By Carolyn Heneghan

Still debating between buying the PS4 or the Xbox One? Why not consider each one’s music playing capabilities?

The latest generation of consoles has shifted toward not just being superior game systems but to also act as fully integrated media centers. This includes offering music lovers something extra to go along with their game purchases in the form of apps, music subscription services, audio outputs and perhaps, most exciting for many, the ability to play selected music while playing games.

Each system has its own advantages and disadvantages, so determining which one is best for you might take a little research and consideration of your needs and preferences.

Playing Music During Games

Finally, gamers no longer have to turn the volume down on the TV and up on their stereo or mobile device to listen to their own personalized gaming soundtracks. Both the PS4 and Xbox One integrate playing your own music into the gaming experience, but each does it a little differently.

On the PS4, you can play other music while gaming, but the songs must come from the Sony Music Unlimited service, which includes 22 million tracks at a $10/month subscription. You cannot currently upload your own music, mp3s or CDs at this time. You simply go into the game’s settings and turn the game’s music off. It’s easy to access as well—because it is integrated at the system level, you can simply hit the PS button and adjust the music rather than having to exit the application completely.

One plus for the PS4 is that you will still be able to select the game’s sound effects to play even while the selected music is playing—simply toggle the volume for both the background music and sounds in the settings area. Some games, however, will override this capability if music is pertinent to gameplay, such as on dance games.

The Xbox One offers a similar feature, but the main difference is that the music will envelop both the music and sounds of the game, so you have to choose all or nothing, one or the other. The console does, however, offer a “snap” feature that easily enables the user to toggle back and forth between games and apps, including Xbox Music (also $10/month) and other forthcoming music apps.

Music Subscription Services

Both systems come with a music subscription service that enables music playing on the device: Sony Music Unlimited for PS4 and Xbox Music for Xbox One. Both services run at about $10/month, and both have tens of millions of songs in their libraries. Though Xbox Music currently boasts a larger catalog, Sony has the advantage of potentially integrating its label, Sony Music, and its signed artists with the music subscription service in unique ways.

The PS4 comes with a 30-day free trial for Sony Music Unlimited, while Xbox Music offers a free 15-song trial. Both subscription services run on their particular consoles, the Web and iOS and Android devices, and Xbox Music is also available on Windows devices.

Apps

New apps are always in development, but as of launch and the first few months since, each system has its own set of apps specifically geared toward music lovers. The PS4 does not yet have a YouTube app, which is one of the main sources of music listening for music lovers across the globe, but Xbox One does. Xbox also offers access to 40,000 music videos with its Muzu.TV app.

Not to be outdone, PS4 recently released the VidZone app, a free music video service that has been improved since its PS3 version to be optimized for the PS4 with faster start-up times and better navigation. The app also coordinates with PS4’s inherent social features to share music video activity on Facebook, Twitter and friends’ “What’s New” activity feed. VidZone offers access to thousands of HD music videos and the ability to create unlimited playlists and watch hundreds of VidZone TV channels.

Audio Outputs

Looking to hook up your PS4 or Xbox One music (and gaming, for that matter) to a nice set of surround sound speakers? While both consoles offer optical audio outputs (a single wire for uncompressed or surround sound), it helps to know which console works for each system, and they do differ in their capabilities.

The PS4 supports Dolby Digital 5.1 and other formats through its digital output. But because this optical audio output is slightly more advanced, you won’t be able to use many older sound systems—at least, any that don’t have an optical input.

The Xbox One also has this problem with working with older sound systems, but it comes with other problems as well. The only sound coming out of its digital optical input is Dolby DTS, which means that if your receiver only works with Dolby 5.1, you can only get stereo output, not surround sound. The same goes for 5.1 headsets. Instead, you could use the HDMI for surround, but your sound system has to support HDMI as well.

Drawbacks of Both Systems

There were a few disappointments for gamers for both launches of the new consoles. While Xbox One can play CDs, PS4 cannot, and neither can store MP3s on their hard drives (PS4 can also not even play mp3s at this time). Also, neither machine enables USB sticks for playing music, and neither supports DLNA (though you can push music through DLNA using another device connected to the Xbox One console).

PS4 claims that they did not even think of CD and MP3 playing capabilities when assembling the features for the console’s initial launch, but they are working toward enabling them in the future. Some analysts wonder if Sony is trying to force people to use its Sony Music Unlimited service, but Sony insists that this is not the case.

Another interesting drawback to the Xbox One is that because of its voice command capabilities, certain songs (currently about 1,000) cannot or at least should not be played on or near the console. This is because users have come to find that certain songs’ lyrics can trigger Xbox commands, which can greatly disrupt the gaming experience. For example, in “Rocks Off” by the Rolling Stones, the words “rocks off” sounds like “Xbox off” to the voice controls, and the system is then shut down in the middle of whatever the user was doing. This has become quite problematic, and Sony is currently doing what they can to remedy the situation.

With all of these factors in mind, the music functions on either one of these consoles may sway you toward one or the other if you’re not sure of which to buy. The decision should be based on your needs and preferences alone, but this guide can hopefully help you determine which is best for you.

The post A Fight For The Music-Loving Gamer: XBox One v. PS4 appeared first on SoundCtrl.

By Carolyn Heneghan

Facebook, the demigod of social networks and class-favorite of online marketers, is taking one step closer to—gasp!—mobile shopping and e-commerce. Even better? They’re doing it via your shopping history and credit card information.

Last week, AllThingsD broke the story that Facebook would indeed be testing out its own mobile shopping platform, and the headlines flooded with rumors and assumptions that Facebook would be pitting itself directly against online transaction giants like PayPal. That, however, is not quite the case.

First, let’s examine exactly what this new feature is and does, then we’ll move on to how musicians specifically stand to benefit.

What They Really, Really Want

In essence, all Facebook is trying to do is to find a way to automatically populate credit card information into the checkout form of a mobile app. This can be difficult to enter on such a tiny screen and potentially annoying if you have to do it multiple times.

What Facebook is not trying to do is process payments, which is what PayPal does. In actuality, Facebook wants to make it simpler for customers to checkout with PayPal and other e-commerce services by making it one step easier for customers to enter the credit card information needed to make a purchase. So in actuality, PayPal should be thanking Facebook for the new feature instead.

The way Facebook plans to do this is by using credit card information stored in Facebook’s goliath mines of data, which the service procured when users either purchased Gifts for others or when users made in-game purchases—Farmville, for example.

So what’s in it for Facebook? Instead of vying against PayPal for top-dog e-commerce service, which it is not at all interested in, what Facebook really wants is data, data, data. And what kind of data? Shopping data that proves the worth, influence and ROI of Facebook in e-commerce transactions to its beloved advertisers. Yep, that explains a lot.

What This Means for Music

How can a service like this bring musicians and their music closer to their fans? The most obvious way is that music fans can more easily engage in online credit card transactions with whichever e-commerce service the band or musician chooses to use.

Even Facebook’s scramble for more ad dollars might affect musicians. If more advertisers in the music industry see for themselves data that demonstrates the success of this feature, they will likely pump more money into Facebook, which can improve the technology for any bands that use this new feature. This can also help any bands represented by those marketing companies, who will advertise how the service is a new way to reach all of their clients, giving those musicians more exposure.

Why Facebook Is Already Great for Musicians

When fans check out or purchase a song via the iTunes Store, they are not getting the full media package; they are only getting that individual song or album sent to their iTunes client. When fans access a musician’s song on Facebook, they are also surrounded by that musicians’ photos, videos and updates on bands news and upcoming gigs and events. If a potential fan hears a band at one of their gigs and wants to listen to more, Facebook, particularly with their latest feature, will make it easy for them to buy the musicians’ tracks from right there within the service and from their mobile devices.

This is why many musicians have turned to Facebook as a marketplace to sell their music online. There are already companies such as Nimbit and CD Baby who provide this service to musicians, and now Facebook is making that checkout process that much easier for fans to purchase and connect to musicians’ music. Think about the aggravation saved by not having to enter in credit card information every time a fan wants to buy a few individual songs rather than a whole album—even from their mobile devices.

GIG-IT as New Revenue Stream

Another revenue stream that should be mentioned in this context is GIG-IT, a social Facebook game wherein players can create customized 3D concerts using virtual adaptations of more than 60 concerts and share that creation with friends. They control nearly every aspect of the concert from set placements and lighting to the city, venue and even wardrobe. The current price for the game ranges from $20 for one ticket to $250 for 10,000 tickets.

Besides being a cool and fun new game, artists stand to benefit from the gameplay itself.

The way musicians make money through this app is three-fold. For one, players generate revenue for the musicians each time the players use the musicians in their concert creations. Artists in the platform share the revenue, and each concert makes money for an artist across the entire platform. Musicians can sell tickets and merchandise, such as virtual T-shirts that fans will receive in real life. Finally, musicians can also sell their music directly through the platform.

All in all, GIG-IT, according to CEO John Acunto, is essentially the first artist-supported music game where in artists are represented and can get behind the app’s capabilities as new ways to support their musical endeavors. And of course, with Facebook’s latest mobile commerce feature, players could interact with this game and its purchasing capabilities with ease and quickness, even from their mobile devices.

The potential for musicians online, particularly now with Facebook’s latest tested feature, grows by the day. As more opportunities arise, musicians will grow still closer to their fanbase by being able to reach them more easily than ever, and this will help to evolve the musician-fan experience and help the industry keep up in an age of quickly advancing technology.

The post Facebook Moves Toward Mobile Commerce and Musicians Stand to Benefit appeared first on SoundCtrl.

By Dana Sedgwick

Always wondered how to turn bananas into piano keys? Apparently OK Go’s Damian Kulash once did and now wants to show you.

He is teaching as a part of Maker Camp, a free virtual summer camp in partnership with Google+ that’s joining the DIY movement with a blend of science, tech, and experimental crafting. This week is all about DIY music and you can catch Kulash on the MAKE+ Hangout at 11am PT/2pm ET.

Other projects for the week include lessons in thumb pianos, diddley bow guitars, sound-o-light speakers, and a virtual field trip with cutting edge music makers, Imogen Heap and Zöe Keating.

You can catch these afternoon lessons everyday at 11am PT/2pm ET at their Google+ hangout page… and with teachers like Kulash, Heap, Keating, sound artist Jesse Seay, the drummers of Tadaiko Newark, Zeke Leonard, and more, you may want to catch these lessons along with your adolescents.

I do miss summer camp sometimes.

The post Catch OK Go’s Damian Kulash Today on Google+ for a Lesson on DIY Instruments appeared first on SoundCtrl.

via Allthingsd

Trying to survive as a music tech startup can be brutal. At this past May’s FlashFWD Award Ceremony, hosts Jeff and Eric Rosenthal even took a moment to reflect on some of the companies that we “lost” this past year including AOL Music and the “old” Myspace.

So it’s unsurprising that when we caught a glimpse of this infographic from Chicago-based designer Jadam Kahn, we noticed that many of these little hopefuls from 2007 didn’t make it in the long run. What is surprising, is the rather large number that have, including: Shazam, Pandora, The Orchard, Last.FM, Beatport, Slacker, eMusic, Rhapsody… ok maybe not the majority, but these companies have proven that with a great product you can prosper.

The post Infographic: Music Tech in 2007 appeared first on SoundCtrl.

By Carolyn Heneghan

Music is all around and can be created using just about any noise imaginable. Harness the power of found sound with Yellofier, an app that makes anything into music, and create new and unique songs within minutes. Boris Blank, head of the Swiss avant-garde electro duo Yello, invented the app along with Swedish producer Hakan Lidbo to revolutionize the way users think about the musical potential of the everyday sounds around them.

To begin, record a sound. This can be anything from your own voice or a musical instrument to random sounds you create with the world around you. When you are finished, Yellofier will have analyzed and cut that recording into eight individual sounds, each represented by a different colored square. You can find where the sound came from in the recording by looking for the color-coordinated line on the sound graph.

Now that you have your set of sounds, you can explore them by clicking on the corresponding square. Start fooling around with them to find a beat, or move the lines on the graph to edit the order of the sounds. Press the play button to play back your song.

Now it’s time to edit. Click Edit Song to be brought to a screen that has the song you just created in sixteen smaller boxes stacked in a square. Click on that square to bring up another screen where the sixteen boxes are larger and there’s a selection of colored boxes and effects on the right. From here you can further reorder the individual colored sounds and add effects. You can change the tempo of the section you are editing or even randomize the boxes to create new sound sections you hadn’t thought of yet.

Once you have that portion of the song to your liking, return to the former screen, and click on another box to either extend the song (boxes in the same row) or layer more sounds on top of it (boxes in the same column). This is how you can create anything from melodies to drum tracks using just these colored boxes and effects.

You can also use sounds and exclusive tracks already built in to the app. Blank created many of the sounds, and you’ll find more from artists such as Trentemoller, Orbital, Booka Shade, Henrik Schwarz and more.

You can save your completed song or share it via email or a sound file export.

What’s so cool about this app is the ability to select, rearrange and transform sounds into actual music. Ordinary sounds around you become musical instruments, and you can create anything from serious compositions to silly songs using funny noises.

One drawback is that you can only record one sample at a time per song, so you can’t use multiple noise samples in the same track. Also, you can’t save any sounds you create (only completed songs), so you have to use it in the song you are creating at that moment and try to recreate it later for other songs.

You can download Yellofier from the iTunes App Store for $2.99.

The post Yellofier: Find the Music in Every Sound appeared first on SoundCtrl.

By Carolyn Heneghan

It’s widely accepted that with each generation of video games comes better, more realistic graphics and gameplay, and music games are no exception. While the Guitar Hero and Rock Band plastic guitar series may initially come to mind, much earlier games like Simon (1978), Break Dance (1984), Otocky (1987) and PaRappa the Rapper (1997) actually built the foundation of the music game industry. Now in 2013, we’re seeing a rise in the caliber of music games, some of which were revealed at this year’s E3 Conference.

Rocksmith 2014

Originally released in 2011, Ubisoft’s Rocksmith returns with Rocksmith 2014 with its smoother, more innovative user experience and its highly anticipated new feature, the Session Mode. Rocksmith’s main objective is to teach users how to play the guitar by allowing them to plug in an actual guitar or bass (with a special adapter) into their game console and then monitoring their progress as they follow through the lesson plans.

But now, after considering user feedback, Rocksmith developers unleashed a new feature at E3: Session Mode. Instead of having to play by themselves, users are now able to play with a band jamming in the background right along with them. This means having a full band to play with no matter what—no missed practices, no dropping out to focus on a day job or significant other, no noise complaints.

Users can customize their bands by selecting four different instruments to play along with them, including a variety of guitars, basses, drums and other instruments, or they can select a preset band based on a chosen genre. The band will adjust with your volume and intensity, and they’ll slowly stop when you stop—just like in a real jam session. The experience may not be as polished as with an actual band, but it certainly does simulate a group of friends rocking out as they please.

Rocksmith will be released in October 2013 for the Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and PC/Mac.

BandFuse: Rock Legends

BandFuse: Rock Legends promotes a similar concept. Through the songs of featured rock legends (Pearl Jam, Slash, Rush, Judas Priest to name a few), BandFuse improves the learning curve for brand new, novice and expert players alike with its “pick up and play” experience. It too connects real guitars, basses and microphones to the game console and opens up a collection of hits from rock to funk to punk for users to play along with, whether they are learning basic fingerings or mastering solos.

Similar to Rocksmith’s Session Mode, BandFuse allows users to form bands in multiplayer mode in real-time, with online Leaderboards and Challenges up for grabs. The Sound Like a Rock Legend feature adds authentic amp and pedal effects without all the extra equipment, and Total Song Control allows you to have complete control over tempo and loops for the song you’re practicing.

BandFuse will be released in fall 2013 for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.

Fantasia: Music Evolved

Fantasia: Music Evolved is not a game that is readily easy to describe or encapsulate in just a few paragraphs. The complexities of this motion-controlled game are awe-inspiring, based on the musical Disney classic Fantasia with all of its own beauty, mystery and wonder.

With the Muse, or your 3D cursor, you bring life forms, songs and worlds to life as the new apprentice of Yen Sid, Fantasia’s own magician. During gameplay, the user conducts the song along with beats, and while there are implied directions, the user can move as she wants, dance and grab sounds and create melodies during solo portions. There will also be opportunities for the user to change the song by selecting from different options that will transform the song into a unique mash-up of sorts, such as by adding a metal guitar riff or orchestral background.

Any description simply does not do the game justice. The game has to be seen—and likely played—to be fully understood, but there is a lot of promise for it. Created by Harmonix, the developers who brought users Rock Band and Dance Central, this game is completely unlike its predecessors. It does not require you to hit certain buttons in certain ways at certain times. The game is much more freeform and gives the user all the control he or she could ever want over the music being played and conducted right there on the screen.

There is no precise release date for Fantasia: Music Evolved as of yet, but it will eventually be released for Xbox One and Xbox 360 Kinect.

The three big music games at E3 2013 wowed audiences with attractive demos and gameplay. Just be ready when they hit the stands in the coming months.

The post E3 2013 Demos the Next Generation of Interactive Music Games appeared first on SoundCtrl.

By Carolyn Heneghan

To some, music notes are little more than circular shapes bouncing between black lines on a page. For others, the notes represent a beauty and complexity that is colorful and unique to each composer, reader and listener. With the new Musyc app, music notes become as fun and accessible as basic shapes and primary colors, and any music lover can create a song—no theory or composition rules needed.

From Fingerlab, the producers of the Apple-Design-Award-winning drum machine DM1, Musyc is an eye-catching and user-friendly music-making app that transforms the physical maneuvering of colorful shapes into sounds and rhythms. There’s no keyboard, fretboard, synthesizer or other typical audio interface controllers—it’s all done with a few drags and drops of lines and shapes.

Using the screen as a canvas, users can draw lines at varying angles and drop shapes on or hang shapes from these lines to create different sound patterns. The screen is made up of a light grid in the background which guides the tones and pitches of the notes the shapes produce. Shapes make sounds by bouncing off the lines or each other, and the detailed controls for each shape allow you to control everything from volume and tempo to length and feedback.

Each shape represents a different sound, and still more different sounds can be made depending on what part of the grid the shape is in when it strikes the line or another shape. Rectangles, for example, might represent a rhythmic instrument like a bass drum, cymbal crash or snare drum in the Modern Jazz theme depending on where from left to right on the grid the corner or side strikes. Shapes hitting different points on the grid will change the sound’s tone beginning with lowest notes on the left and highest notes on the right.

The shapes will also make different sounds based on how they bounce around. For example, the three corners of a triangle will bounce down a diagonal line differently than the four even points of a square, four corners of a rectangle or no corners of a circle.

To make their own song, users will first construct a line or lines on the grid. These can be straight, diagonal, tiered and so on. They can then drop shapes onto the lines or hang shapes from them. They can change the size of the shape and other effects like volume, delay and feedback. They can also select certain shapes to be static and act as barriers for shapes to bounce off of and make more sounds.

Music creations can be shared directly from the app to channels like Dropbox, Soundcloud, iTunes, Mail and Audiocopy in either high quality (wav) format or compressed format (aac).

When first starting the app, a tutorial appears which explains the basic shapes, functions and features of the app. This tutorial is important for first starting out, because there is a lot of functionality that can be missed if a user simply tries to figure everything out for his or herself.

Perhaps the main drawback to this app is that—especially without the tutorial—it can seem a bit overwhelming at first and hard to create something conceptual or organized out of a cacophony of bouncing shapes. But with some practice with the app and its many features, the music-making process will become easier over time.

The possibilities for this app are endless when it’s put in the hands of music lovers. Whether or not that user is musically or artistically inclined, he or she will find endless fun at their fingertips as they create and move the lines and shapes across the screen. Musyc provides a beautiful, easy way to make music composition attainable for any and all app users. And best of all—it’s free.

Musyc is available for free download from the iTunes App Store. There are in-app purchases available to gain more shapes, music styles and a motion recorder for $1.99 each or $3.99 for all three.

The post Musyc: Music-Making App for Shape Shifters appeared first on SoundCtrl.

By Jason Epstein

Virgin gaming is an online service that allows gamers all over the world to challenge each other in cash- and prize-fueled competitions.  Just register, choose your game, pick your style of play, challenge players (or use VG’s matchmaking system) and play directly on your console to get started.  After completing your game, Virgin Gaming automatically updates your results and awards the winner with a payout.  They offer a standardized skill rating system, a Fair Play guarantee, and dedicated customer support to make sure that all gamers are getting an unbiased shot at their cash.  We spoke to Virgin Gaming co-founder Billy Levy about the service. 

SoundCtrl – What kind of gamer is usually drawn to Virgin Gaming?

Billy Levy – Virgin Gaming attracts gamers from all walks of life as our platform rewards both casual and avid gamers alike.  The typical gamer is male, 18-35, tech savvy, affluent, socially influential with above average disposable income.  We have registered over 2.3M gamers from over 220 countries around the world with a massive presence in the US, UK, Mexico, Canada and Western Europe.  Virgin Gaming players are heavily competitive and enjoy adding an extra layer of fun/pressure to the gaming experience by placing a small wager on the outcome.  Currently we offer an array of sports titles (Madden, FIFA, NBA 2K, NHL) as these games are inherently competitive by nature; so our users are very male and big sports fans.  Given the intersection of sports and music…music is a key passion point of our members as well.

SC – A lot of people might be wondering, How is this different (and better) than gambling?

BL – Virgin Gaming offers cash competition games of skill.  Games of skill are regulated differently and not considered to be gambling as gambling occurs in games of chance.  The games and competitions we offer are skill based.  It’s better than gambling because it’s your skill that dictates the outcome of the game.  If you are gambling and place a bet on the Knicks and they lose because Melo had a bad game, that’s totally out of your control.  On Virgin Gaming, gamers control the outcome!

Another advantage to Virgin Gaming is that you do not have to be the best player in the world to win, as we have tournaments and competitions for gamers of all skill levels and have a multi-tiered payout system in which most players win money after winning just one game in any VG tournament.  We also do matchmaking on the platform to match up players against gamers of a similar skill level and ultimately compete based on their knowledge of the game itself, the various formations, their understanding of the nuances, strategies, etc.  With Virgin Gaming, practice makes perfect and many of our players compete for free, prior to entering into cash based tournaments or head-to-head games.

Also, aside from playing for just cash, gamers have been able to win some amazing experiential prizes from trips to the Super Bowl to playing for $100k cash and a brand new car at the NBA All-Star Game.  In total, gamers have won over $32M playing video games!  That’s pretty amazing!

SC – What new games are being added and what new developments are being made for Virgin Gaming in the near future?

BL – Lots of new games coming down the pipeline…can’t disclose that just yet, but be on the lookout for some major announcements in the coming weeks.

Some new developments:

• Xbox Tournaments with Virgin Gaming (the VG experience without ever having to leave your console) launched on April 9^th.
• Mobile gaming for cash (mobile games and challenges from your device) –  later this year we will be launching cash-based competitions in some of the world’s best mobile titles on iOS and Android.
• User generated tournaments (gamers set the invite list, prize pool, payout structure, etc.) – coming soon.

The post Better Know a FlashFWD Nominee: Virgin Gaming appeared first on SoundCtrl.

SoundCtrl is proud to announce our nominees for the 4th Annual FlashFWD Awards – honoring excellence and innovation in music technology.

Every year, we’re excited by the steady and explosive growth of technology that is changing the ways we create, perform, discover and listen to music. Since the inception of FlashFWD in 2010, we’ve seen the industry shift, adjust and evolve many times over.

This year, there are simply too many companies and individuals we wanted to recognize. We feel compelled open up the conversation to you – the artist, the fan, the influencer – who do you think deserves a 2013 FlashFWD Award?

Submit your vote for each of our six categories through our 2013 ballot hosted right HERE on SoundCtrl!

Best in Discovery | Best in Live | Best in Mobile & Tablet

Best in Artist Support | Best in Gaming | SoundWAV Influencer Award

See if your favorites make the cut on Wednesday, May 22nd at the Gramercy Theatre where we will welcome nominees, artists, entrepreneurs, and industry elite to celebrate our 2013 honorees, with special performances by guests TBA.

The voting period ends in two weeks and honorees will be announced in May. Congratulations to all our nominees and looking forward to another amazing FlashFWD season!

To check out what went down in 2012, visit our recap HERE and check out what past winners think about FlashFWD HERE.

If you’d like to receive a press pass and/or interview the SoundCtrl board about the event, please email [email protected].

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Best in Discovery: Past honorees include Spotify (2012), The Echo Nest (2011), Hype Machine (2010)

Recognizing a product or service that has most significantly impacted and improved the way fans discover and share recorded music

1) Songza 2) NPR Music 3) YouTube 4) Mixify 5) Rap Genius

Best in Live: Past honorees include Square (2012), The Creator’s Project (2011)

Recognizing a product, service or organization that has most significantly improved the live concert experience from either a fan or artist perspective

1) Boiler Room 2) V Squared Labs 3) Superfly Presents 4) ID&T

Best in Mobile & Tablet: Past honorees include Snibbe Interactive for Biophilia (2012), SoundTracking (2011)

Recognizing a product or service that is breaking new ground in mobile technology and expanding upon traditional fan engagement

1) Pheed 2) Groovebug 3) Biobeats 4) Instagram

Best in Artist Support: Past honorees include BandPage (2012), SoundCloud (2011), Indaba Music (2010)

Recognizing a product or service that focuses on giving artists more options in creating and promoting their music independently

1) Tumblr 2) Jamplify 3) PledgeMusic 4) (New) Myspace

Best in Gaming: A Brand New Category

Recognizing a game, creator or organization that demonstrates innovation in music integration with a gaming platform, be it through soundtrack, virtual marketplace, or unique partnership.

1) Video Star App 2) SoundPlay by Pitchfork 3) Kinect for XBOX 360 4) Virgin Gaming

SoundWAV Influencer Award: Past honorees include Scooter Braun (2012), Troy Carter (2011)

Recognizing an individual who has significantly impacted digital music culture through the early adoption or creation of new technology and is seen as a visionary and voice in the music tech industry

1) Bill Werde 2) Jimmy Iovine 3) Amanda Palmer 4) Guy Oseary 5) Questlove

The post Announcing the 2013 FlashFWD Nominees – Vote For Your Favorites Now appeared first on SoundCtrl.

By Greg Kumparak via TechCrunch

“Hot damn, the Disrupt NY 2013 Hackathon was great. Even with the hackathon over and the winner declared (Way to go, Rambler!), we keep finding more projects we want to highlight.

Built in just 24 hours, Game Of Tones is a proof-of-concept game that, with a bit of work, could teach you to play the actual guitar (versus, say, Rock Band — which, while a great game, is about as effectiv

Game Of Tones works in unison with a real-life electric guitar, paired to the computer through a line-in converter. As you strum, notes are fired from the neck of your on-screen hero’s guitar. Different chords result in different attacks, currently represented as notes of different hues. Strum an A, and blue notes fire out; strum an E, and red notes are fired…

The team says they’d like to expand the concept into something more, mentioning the possibility of some sort of forever-runner platformer with enemies vulnerable to different chords, or a multiplayer shredding battle.”

Check out the demo and the full post on www.techcrunch.com

The post Game Of Tones, Learn to Play The Actual Guitar appeared first on SoundCtrl.

By Sarah Perez – via TechCrunch

“TastemakerX, a music discovery mobile application, which previously operated as something of a ‘stock market for bands,’ is today announcing $1.25 million in new funding from Baseline Ventures, True Ventures, Guggenheim Venture Partners and Aol Ventures*. It’s also doing away with the whole stock market analogy, and is instead launching a new feature called ‘Collections,’ allowing users an alternative way to show off their musical tastes.

The startup will debut its new experience at this year’s SXSW, of course, with a March 11 event at Speakeasy featuring Lord Huron, The Joy Formidable, St. Lucia, and others.”

For the full story visit TechCrunch.com

The post TastemakerX Raises $1.25M, Positions Itself as “Fantasy League” for Bands appeared first on SoundCtrl.

By Kira Grunenberg

There have been so many music-focused software titles released in the last decade or so that it might have become hard to take them seriously in the present day. The mold for interactive music games got broken with Guitar Hero and games that immediately followed tried, at the very least, to work with that formula because it had been so well received by the general public.

It is because of this inevitable trend, that if a game starts out with a premise of “console + instrument + winning or losing” that consumers may almost default to believing the game structure is all about imitating a particular instrument and that the content is mostly about notes and pitch and emulating real songs. Such is not the case with Cello Fortress, a game moving away from plastic controllers and even moving away from incorporating a primary goal of traditional music education.

Cello Fortress was first brought to light in the gaming world some months back but there was not a lot to go on since the idea was still in heavy conceptual development. The game now has a trailer ready for viewing and the game’s creator, Joost van Dongen, is supporting this with a tour of the game prototype around different locations in the Netherlands, where Dongen resides. Game development is Dongen’s day job but he has kept the cello at close hand as a long time side activity over the past two decades and combining these two skills gave way to Cello Fortress. The game utilizes the Xbox 360 and features four players trying to take down a fortress with cannons and defenses of its own. The cello comes into play in using the music it makes to control these defenses and prevent the players using traditional gaming controllers, from successfully invading.

Based on this initial description, Fortress is slanted more toward a shooter style game than anything else but Dongen says in his blog, that “music is [still] central to the game.” The concept for cannon control is run by an improvisational performance. As described by VentureBeat, “Playing fast notes fires the guns, or low notes activate mines and so on…” The focus isn’t on copying note prompts on a screen or any specific melodies but Dongen aims for the notes played to still sound appealing and blend to create a sequence of enjoyable music during gameplay.

Graphics and other game elements are only prototypes to provide full demonstration and are liable to undergo a major transformation over time. Images aside, to see this collaboration effectively in action is still rather amazing. The only functional setback at the moment, is that in order to get the game in full swing, a skilled cellist is needed, since there are no fake instruments involved.

One has to wonder though, what it would be like for perhaps, an intermediate cello student. If nothing else, Cello Fortress could be a great unconventional exercise; unconventional even against the premise of improvisation itself. It would force students to think on their feet in a way different from a traditional improv classes, where inhibitions or anxiety might still create difficulties in personal growth. If a student had to partially concentrate on immediate actions happening outside of their instrument and themselves, the notes would have to be played but the focus on self-awarness and self-consciousness might be reduced and students could develop a certain level of comfort for musical ad-libbing.

The trailer for Cello Fortress is below: (The timpani in the background were added for effect but the cello’s music was all played on the spot and filmed for use).

Kira is an old school music nerd with a love for all things creative; always searching for music’s common ground. She graduated with an M.A. in Performing Arts Administration from New York University. Drop her a tweet @shadowmelody1

The post Will you defend the ‘Fortress’ with your bow and…cello? appeared first on SoundCtrl.

By Kira Grunenberg

If there’s one thing that tends to easily get thrown around in casual American vernacular, it’s exaggerated terminology to make an expressly overt point.

e.g. “That test was totally a million times harder than they said it would be!”

Of course, there are some places where imparting such quantities wouldn’t be nearly as funny. Case in point: a lawsuit. If someone says, “I’m taking you to court for a million dollars,” that’s not so amusing. That’s how things are for video game developer/publisher Ubisoft right now. The company is going toe-to-toe with BEP Music LLC –better known as the Black Eyed Peas– for just that sum in damages. The cause of the suit comes from an alleged breach of contract on the part of BEP Music.

Ubisoft isn’t a stranger to court proceedings. Earlier this year, the company was on the defensive for a suit filed against them by the makers of Guitar Apprentice. Unlike that competitive clash, Ubisoft and BEP Music have been in what is supposed to be a beneficial relationship, as the two were working together. Courthouse News Service reports that in June 2011 [Ubisoft] and BEP…

“entered into a license agreement… pursuant to which BEP Music licensed to Ubisoft the exclusive, worldwide right to use, among other things, the names and likenesses of a music group and its members … to develop, produce, and distribute a video game … on all existing and future handheld and home consoles and IOS platforms, including the iPhone and iPad.”

Problems arise in this arrangement under the section of the contract that asserts BEP Music’s obligation to provide a written decision concerning relegated content –either in acceptance or disapproval thereof. The specific timeframe outlined in the contract, (as also listed by Courthouse News), is purported to be 10 business days and an unnamed title for iOS has gone unacknowledged either way by BEP Music since Ubisoft requested response back in March of this year.

Although the amount incurred by Ubisoft for its labor and production expenses don’t add up to the one million dollar filing –allegedly €181,000 or roughly $233,000 USD– the publisher is including further costs for current and projected future losses in game sales that they claim are a result of BEP Music’s apathy on green-lighting the product.

One has to wonder where communications broke down and why. Granting someone permission to use your music in a separate product is a bold move; similar to athletes choosing third party companies to endorse. One’s creative livelihood is being associated with a second company and if one sincerely supports that second business, it would seem sensible that a musician would want to do whatever necessary to streamline the release process. Then the third party product can be promoted and optimal, mutual benefits can be attained. If the musician turns out not to want their music connected with the third party, then disapprove and re-discuss the contract so things get a clean break.

Doing neither ruins an otherwise healthy business connection. This particular scenario sees the Black Eyed Peas putting game synchronization profits way down on their list of important money reserves and certainly leaves a trail of negative mental precedent for any other game developers that might be watching.

Kira is an old school music nerd with a love for all things creative; always searching for music’s common ground. She graduated with an M.A. in Performing Arts Administration from New York University. Drop her a tweet @shadowmelody1

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By Alexander Galbraith

XSEED Games announced yesterday that it would be including fan-submitted music in their upcoming title, Orgarhythm. The game, which is currently under development by ACQUIRE, will be released for the PlayStation Vita this fall.

Orgarhythm looks to combine elements of Command & Conquer-style real-time strategy games with rhythmic elements from games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band.

In the game, you play as the God of Light and lead elemental troops against your brother, the God of Darkness. The story opens as the God of Darkness and his followers have escaped from the underworld, and what follows is a series of strategic battles set to a mix of rock, club and tribal music.

Power-ups and effective attacks are achieved through tapping buttons to the beat at the appropriate time. Incorrect presses result in failed attacks and weakened armies.

The game is quite a departure for ACQUIRE, whose games tend to focus on feudal-era Japan. But they will be helped along by Takashi Hirai’s newly formed studio, Neilo. Hirai is the mind behind such music game classics as Rez and Space Channel 5, both released for the defunct Sega Dreamcast.

Fans have until October 1 to submit their music. Submissions can be one minute, two minutes, or four-and-a-half minutes in length. The tracks must be uploaded to YouTube and submitted through the game’s website. Of course, all works must be original.

Up to 100 tracks will be chosen and distributed as free downloadable content after the game’s release. The winners will be announced beginning in October. All winners will be given a code for a free copy of Orgarhythm.

Watch a gameplay demo of Orgarhythm from this year’s E3 conference, via IGN:

The post Calling All Musicians! XSEED Games to Include Fan-Made Music in “Orgarhythm” appeared first on SoundCtrl.

by Jason Epstein

While independent games have had a surge in popularity, some present themselves ahead of the pack with their story, art direction, graphics, or gameplay.  Bastion surpassed expectations with all of these things, but truly shined in the audio department.  The excellent voice acting and writing combine to provide a truly unique and engrossing narrative style, while the intriguing and immersive soundtrack permeates throughout, holding the entire game together like beautiful, musical glue.  I had a chat with composer and producer of Bastion’s award-winning soundtrack, Darren Korb about his music and the tech behind it.

SoundCtrl  - How were you able to keep the consistency of Bastion’s soundtrack so fluid sounding amidst such frequent narration?  Did any sort of editing or mixing technology aid this effort?
Darren Korb – As far as keeping the sound of the music consistent, I established some writing parameters for myself early on in the project.  I decided that if I kept all of the music in the same genre, that would provide the consistency I was looking for, without being repetitive, so I came up with “Acoustic Frontier Triphop” and I tried to make all of the pieces fit somewhere in there.  As far as the mix itself goes, it was definitely important to have the sounds and music get out of the way of the narration, so we used automation to duck the music and other sounds when the narrator speaks.

SC  - I understand this was your first time scoring a game.  How was this different with regards to the technology you used to achieve it from other television shows and movies you’d done in the past?
DK – I actually used all of the same recording tech (Logic Studio), but the integration tools were new to me.  We used XACT, which took quite a bit of getting used to!  It isn’t set up like any other audio programs I’ve worked with, in that it has no “mixing board” equivalent, no faders, or anything that would look familiar to an audio engineer.

SC - Bastion’s soundtrack was a whopping 60 minutes in length and netted you a Best Original Score at the Spike Video Game Awards among other awards and nominations.  You’ve set the bar high in terms of both quality and quantity, where do you go from here?
DK - I feel super lucky that the music from Bastion was received so well.  All I can do is keep making stuff that I find compelling and hope that people like it!

SC - Is there anything you can tell me about your musicality goals or new ways you will use audio technology for your next project?
DK – I’ve been curious about working with some stem-based in game mixes, so you can bring elements of a piece in and out based on gameplay states.  I’m also interested in getting some more obscure acoustic instruments involved in the future.

SC - What are some of your favorite video game soundtracks of all time?
DK - Marble Madness (NES), Fallout 2 (PC), Dungeon Keeper (PC)

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By Kira Grunenberg

SquareEnix released “Theatrhythm Final Fantasy” in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Final Fantasy franchise. The series’ soundtracks have spurred worldwide acclaim and even an international symphonic concert program called “Distant Worlds,” which was held at many notable venues like: the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Royal Albert Hall in London and the Sydney Opera House.

Nobuo Uematsu had been the primary composer for the Final Fantasy game scores from their inception through the 10th installment, so nearly all the scores featured in “Theatrhythm” are his work.

(video via. IGN.com)

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by Dave Mainella

“Sound Shapes,” a new video game for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita, features a new three-track EP by Beck.  The three songs – “Cities,” “Spiral Staircase,” and “Touch the People” – will each be a level in the game.

The game was developed by Queasy Games out of Toronto.  The official Playstation blog unveils the collaboration (and mentions other names like Deadmau5 and Jim Guthrie).

“Sound Shapes” also required the help of Pyramid Attack, an animation, art and design studio, in order to make the game’s “visual identity match Beck’s musical style.”  The developers and designers were able to incorporate Beck’s music and lyrics into a really neat gaming experience.

The game will be released on August 7 as a cross-play title for $14.99.  Preorders start July 31^st.

A preview of the game, and of Beck’s “Cities” track, can be seen and heard here.

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Last month, we wrote about Chris Vik’s “Kinectar,” which turns the Xbox Kinect into a fully-functional MIDI controller triggered by body movements.

This month in Kinect-powered inturments, we have The V Motion Project, and the results are super impressive. Watch their demonstration video below. For more information including a pretty detailed description of how it all works, visit the Custom Logic Web Blog.

The post Xbox Kinect + Dubstep = The V Motion Project appeared first on SoundCtrl.

by Dave Mainella

Yesterday welcomed the release of “Sun God”, a Pitchfork Soundplay music and gaming experience.  According to Pitchfork, Soundplay is an “interactive program focused on the intersections of music, gaming, and technology.”

“Sun God” is the third such game released by Pitchfork in collaboration with Intel and Kill Screen, a video games art and culture magazine.  It features the Cut Copy song by the same name.

Last month, Pitchfork Soundplay released games inspired by M83′s “Intro” and Matthew Dear’s “Street Song.”

The “Sun God” game was developed by Bennett Foddy, who coincidentally is a former member of Cut Copy.  He is a philosopher at Oxford University, and is best know for the web games “QWOP” and “GIRP.”

“Sun God” is an fun union of music, branding, and online gaming – one that emphasizes the musical experience in a unique way.  Everything about the game, from characters to scenes and settings, is driven by the featured song.

The game opens with an antique and retro appearance, with a confirmation that you are in fact experiencing something sponsored by both Pitchfork and Intel.  After a quick introduction and instructional home page, you are launched into the game.  You’re immediately greeted by the almost jungle-like rhythms of Cut Copy’s “Sun God.”  The blue and pink lights pulsate with the beat as you consider your objective.

Screenshot from "Sun God," courtesy Pitchfork Media

The goal is to hoist two characters into the air by holding and releasing two buttons (the game can either be played by two people or your own two hands).  Trapping sparks within the glowstream earns points.  An elastic band of sorts connects the two characters, which in combination with jumping provides the hoisting action.  The motions take some getting used to, but as you gradually progress and (hopefully) improve, the song continues with lyrics like, “Please, please, please, please, please won’t you give your love to me.”

It’s a fun and addicting experience, and the perpetual motion of Cut Copy’s music adds a level of surreal anxiety to the dynamic of the game.

The 2012 Pitchfork Music Festival, held this weekend July 13-15 in Chicago, will feature a Soundplay arcade where fans can play games in the Soundplay series, including two not yet released.  And later in the summer, Pitchfork and Kill Screen will host a two-day “game jam” in New York, where independent developers will collectively create a game inspired by a piece of music.

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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!

The post Electronic Trio Noisia Composes for Capcom Video Game + Free Download! appeared first on SoundCtrl.

via Andy Fixmer and Dina Bass – Bloomberg Tech

Xbox Music seeks to offer streaming for a monthly or annual fee, similar to Spotify Ltd.’s subscription service, and let consumers buy digital music through an online store, such as Zune, Apple’s iTunes and Amazon.com Inc., the people said.

The company is also seeking to offer Xbox Music users an online locker accessible by multiple mobile devices running Windows 8, the people said. Users could put entire collections online, including music purchased elsewhere, for a monthly or annual fee, they said.

The talks for the Xbox service are still early and Microsoft may not be able to obtain all of the rights it’s seeking, the people said. Even if successful, Microsoft may choose to roll out features over time, they said.

Read more at Bloomberg.com

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by Jason Epstein

As video games become more cinematic with greater production value, music has become more prominent and crucial to the gaming experience.  Music can add a touch of lightheartedness, bring a tear to your eye, or prepare you for battle as you control your character and progress toward the game’s finale.  Mikko Tarmia, an award-winning Finnish composer is well-versed in the realm of video game music.  Among other gigs, he’s prepared the soundtrack for Frictional Games’ critically acclaimed, cult classic, survival horror series Penumbra and its hit-status spiritual successor Amnesia: The Dark Descent.  Rather than composing with broad strokes on these projects, his music serves the games by strategically adding an unsettling atmosphere and key moments of intensity.  SoundCtrl exchanged emails with Mikko to talk about his process, his work with Frictional Games, and his current projects.

SoundCtrl - Do you play any of the games you have written music for yourself? Do your own compositions ever lend to the horror you feel when playing?

Mikko Tarmia – This might sound weird, but so far I haven’t played any of the games I’ve written music for during their development stage. It’s nothing intentional, but I think there hasn’t been a real need to do that as I get enough information from visuals and event descriptions to know what kind of music is needed. When I started playing Amnesia: The Dark Descent after the project was finished, I found myself forgetting to observe the functionality of music because of how immersive the game was. That’s when I knew I have succeeded in the job and it was very rewarding.

SC – What other types of games do you enjoy?

MT - I’ve been a fan of extreme sports games since Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 came out. Like the old 80s arcade games which I also like to play, there’s a level of real skill required in these games and I like the challenge. I also like the Legend of Zelda series and RTS games, like StarCraft. I also love to play pinball machines. Though pinball games for computer are somewhat fun to play as well, nothing can beat the real thing.

SC – Can you tell us a bit about the process that occurs between writing
music, recording it, and implementing it into the games and how you are involved with all of this?

MT - My work for games starts with negotiating what style of music is it going to be and what kind of instrumentation is going be used. For example, Amnesia’s music was done using sounds (mostly samples) from real instruments only – no synthesizers were used. Usually developers have some references for music style and they send me links to music tracks which have that something they like, but there weren’t any examples given for Amnesia. It was obvious that the game needed music tracks with spooky feeling, but there was more freedom in developing the style which was great. It’s not just a bunch of tracks that’s been put into the game – I like to play with themes and on how they evolve during the game’s story. So there’s a certain structure in music.

As I mentioned earlier, I get descriptions for each event that needs music. I compose quick simple sketches for each event, leaving lots of room for improvement. It doesn’t make sense to waste time on making music sound polished when there’s a chance of music tracks being rejected. Sometimes it takes a number of tries to get everybody happy, but even if it gets a bit frustrating from time to time, results get usually better in the end. I usually leave most of the polishing into last weeks of project because there can always occur some changes in game that affect into use of music. That’s when I tweak, record and process everything, and finally do the mastering – I haven’t needed to do any implementation so far, even if I have studied it a bit. When you leave few weeks to finish all the tracks, it might get pretty hectic and you get your ears tired pretty quickly. That’s why I start working on a bunch of selected tracks a bit earlier. Even if they won’t get used in game, I know I’m going to put them on the soundtrack album.

SC - What are some of your upcoming projects?

MT - I’m currently working on Frictional Games’ next game, but I’m not allowed to tell you anything about it at the moment. I recommend to follow Frictional Games’ blog for any news concerning the project. I’ve been asked if I’m composing music for the upcoming Amnesia: A Machine for the Pigs, but the development of the game is handed over to an entirely different developer crew (thechineseroom) and they have their own contributors for the project, including composer. It will be interesting to see a whole new approach to the game, though.

Another project I’m working on is a game called Overgrowth developed by Wolfire Games. It’s an action-adventure game with rabbits and other animals fighting in it. It’s starting to look really good and they have done fantastic job its promotion. They also have these weekly alphas where they go through the game’s development progress from every aspect. As a side project, we (me and Anton Riehl) are working on an arrangement based in Overgrowth’s main theme and it will be played by [an] online volunteer orchestra, consisting of players from Wolfire Games’ community. They play and record required stems in their home and send us files back. It’s quite challenging to put it all together as the only requirements were that players can play their instrument at some level and that they have ability to record it. So, many of them has been recorded with cell phones or laptop mics – but most of them sound surprisingly good. We still need some more players though, but we hope to get the project finished in couple of months.

SC – Can you tell me a bit about your music label The Sound of Fiction?

MT - The Sound of Fiction is more like a channel to contribute my own stuff than a real label with a roster of artists to be represented. Besides game soundtrack albums, The Sound of Fiction also produces collaboration projects. Our first album project was called AIKA, which is a soundtrack composed around a short story written by Tom Jubert. We had few composers and an illustrator working on that album. There might be some similar projects coming up in the future, but I’m currently out of time for working on anything that massive. I’m planning to do my own album before anything else (besides game soundtracks).

SC – Who are some of your favorite bands or video game compositions/composers?

MT – I listen to all kinds of music from classical to jazz and rock ’n’ roll and I have my favorite artists in every genre. I could mention names like The Police, Vangelis, John Williams, Devo, Queen, Eric Serra, Shostakovich. I don’t really have a favorite video game composer – so many of them are doing a good job.

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.

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