Don’t attach your name to anything less than your best. Remember this always: you’re never as good as you can be. It’s foolish to stop learning your craft, because you will become obsolete. The music business is very trendy, so you need to stay current, adapt to changes, all while being consistent and true to your artistry.

5. Never be late.

Musicians and producers are often late… for sessions or deadlines; you name it, they tend to be late. Don’t be! Put yourself in the position where you are early, and always deliver on time. This will earn the trust of your clients who will tell their friends. Punctuality will help you become a “go to”.

6. Promote yourself, but don’t be annoying.

I may be the minority here, but I don’t love to play the name-dropping game to self promote. I prefer my work to speak for itself. The music business is so bloated with smoke and mirrors (is this the correct term? lets verify), and I personally find that doing a good job consistently, working hard, and making great music is most effective. That being said, some people are very good at being their own mouthpiece, and can get ahead that way.. it’s just not me. While you do need a website, twitter, Facebook to be accessible, these are not the way to really making it. However, hiring a good manager and lawyer can make you look good and help to streamline your business. Thats never a bad thing. Engineers are not Justin Beibers’… don’t forget that.

7. Persistence.

There’s a lot of people that want your job, so stay after it! The current state of the music in the digital era has made people more creative in making business happen. You need to as well. Don’t just expect work to come to you.

8. Stay current.

I find these these magazines/websites helpful to stay up-to-date with what and who is happening in music production. Still, mostly I find that doing the work, and getting hands-on with producers, musicians and record companies is the best way to learn and evolve your music-making abilities.

Mix Magazine http://www.mixonline.com

Billboard http://www.billboard.com

Rolling Stone http://www.rollingstone.com

Gearslutz http://www.gearslutz.com

Electronic Trio Noisia Composes for Capcom Video Game + Free Download!

SoundCtrl — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 21:59:13 +0000

International videogame company Capcom, in close collaboration with Ninja Theory, has announced that Dutch electronic music trio Noisa has composed the music for the upcoming DmC Devil May Cry videogame out January 2013. Noisa’s specially curated music will be heard during the title’s cinematics and gameplay, including combat. Noisa created over three hours of original music for DmC Devil May Cry and have been working on this project for over a year.

Noisa’s previous videogame soundtrack work includes their track “Groundhog” on DJ Hero; “Machine Gun” and “Seven Stitches” featured in three editions of the game WipEout; and “Stigma” and “Yellow Brick” featured on Gran Turismo. They were also commissioned to make eight remixes especially for MotorStorm: Apocalypse; the tracks will be released as free downloads on Noisa’s Facebook pageonce they reach 300,000 likes here.

“It’s been an awesome experience working with Ninja Theory on the game. We had great freedom but were also bound by certain criteria typical in the game world. These are challenging boundaries (for example; consistency in sonics over 180 minutes of music) but also lots of space in terms of dynamics & progression and instrumentation, being able to create soundscapes without having to worry about holding the attention of a dancefloor. Their music director was great to work with, good vibes. It’s great when you get to play to your strengths. Also, the game kicks ass!”

Check out this free sample track of Noisa’s DmC Devil May Cry:

Listen Here!

Download Here!

Beatport’s Massive Music Weekend: Live DJ Sets

SoundCtrl — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 13:00:24 +0000

Hosting a party this weekend and don’t have the energy to man the iPod? Beatport has you covered with two live streams being held from their headquarters in Denver.

Friday, July 6 / 3:00 PM MDT (GMT -6)
Drop The Lime & Ishe
RSVP on Facebook

Saturday, July 7 / 1:00 PM MDT (GMT -6)
**SPECIAL SATURDAY SESSION**
Porter Robinson, Mat Zo, and The M Machine (The Language Tour is in Boulder on Friday (7/6 and Denver on Saturday 7/7)
RSVP on Facebook

Download 3 FREE Porter Robinson remixes from Spitfire, courtesy of OWSLA.

Tune in to http://ustream.tv/beatport and let Beatport do the work… and the DJs.

SoundCtrl’s Top List: Music Techs for July

SoundCtrl — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 17:00:44 +0000

By Jessica Wunsch

Greetings gadget geeks and tech dance diehards. Another month is gone, which is why we have rounded up our favorite new gear from last month, and are giving you a summary of each item’s benefits and perks. From egg-shaped speakers to color-coded keyboard covers, June has certainly been a month for intriguing new music technology.

1. sE Munro Egg 150 Monitors ($2,584), Andertons.co.uk

The result of many months of hard work by world renowned studio acoustician Andy Munro, the sE Munro Egg offer the best possible cabinet shape to reduce reflected waves from hitting the cabinet, creating a less prominent resonant frequencies. So basically, the same shape our breakfast may come out of is also the ideal shape to avoid that annoying backtrack sound. Who knew?

2. sE Electronics 2200a Mkll ($532) Woodbrass.com

The latest in the sE Electronics’ lineage of sE2200 condenser mics, a mic which as been by far sE’s best-selling model over the past decade, sE2200a steps things up a notch with its hand-crafted, 1” gold sputtered diaphragm, and black rubber paint finish, both stylish and practical, helping to damp chassis resonance. Already winning major awards around the county, including a twice winner of the Music Industry Association award, this mic was even used by multi-platinum artist Ellie Goulding during her recording of “Bright Lights.”

3. Logic Café ControlSkin ($47) Logic-Café.com

The ControlSkin keyboard cover for Logic Pro software is designed to make creating music with the software as intuitive and hands on one would when using dedicated hardware such as the MPC or Maschine. Installation is easy, just by putting the ControlSkin over Macbook, Macbook Pro or Apple Wireless keyboard, and then installing and selecting the included path file for Logic Pro. Afterwards, wa-la!, your computer has become a dedicated control surface and MIDI keyboard.

4. Brainworx bx_saturator ($190) Plugin-Alliance.com

The bx_saturator is an M/S and multi-band saturation tool, which can be used for mastering, mixing and sound-design. Offering a warm and subtle distortion that works wonders on individual signals, it can even be applied to the stereo master channel in the M/S stereo model. This saturator belongs to the new “Brainworx Rock n’ Roll” line of creative plugins, making it a piece of technical excellence for the creative musician and engineer.

California Headphones: Gearing Headphones to Music Genres

SoundCtrl — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 14:37:22 +0000

by Sarah Polonsky

The fine folks over at TechCrunch are making me worried with their latest coverage on California Headphones. Much like Beats By Dre, are targeting a specific demographic with clear marketing and unique styling. But these headphones are more than just looking the part. They’re tuned to better match the musical style of rock and country, with less pounding bass and a heaver investment in mids and highs.

SoundCtrl knows where this is headed. We’re soon going to have NO CHOICE but to purchase specific headphones for every music genre in order to keep up with all the future technology happenings. Try and wrap your headphoned head around that.

California Headphones turned to Kickstarter for its first round of units. As of this writing, the company has raised $35k in pre-orders. If successful, backers will get a set of headphones at a significant discount from the eventual MSRP. Pledge $65 to get a Laredo (which will MSRP at $99.95) or $135 for the Silverado.

Mosey on over to TechCrunch to learn more about the Laredo and the Silverado, hillbillies! Happy Honky Tonk Listening!

See California Headphones’ Kickstarter video after the jump…

SoundCtrl Insider Interview: Robbie Rivera live from SiriusXM

SoundCtrl — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 01:46:27 +0000

by Sarah Polonsky

Last week house music pioneer Robbie Rivera had an intimate party at SiriusXM’s headquarters in Midtown Manhattan. Moments before his live set the acclaimed DJ sat down for a chat with SoundCtrl.

In town promoting his new album “Dance or Die,” Rivera has a slew of tour dates in the Northeast this summer. “It’s been exciting,” said the warm and approachable Rivera, donning his spectacles and a nondescript green t-shirt. “One of the tracks off the album, ‘Forever Young,’ went Top Ten on Beatport,” Rivera said from the sound booth at Sirius. He’s also bringing his long-running Juicy Beach party to New York for the first time ever on July 14th at Governors Island.

“The Miami party has been going down for seven years, and it always brings out around 4,000 people,” Rivera said. ” We’ve had people like Deadmau5 headline it, and Swedish House Mafia play there. It’s always the best time.”

How does an aspiring DJ reach a Robbie Rivera level of mass appeal in 2012? “Stop copying everyone else,” he proclaimed. “You need to start creating original music because what’s happening is everyone is starting to sound the same. You also have to play a lot of parties, and playing the same 16 tracks is not going to work. It’s going to die and how can you DJ a five hour party like that? You need to be creative and have the balls to educate a bit.”

Educating is huge for Rivera. He even admitted that he’d like to design an app “for when I’m playing live, people can see what I’m doing,” adding “but I read that Ritchie Hawtin is doing something like that.”

As for his favorite app that does exist, Rivera announced, “You might be surprised.” A few lucky fans began circulating the SiriusXM space, as the DJ started setting up his console and tweaking various knobs and plug-ins for the live set. “The weather app.” DJs travel a lot, so it never hurts to know what conditions to expect, especially when your set is outside in front of thousands of partygoers who expect audile awesomeness, rain or shine.

And with that, Rivera took to the decks and delivered a bouncy, happy set for listeners across the nation via SiriusXM’s airwaves.

If you want to attend Robbie Rivera’s Juicy New York, enter for your chance to win a pair of free tickets courtesy of Vibe.

The Future Is Now: SoundCtrl Chats with TheFuture.fm VP of Marketing Chris Nagy

SoundCtrl — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 13:37:34 +0000

By Jessica Wunsch

The bleary-eyed music savant is tired but still bursting with excitement. Chris Nagy, VP of Marketing of TheFuture.fm, just got off the red-eye from his trip to LA, and is running around his office trying to find a quiet place (there’s a lot of music blasting at The Future) moment to chat with SoundCtrl about the application, along with some of its future prospects. The DJ turned entrepreneur throws out some advice for future tech-mogul aspirers, reveals his favorite iPhone apps and more…

SoundCtrl - What was the purpose in developing Thefuture.fm?
Chris Nagy - Literally the purpose was a desire to recreate the unique experience people get when they are in the presence of a DJ, whether they’re at a club, festival or party. That was the original desire, and once the process got started in creating a platform for this, a lot of hurdles and obstacles arose—not only from a technological standpoint, but also from the music industry, which we felt needed to be addressed.

SC - It has been reported that on April 25, when you re-launched dubset.com as thefuture.fm, your user base doubled to more than 100,000. How?
CN - It’s become a combination of our team and platform being more developed – all these things working together have put the company as a whole on another level. I think it’s creating a momentum that pushes us forward more quickly. It’s also a good time to be in the EDM space where there’s a lot going on – especially in the United States, where we’re really starting to embrace DJ culture more actively.

SC - Tell us about implementing mixSCAN technologies.
CN - mixSCAN pretty much serves as the backbone and it’s what makes everything else possible. Anytime a mix is constrained to any capacity within our platform, mixSCAN creates an automated report, and then pays off for the different copyrights in an automated fashion. This way we’ve created the first ever platform that respects the DJ as artists. We even have plans for a mechanism that will be able to pay DJs royalties for the work that they do.

SC - What did your 15+ years in the music biz, especially your time at Grooveshark, teach you about music technology? How are you applying what you’ve learned to make thefuture.fm?
CN - I’ve found that the integration of the music culture being tied to technology has really changed the business of it. The only way to be successful on a commercial level is through some form of technology, right? So I think the big thing that I learned is seeing these two separate opposing forces now working together hand-in-hand. I’ve also recently learned that you have to take the opinions of everyone you work with into consideration, especially in the music industry. From managers to artists, everyone has a vision on how they want to distribute the listening experience to their audience, and you have to foster a healthy dialogue with them in order to ensure the opportunity to grow and succeed.

SC - Will the future.fm ever host more than DJ music?
CN - We’re definitely not strictly EDM. Since we are a part of the DJ culture, we see many genres that are mixed into the work including hip-hop, trance, rock, alternative stuff, classics…whatever. EDM stems from all different types of music, and technology can be applied to any format of music.

SC - With all the young success stories these days, including Mark Zuckerburg and Dennis Crowley, what would you say is the key to becoming a successful programmer/entrepreneur?
CN - It’s a combination of actually having a vision, and business deliverance – it’s not just coding. Also, having a true grasp of the product and its marketing/packaging, or surrounding yourself with quality people that do. What I’ve seen often times is that some start-ups may have extremely talented developers who just want to create all different kinds of stuff and get it out there. Then there’s the Apple mentality where all these products are calculated and programmed so that the messaging, their packaging, their look, their feel, their identity, and their timing is all thought out. And I think the latter approach stands better. You can develop the greatest product, but if you don’t find a way to make it compelling with your users, even if you are be discovered organically or virally, ultimately you’re going to have a much slimmer chance at success.

SC - If you were to start charging for services, how do you do so strategically so as not to offend your users?
CN - I think there’s the ability to continue to allow people to adhere to our platform in certain capacities, but don’t want to participate financially. Then there’s the ability to offer access and services for a higher level product that involves a combination of a subscription service and then also a unique approach for users to be able to acquire exclusive original mixes that can’t be accessed from anywhere else.

SC - What is your favorite iPhone app?
CN - Right now I’m using Thefuture.fm app heavily for my entertainment consumption. I travel a lot so I use Instagram and Hotel Tonight. I also like to have Sign It! on hand as well.

SC - What’s next on Thefuture.fm’s agenda?
CN - We are in the process of rolling out various ways to monetize content, and at the same time provide special access to the audience with some exclusive mixes so that it’s basically become a new marketplace.

SoundCtrl Series Part 1: Dance Music in the Era of Copyright Controversy

SoundCtrl — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 18:19:53 +0000

Life after the Digital Disruption

By Angus Thomas Paterson

Matt Thomas, better known to the dance music community for the past decade as King Unique, is getting stuck into a normal day’s work that is as far removed from the flights, hotels and nightclubs of a touring DJ’s lifestyle that you can get. He’s in what he describes as the “remote location” of a “dilapidated old coal mining village out in Wales”, which happens to be where his studio is located. Thomas says part of the appeal of coming out here to lay down his tracks is that he can make as much noise as he wants, and nobody complains. Surprisingly though, even though all the wider industry seems to be talking about is how you can’t make a living solely as a producer anymore, Thomas is finding himself more and more in this small Welsh town.

“The whole economic thing has hit the amount of gigs going around for everybody, so I’ve been back in the studio a lot more,” he says. “The non-stop DJ thing during 2007 and 2008 just wasn’t quite as much fun as really bedding into the studio. It feels like it’s 2001 again when we weren’t really doing any gigs, because the money in the studio was so incredible. We used to sit here and make records back to back, and doing that again, I’ve had a fantastic time.”

Like many others in the current climate, Thomas had been frantically chasing gigs in an effort to ensure his full-time existence in dance music would remain sustainable. “Funnily enough though, relaxing here and making records… if you’re on the right label, with the right releases and the right remixes, you can actually keep the body and the soul of it together in the studio.”

The positive story that Thomas tells is in stark contrast to the very loud message of wanton chaos we’ve been hearing from the major players in the music industry, including the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the major labels it represents, since the early days of what’s referred to as the ‘digital disruption’. It was a revolution, for better or worse, which began with the explosion in popularity of Napster’s pioneering peer-to-peer file sharing service in late 1999, popularising the notion of “sharing” MP3 files in a way that completely undermined traditional copyright laws, with no royalties paid to artists, labels or anyone else for that matter.

There’s little doubt the industry was utterly changed in the years that followed, but the digital distribution of music was finally legitimized on a major scale when Apple’s iTunes service established a cheap and easy way for the industry to sell music to consumers. However, the debate rages on over how to tackle ongoing challenges in the era of copyright controversy, with a canyon opening between the big industry players who want to restore a copyright-protected world, and those preaching the virtues of a more open internet.

The tension reached a boiling point in January when ACTA, the US-backed international treaty aiming for global consensus on copyright protection, was greeted with howls of derision from citizens, internet libertarians and parliaments alike. One of the main areas of contention was that ISPs would be held responsible for cracking down on piracy, potentially cutting off users who illegally share music. Protesters marched in several European capitals including London, Berlin, Helsinki, Paris and Vienna, before the bill eventually stalled in the European commission.

Not surprisingly, the RIAA was far from happy with how things played out, with chief executive Cary Sherman throwing a blistering tantrum in the New York Times. “Policy makers had recognized that music sales in the United States are less than half of what they were in 1999, when the file-sharing site Napster emerged, and that direct employment in the industry had fallen by more than half since then, to less than 10,000.”

Organizations like RIAA have repeatedly shown they are willing to exaggerate the economic costs and threat to jobs of piracy; but while they continue to bellow about the dark days ahead, the activity in the dance music sector tells a distinctly different story, and is much closer to the more positive account given by Thomas.

While it took several years for the dust to settle, with many long-established labels unable to adapt to the digital era, in the years that followed, a huge range of robust independent labels demonstrated they were able to adopt new business models, plug into new distribution pipelines, taken advantage of new promotional opportunities, and otherwise leverage opportunities never available to them before; largely due to the new possibilities of the digital era.

Stay tuned to SoundCtrl.com for Part 2: Protecting the Future of Music

How To Produce Music like the mau5 – According to deadmau5

SoundCtrl — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 15:09:53 +0000

By Sarah Polonsky

Whether you hate him or you love him, SoundCtrl has to admit there is no denying the mass appeal of the DJ/Producer who dons the mau5 ears. deadmau5 took to his tumblr this weekend for his version of “Doing What he Doe5” 101 using simple audio software and systems.

deadmau5 says: “anyone with minimal knowledge of ableton and music tech in general could DO what im doing at a deadmau5 concert.”

How? Check out the deadmau5 rant titled, “we all hit play.”

“its no secret. when it comes to “live” performance of EDM… that’s about the most it seems you can do anyway. It’s not about performance art, its not about talent either (really its not) In fact, let me do you and the rest of the EDM world button pushers who fuckin hate me for telling you how it is, a favor and let you all know how it is.

I think given about 1 hour of instruction, anyone with minimal knowledge of ableton and music tech in general could DO what im doing at a deadmau5 concert. Just like i think ANY DJ in the WORLD who can match a beat can do what “ANYONE else” (not going to mention any names) is doing on their EDM stages too. have a look, then let me explain:

okay, so heres me, in a big silly mousehead.. twiddlin a knob or somethin… okay so heres how it works…. Somewhere in that mess is a computer, running ableton live… and its spewing out premixed (to a degree) stems of my original producitons, and then a SMPTE feed to front of house (so tell the light / video systems) where im at in the performance… so that all the visuals line up nicely and all the light cues are on and stuff. Now, while thats all goin on… theres a good chunk of Midi data spitting out as well to a handful of synths and crap that are / were used in the actual produciton… which i can tweak *live* and whatnot… but doesnt give me alot of “lookit me im jimi hendrix check out this solo” stuff, because im constrained to work on a set timeline because of the SMPTE. Its a super redundant system, and more importantly its reliable as FUCK! And obviously, ive done the show a couple hundred times easily by now, so the focus over the past few runs with the “cube show” has been more revolved around adding new audio / visual content to keep it current.

so thats my “live” show. and thats as “live” as i can comfortably get it (for now anyway) of course itll evolve, and change up, but im sure a few key principles will always remain the same.

Im just so sick of hearing the “NO!!! IM NOT JUST DOING THIS, I HAVE 6 TABLES UP THERE AND I DO THIS THIS AND THIS” like… honestly. who gives a fuck? i dont have any shame in admitting that for “unhooked” sets.. i just roll up with a laptop and a midi controller and “select” tracks n hit a spacebar. ableton syncs the shit up for me… so no beatmatching skill required. “beatmatching” isnt even a fucking skill as far as im concered anyway. so what, you can count to 4. cool. i had that skill down when i was 3, so dont give me that argument please.

my “skills” and other PRODUCERS skills shine where it needs to shine… in the goddamned studio, and on the fucking releases. thats what counts… because this whole big “edm” is taking over fad, im not going to let it go thinking that people assume theres a guy on a laptop up there producing new original tracks on the fly. becausje none of the “top dj’s in the world” to my knowledge have. myself included.

you know what makes the EDM show the crazy amazing show that it is? you guys do, the fans, the people who came to appreciate the music, the lights, all the other people who came, we just facilitate the means and the pretty lights and the draw of more awesome people like you by our studio productions. which is exactly what it is. But to stand up and say youre doing something special outside of a studio environment, when youre not, just plain fuckin annoys me.”

The Evolution of the Concert Bootleg

SoundCtrl — Tue, 22 May 2012 19:53:32 +0000

Photo: The Edirol R-44, commonly used by NYCtaper

by Jason Epstein

A Look at Live Bootlegs

When I was a teenager in the early 2000s, I’d scour the internet in search of my favorite band’s live audio and video bootlegs. Back then, a VHS containing a single performance could easily cost upward of $30, (though, I’m sure some went for a lot more depending on quality, rarity, and artist), and it was worth it. In exchange for your money or effort, you got an unlicensed, unofficial, raw look at a musical performance you didn’t attend, but could still watch over and over paying attention to each nuance of the music, on-stage banter, audience attitude, and performance. It was a special experience, second only to being in attendance.

The bootlegs were purchased or traded on CD, cassette, or VHS, and once you built up a collection, you could begin trading. Soon, services like eBay came around and it connected bootleggers more than ever, providing exposure along with purchasing ease-of-use and seller accountability.

But today, bootlegs and bootlegging is a completely different experience, changed forever by online web 2.0 experiences such as the one YouTube provides. Offline, it’s all about the vast improvement of recording devices in terms of portability, physical footprint, and overall A/V quality. Let’s take a look at how these changes came about…

Bootleg Recording Devices

Many devices have been used to make audio and video bootleg recordings over the years. In the late 60s, mini-cassette and micro-cassette loaded devices provided a portable solution for voice recording, though they were also used for live music recording. Digital audio tape (DAT) decks came around in the late 80s and had the ability to record at a higher quality than CDs. Digital voice recorders are inexpensive and portable options with a small enough footprint to avoid detection upon entrance to concert grounds or venues. Couple this with an adapter and a unidirectional, pre-amped mic, this can provide far greater sound quality.

A Brief Bootleg Timeline

In the 70s, amidst rock artists who played out often, bootlegs were an underground “product,” sold by the occasional record store or bootleg-specific labels via mail order.

In the 80s, dubbing equipment allowed for quick production of copies and wider distribution, but the audio quality remained poor.

In the 90s, bootleggers and bootleg fans began converting their old vinyl and cassette tapes into compact discs, ripping them to computers and using the internet as a tool for both purchase and distribution.

In the 2000s, fans could record videos and audio more easily as the decade went on with digital recorders, mini-DV cameras, digital cameras, cell phones, and smart phones. The sharing and ownership of bootlegs today is more of a free market than anything with countless live recordings available on video-streaming sites like YouTube, Vimeo, and more.

The only people who stand to make any legal money from “bootlegs” are the artists themselves, making them not really bootlegs at all. Metallica and the Red Hot Chili Peppers record each of their live shows and then make them available for download at a cost, for example, while Queen is releasing bootlegs as digital downloads from their online store.

Archive.org, NYC Taper, (both not-for-profit, non-commercial entities), and Wolfgang’s Vault are examples of sites that host both downloads and streaming of live concerts while BitTorrent has paved a path for greater distribution with its broad appeal and fast upload/download speeds. 64 and 128kbps quality files are a thing of the past, with higher-fidelity mp3s and FLAC files leading the way.

In the 2010s and further, we may see the recording, mixing, mastering and distribution of live shows becoming so inexpensive and easy to produce that every concert by every band that stands to make some extra money will be recorded and provided for fans to bolster album sales and capitalize further on live concert sales. So, what dictates the difference between an official live recording (which would otherwise be a bootleg) and an official live album release? It’s likely that the definition will continue to blur.

Fun fact: According to the book Bootleg! The Rise & Fall of the Secret Recording Industry, the five most bootlegged artists of all time are Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin and The Rolling Stones. Rock on.

Jason Epstein is a writer based in the New York City area, and has been writing as long as he can remember. In his career he’s done a wide variety of pieces and projects including interviews with notable musicians, short stories, comedic commentary, entertainment writing, event coverage, photography and more. He can be reached at Jasonepstein84 at gmail dot com.

3 Questions with…Katherine from Cull.TV

SoundCtrl — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 18:00:30 +0000

Post by David Chaitt

As a result of my Music Industry Survey, an acquaintance who participated in the survey told me about music video startup he’s been helping out called Cull.TV.

At first glance, it was extremely overwhelming especially with the autoplay videos (perfect for people with ADD), but I poked my head around the site and saw what they had to offer. I agreed to have an interview with Katherine de León who is the site’s co-founder. Here’s what she said:

1a. Do you see Cull.TV as filling a void in the industry? Why?
Yes. Music discovery online is disjointed. You can browse YouTube, but the chance that you’ll find your next favorite artist that way is minimal. Most music discovery services utilize a single approach to help artists find new audiences. It’s usually a critic on a blog or top 10 charts. Our method is unique. We look at what’s trending on social networks, what’s happening in your friend graph, draw from machine learning algorithms and top it off with editorial programming to deliver the most relevant music videos from emerging artists.

b. On that note, do you see it as competing with Vevo? Why or why not?
No, we don’t see ourselves competing with Vevo. Vevo is the go-to website if you want to watch the latest music videos from Top 40 artists but there’s so much more out there to discover! The sheer amount of great new music coming out is staggering. I’d say Vevo’s focus is a lot narrower than ours.

2. How do you plan on monetizing the site?
Most consumer websites monetize through some kind of advertising or subscription model. We have tons of opportunities to monetize, but for now we’re focused on building our audience and providing a killer music experience. Our approach to monetization will be thoughtful and deliver value to our audience. In other words, we’re not going to rush it.

3. What are some plans or goals for 2012?
Become the go-to resource for new music discovery! We also plan to roll out a mobile version in 2012. Look for Cull TV on tablets and phones soon.

Please be sure to check out Cull.TV. You might discover your next favorite band that you didn’t even know existed.

Does the music industry spend its own money on music? [SURVEY RESULTS]

SoundCtrl — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 16:00:09 +0000

Post by David Chaitt

Intro

Two Mondays ago, I left work early with a migraine. After a long shower and a nice nap, I woke up completely in a daze like any time I nap. I was in the mood for something laid back. At that moment I got an email that Sigur Ros was doing a “Cyber Monday” email blast to promote the various package options for their new live DVD/album Inni. I made the impulse buy and dropped $58 on the Vinyl/DVD package as a nice early Chanukah gift for myself.

Since I’m not directly in the music business anymore, I wondered if any of music biz cronies would have done the same (the act of spending their own money on music), so I crafted a survey and sent it off to almost 500 people. From my friends directly and those who my friends passed it on to, I received 128 responses (some wrote novels and others wrote quick one word answers).

The Survey

How many albums did you purchase in 2011: 0, 1, 2-5, 6-10, 10+
How many concerts did you pay for in 2011: 0, 1, 2-5, 6-10, 10+.
Do you use Spotify, Grooveshark, Pandora, other music streaming platforms? If so, which do you use the most?
Did you purchase a premium subscription to Spotify, Pandora, rdio, or other music streaming platform? If so, which?
How many albums did you illegally download in 2011: 0,1,2-5,6-10,10+
Are you a: musician, blogger/writer, manager, producer, agent, radio, music startup, independent publicist, label rep, publisher, venue rep, promoter, festival rep, entertainment lawyer, or other.

Optional questions:
Main reason(s) for buying the album (I couldn’t find it on nodata.tv is a valid answer)
Main reason(s) for paying for the tickets (I couldn’t get on the guest list is a valid answer)

I could have immediately set up a Google Survey to make it more efficient to get people’s answers. However, part of me is extremely glad I left it open ended for people to answer with complete freedom rather than multiple choice. Like commerce for any art form it’s hard to put a dollar sign on the final product, so the flexibility in people’s answers allowed them to tell their story and the full justification for their purchasing habits (if any at all).

Demographics

Similar to any survey I’ve ever done, I tried to make the pool of surveyors diverse. Below are two charts conveying gender and occupation.

A few initial insights (before I reveal the results):

The people that offered the most information were the ones who were interested in finding out the results (which included the optional questions).
The gender ratio seems on par with the industry on whole (1 in 5 are women)
The responses by occupation seem to make sense. Musicians wanted to tell people they bought music, so others would be guilty. Writers want to convey that they’d buy more music if they didn’t get so many promo copies. (Good) managers and people from music startups nerd out to these sorts of experiments, so they’d make time to answer.
I regret posing the question as downloaded illegally instead of albums you have that you didn’t pay for since a lot of people share music through hardrives, data discs, and USBs.

Random Quotes

A few interesting responses to these 3 questions (anonymous on purpose):

“I don’t buy music. I rent.”
“It’s tasteless to download music illegally”
“I’ve never downloaded music illegally, but friends send me music all the time”
“Label people specifically are known to never buy any music.”
“I’d guess more like 100+; I do not steal any music”
“The music industry can at times be its own worst enemy.”
“This survey is going to be a bit biased because a big perk about being in the music industry is that you get music and concert tix for free!”

The Main Chart

Now here’s the main chart that compares album purchases, concert tickets, and illegal downloads across everyone who answered the survey:

Labels

In regards to label folk not buying music, I went into the raw data and found out that 70% of label surveyors bought 2-5 albums and 30% bought 10+. In addition, The polar album purchases lead me to two interesting thoughts:

A % of the 2-5′s are actually lying. They’re saying 2-5 when it’s really 0 or 1 and they’re ashamed of it because their life is selling music (in some shape or form) to others. Most of those same people give me funny looks when I say I paid for this album or that concert (especially with concerts).
10+ are probably telling the truth and they’re proud of it because all of them (and I mean all) answered the optional questions and listed karma and/or supporting art as their answers for why they pay for albums.

In addition, only those label people, only 4 people paid for premium accounts (2 rdio, 1 Daytrotter, and 1 Mog), but 70% of them admitted to using Spotify frequently. The truth is that the publishing for streaming services doesn’t pay much forward to the artists. However, I can’t say for sure whether or not that has something to do with their usage or premium purchases, but these % do seem to be in line with greater societal adoption of these services.

What is Illegal

As I mentioned earlier, I should have asked about acquiring music through illegal means instead of just downloading illegally. There is a clear difference between the two; the latter is obviously worse. People will usually see the legal gray area in anything and give themselves the benefit of the doubt when it comes to what constitutes legal and illegal. However, I won’t deny that I broke the law this year. I could make excuses, but at the end of the day, I have music I didn’t pay for that didn’t come directly from the artist, label, or management. This broader definition of my initial question leaves me to believe that 90% would be a more accurate % for the people who answered the survey that have illegal music.

Albums vs Concerts

As the chart indicates, people were extremely polar for albums purchases, but more evenly distributed for concert purchases. In regards to concerts specifically, there is stigma towards buying tickets. However, more often than not, I’ll pay for a concert before I buy an album and the industry chart seems to agree with me (because for every person who paid for 0 shows, there is 1 people who paid for 20). For me, concert is the true test of an artist and I value it more, so it’s completely ridiculous ideology that the industry has perpetuated. However, I won’t deny asking to be added to the list more often than not, which leads me to my theories on…

Optional Questions

75% of surveyors answered the optional questions. However, it is my theory that the most honest people were the ones who not only answered the optional questions, but how they answered it. An easy answer was to say that you want to support the artist. People who said karma, owning music for a collection, helping professional musicians continue making music (or something similar to that), or impulse buying (which was what lead me to my “Inni” purchase), were probably telling the truth and most likely are more conscious of the toxic relationship the industry has with itself.

Also, the funny thing about paying for concerts, is that 41% of people said they paid because they didn’t get on the list. On the hand, 20% of the people said they didn’t ask to be on the list to begin with because it was just easier to pay. I definitely believe this is accurate. More often than not people in the music industry will try to get on the list because it a testament to how connected and influential they are. Also, there is a ridiculous stigma towards paying for concerts.

My Answers

I paid for 6-10 albums this year and 10+ concerts. I use Spotify on my computer, but don’t pay for premium. I use Pandora and Daytrotter on my iPhone. I’ve downloaded well over 10 albums, but that has curbed since Spotify launched over the summer. I pay for these things because I believe in what a musician creates, want them to continue doing so because it’s special (to me), and I saw the value in the price. Examples of my purchases this year were: Sigur Ros album, Tom Waits album, Bela Fleck concert, and a Stephen Malkmus concert.

(Stop being) Your Worst Enemy aka Conclusion

The industry should be supporting each other. Similar to a good chunk of people in the survey, I believe that there is a karmic aspect to the world, so the industry shouldn’t expect consumers to spend money on anything that they don’t pay for themselves. You don’t see painters asking for free sculptures or chefs asking for free dinners; both of those industries gladly pay and respect innovation and skill of the craft.

I’m not saying that everyone in the world should be paying for 10+ albums/concerts. That’d be ignorant and naive. However, the music industry economy could be healthier if the industry itself honored the art more with their own wallets.

Google Music Beta Reveals Magnifier

SoundCtrl — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 15:49:57 +0000

I received the following email from Google Music as many of the other readers who are in the Music Beta program may have as well:

When we launched Music Beta four months ago, we wanted to help users fall in love with their music again by removing the hassles of digital music management. We’re now taking that idea one step further with the launch of Magnifier, Music Beta’s new music discovery site.

Each and every day, our team of music experts will highlight new, free music on Magnifier. Sometimes it will be songs you haven’t heard of by artists you have. Sometimes it will be new artists we think deserve more attention. And sometimes there will be video interviews and live performances.

But you can always count on the following:

You can add any or all of the songs to your Music Beta library instantly

You can do this for free

The artist is being featured because someone on our team thinks they’re pretty great

Check Out Magnifier

– Tim Quirk, Head of Music Programming

Guest Post: Clap Your Hands Say Yeah Played Google Music Event

SoundCtrl — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 17:42:06 +0000

This guest is written by fellow SoundCtrl board member Chris Schlarb who runs reggae label Dubshot.

Amongst the reflecting pools, sprawling lawns of frisbee players, and South Bay sunshine, Google Music Beta held a private event on their Mountain View, California campus this past Thursday. Performers included: indie rock critical darlings Clap Your Hand’s Say Yea, electro dance duo The Limousines, and alt country starlet Dawn Landes.

The regular concert series has been dubbed internally as CrittFest, named after the Crittendon Ave section of campus where the event was held. The free concerts are apparently organized to promote the highly anticipated music service internally amongst google employees, who made up the majority of attendees at the event.

The multi-colored Google bikes were available for anyone who wanted to take a joyride. A cruise around the perimeter would reveal the multiple food trucks, free beer tents, and a free t-shirt area. Although not much was revealed on the service, there were hints of what were to come. Although most of the music initiatives fall under the Android umbrella, there were flyers distributed that were tagged “+1 Music,” and a QR Code that lead to a password protected site. Could this +1 Music be associated with the launch of Google+ social networking site?

The MC for the event was Ted Kartzman, a long time bay area digital music ambassador, and head of the Google Music initiative. Ted comes from digital music service IODA, and was instrumental in the early development and success of rhapsody music. Long before the purchase and inevitable spoiling of the music service by media giant MTV, in a convoluted joint venture with telecom giant Verizon that never realized its full potential.

Ted recognized that there were a lot of developments happening right now, and that most of their efforts were in support of the android platform. However, the one thing that should be coming in the near future was the launch of an editorial site. Could this be an attempt to rival editorially driven blogs like Pitchfork, Stereogum, RS.com, and others?

Several beta accounts will be given to SoundCtrl board members and we will be allowed to get a sneak peek under the hood, and will hopefully have a better idea of what the service will consist of in the future. Through the rumors and gossip of the google music service, it was good to see an actual event and road map to launch. However, there are still many unanswered questions as to what the full scope of the service will be.

Stay tuned to SoundCtrl for more updates and lookout for the launch of the editorial site coming soon…

The Sheepdogs Win Rolling Stone/Atlantic Records Band Contest

SoundCtrl — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 15:00:35 +0000

I must preface this by saying that I went to the final performance showdown that Rolling Stone and Atlantic Records presented at Dominion NY and saw the two finalists rock out: The Sheepdogs and Lelia Broussard. That being said, I was rooting for The Sheepdogs because I miss rock music in a scene crowded with loops and backing tracks.

What do they sound like…exactly how you’d think Stillwater (band from Almost Famous) would sound in real life: raw and fun head bobbing rock music. And boy am I glad that Rolling Stone and Atlantic chose them to win!

Check them out below or later tonight on Jimmy Fallon.

And more info about the contest can be found here.

Kickstarter hits 10,000 Funded Projects

SoundCtrl — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 11:54:37 +0000

Editor’s note: all images and data were taken from Kickstarter’s blog

Two years ago I helped put together a CMJ panel on behalf of SoundCtl. One of my top choices for panelists was this guy Yancey Strickler, who was 6 months into the crowdfunding site called Kickstarter that he helped start.

After the panel, I had an interesting chat with Yancey. He told me that he was personally going through every single submission to ensure that the quality of the creative idea was there and that there were enticing incentives to increase the chances of the project getting funded. Also, this made him personally accountable for anything that was on the site, which definitely helped build the legitimacy of the platform.

NOW, Kickstarter is used by everyone from musicians to social energy technologists. Here’s some stats that give a pretty solid snapshot of where they’re at.

Project Statistics (current as of 7/17/2011)
Launched Projects: 26,620
Successful Projects: 10,388
Unsuccessful Projects: 13,113
Live Projects: 3,119
Success Rate: 44%

And here’s a chart that breaks down successful projects by vertical.

My take is that success derives from 5 main factors:

For starters, your project is reasonable (ie you’re not asking for $1,243,324,565 to fund your EP or $200,000 to buy into an opening slot for a major artist’s tour)
You get the social space and understand how to develop a tribe around your personality and craft.
You don’t feel ashamed asking for money from your network, but you’re not shoving it down their throat everyday. There’s a subtle art to it.
Your network will also be evangelists on your behalf to help spread the word.
You understand about value exchange: the money you receive is relatively correlated with the incentives you’ve created.

Interested in funding someone’s project? Check out my friend Clay Ross’ project or the other 3,000+ current projects.

Ian Rogers’ candid interview with Ticketmaster’s CEO

SoundCtrl — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 14:51:24 +0000

Topspin Founder Ian Rogers has a new show called This Week In Music. For his first episode, he brought on Ticketmaster CEO Nathan Hubbard. Funny enough, he started his career in a college acoustic band called Rockwell Church and I actually saw them in high school between my punk and jamband phases (please forgive me).

Anyways, the conversation that he and Ian had is so insightful and transparent that you can’t help but to feel somewhat positive sentiment towards Ticketmaster (yes…I said it). Nathan proposed a lot of positive changes for the company that will convey the value they have for hardcore fan as well as the casual concertgoer. However, this sentiment may shift in the opposite direction if he doesn’t deliver on this amazing changes towards the user experience and how they do business in general. Check it out below and let me know if you agree or think I’m crazy.

HAPPY FRIDAY — 20 FREE SPOTIFY ACCOUNTS

SoundCtrl — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 15:13:22 +0000

Well after a long and eagerly anticipated wait, Spotify is finally here in the USA.

SoundCtrl is giving away 20 invite codes, thanks to our friends at Chevy. To enter please email soundctrlblog[AT]gmail[DOT]com.

The code will be good for a free account that allows the user unlimited streaming with ads (as opposed to the regular US account that limits users to 10 hours of streaming). Once the codes are gone, you go to Chevy’s Facebook page to try get one.

Cheers and enjoy.

The revolution has begun!

Post by Jesse Kirshbaum