Modernizing Music Monetization Models

The corporate desk jockeys of the record labels and the RIAA on the top floor of that high rise building have been sending ravenous legal teams and henchmen after college kids and others for years as a way to stop the file-sharing frenzy that has seemingly been the catalyst for the demise of the industry, so they say. These stiff-lipped penicl pushers have now given up chasing down the file-sharing 'criminals' that are our youth and began going after the internet service providers to simply blackout service to those believed to be infringing on copyright and intellectual property laws and regulations. Over all these years since the introduction of technology that makes file-sharing possible, these pit bull executives have been racking their brains trying to find a way to stop it while they instead should have been devising a way to embrace it for their own benefit.

What does most of America, or even the world, do today if they want to find information on something? They Google it. Google's has recently announced their record label sanctioned music search engine. According to Gerd Leonhard...

Clearly, it is much better for Google to offer and develop a new payment logic
and mechanism for the music that is being used, i.e. to somehow license and
pre-pay for ... until such time where the revenues from advertising, up- and
cross-selling are big enough to pay for everything, and quite possibly beyond
that, as well. And as far as the music licenses are concerned - otherwise a
no-go minefield that few Internet companies have crossed in the past - China is
clearly a very good place to start as most of these new revenues will be 'found
money' for the record labels. ...The bottom-line? For all parties, it is better
to deploy new kinds of ads (think mobile - that
will certainly be key), sponsorships and affiliate links while the music is
being used (fka consumed;) and to thereby fund the pool of music licensing costs, then not to get involved and leave
the turf to all the other guys that don't play by the rules, anyway.

Yes, it is only in China currently and there are issues to consider when thinking about having something similar in the U.S. but it is a step in the right direction at least. The cultural and economic differences would surely have call for a different resposnse or reaction in the States, but it would provide record labels with a stepping stone for their path towards new monetization models to profit from. Instead of digressing to yesterdays way of doing things they need to adapt and progress with technology. Otherwise the current decline of business will continue and likely end with the death of the industry. In my mind, today's technology will act like a fire that burns down the overgrowth of the music industry allowing a paradigm shift that can provide the ability for some out-of-the-box thinking to revitalize the industry. It's back to the basics, survival of the fittest. Adapt and overcome or die.

Death of an Industry

John Mellencamp recently gave his perception of how the recording industry has slowly dissasembled itself over the years in an essay published on Huffington Post. He argues that the downfall started with the introduction of SoundScan and Broadcast Data Systems (BDS). These two new Neilsen monitoring systems, in a nutshell, allowed the labels to see exactly how many plays a song was getting on the radio, how many units it has sold and where it all happened. This essentially caused the labels to focus on certain cities and ignore the rest of the country. According to Mellencamp, this caused #1 hits that most of the country had never heard and was the catalyst for the self-destruction of the industry. He goes on to say this business transformation from music-centric to the Wall Street mentality stripped the artist of the creative process of recording music and has forced commercialized marketing tools out of the artists instead of songs. He uses the example of Mariah Carey..."Nothing against Mariah, she's a brilliantly gifted vocalist, but the point here is the way that the songs were built -- mine from the ground up, hers from the top down. "




I agree that the shift to a Wall Street mentality by the record labels in the late 80s and early 90s did cause music to be 'commercial,' but it didn't completely rob the artist of the creative process. Although the majority of music recorded and released by the major labels falls within the 'commercial' category because it was created simply to make money and keep stockholders happy, artists can still have creativity and time to develop their music. Granted, it may never see radio play or mass distribution, but people can still take the time to create what they want and feel they should without some suit force feeding them concepts of what people will like.

A New Toy

When it comes to controlling all of the different parameters of audio equipment, external hardware or internal software, many find it difficult or tedious. In the past, these 'modulations' of the sound began with early developments of synthesizers. The user would have to turn knobs, move faders, and patch the signal from module to module of the synthesizer to create vast amounts of variations to the original sound.

Over the years, technology has rapidly advanced creating new and innovative ways to control sound. Professional sound effects are now at the touch of a button with keyboard synthesizers and their rack mount equivalents. Programming languages have provided the opportunity to program and sequence productions ranging from a solo instrumentalist to alien ambiances to full symphony orchestras. A human voice can be processed to sound like anything, it can even be controlled in real time with other instruments like a vocoder.

All of these exciting new technologies offer endless tools to create any sonic landscape your imagination leads you to. This process is a tedious one, in most cases. It still involves changing parameters on the external gear itself, by way of remote on a control surface or by feverishly clicking away on your mouse inside some software program or plug-in.

Many people use items like MIDI trigger banks, control surfaces, sequencer and synthesizers today to take advantage of developed programming languages to control sound, but a new toy has been discovered that functions in a way like nothing before it. Some of you probably have one in your house and don't even know it, a Nintendo Wii Remote. After some upgrading with accessories available at any video game store, the remote can be a refreshing new take on controlling sound.

The Bluetooth signal used to communicate with the Wii console is also able to communicate with other Bluetooth devies. These devices can then be taught to interpret the information using software compatible with any platform. There are programs for PC, Mac and other platforms for free or very little.

Here is a brief description of the Wiimote features and those of the upgrades.

The Wiimote is a squared-off white cylinder about the size of a clave or a
large hot dog, with 11 buttons and a dark area at one end that has something to
do with infrared light. Inside are an Analog Devices ADXL 330 3-axis 3G
accelerometer; a highly accurate, 2-axis infrared tracking system; a
cell-phone-style vibrator called a “rumble generator”; a tiny speaker; and a
Bluetooth transmitter and receiver. For another $20, you can almost double the
Wiimote's power by adding a Nunchuk, a pickle-shaped device that plugs into the
Wiimote with a cable and gives you a second ADXL 330, a two-dimensional
joystick, and a couple of more buttons.

The ADXL 330 (which, if purchased separately, would cost nearly twice as
much as the Wiimote) is a remarkable little chip. It senses motion in the x
(left to right), y (up and down), and z (forward and back) planes and generates
three different analog voltages in response. But its 3G (3 Gravities) rating
means that it is sensitive enough to respond to the earth's gravitational field,
even when it's not moving. So it not only measures acceleration, it can also
measure static position relative to the earth's pull — in other words, tilt. At
all times, therefore, the unit reports its rotational position in three
dimensions: what airplane pilots call pitch (vertical plane), yaw (horizontal
plane), and roll (twist).

Now imagine being able to control the pitch of something by simply raising or lowering your arm. You could move your arm left and right to increase or decrease the tempo, or twist your wrist to add more or less reverb. By mapping the controls of the Wiimote and it's upgrades to the controls of any parameter or command imaginable, the user can control sound in a new creative manner. Physical expression can be transformed into sound, body movements translated into any imaginable soundscape.

Plenty of support is also available to anyone interested within various Wii forums scattered around the Internet. Click the link below to watch a video of two people using the Wiimote as a controller. There isn't too much musicianship contained, but it is interesting nonetheless.

Quicktime is needed to view the video and it takes a second for the video to download after your click the link.

'Imaginary Dialogues' performed by Paul Lehrman and Phil Acimovic on 2 Wii remotes

Modulations

Modulations was directed by Iara Lee and released back in 1998. Lee's film documents the evolution of electronic music. This documentary steps back from previous videos posted that focused on specific genres of electronic music and looks at it as a whole.

From filmmaker Lara Lee comes this epic, documentary examining the electronic
music scene on a global level. Spanning its history in culture from its earliest
beginnings, get the music, slamming dancefloor footage, and interviews with all
the exotic experts who exist within the electronic universe where all minds may
enter!

Click to watch Modulations

Largest Collection of Recorded Music EVER!

A few weeks ago I came across an article entailing the largest cache of recorded music. This collection is composed of 3 million vinyl records and over 300,000 CDs and is worth over $50 million.

From Thomas Edison to American Idol, this is the complete history of the music that shaped and defined five generations. 3 million records and 300,000 CDs containing more than 6 million song titles. It’s the undisputed largest collection of recorded music in the world. About half of the recordings are new and never played, and every genre of 20th century music is represented. There are countless rare recordings worth hundreds, or even thousands of dollars each on the collectibles market. Organized and cataloged, the collection is meticulously maintained and housed in a climate-controlled warehouse.

I later found a short video on this massive archive of music and figured I'd share. I'm still cleaning the drool out of my keyboard from watching this video, but if you're looking for an even deeper insight into this man's habitual hording of recordings over his life, a link to an extended version of the video is listed at the end.

Enjoy...

Hit News Stories Leading to Hit Songs....?

I believe the majority has probably by now heard something about actor Christian Bale and his epic tirade on set. Bale's eloquent display of recurring expletives was ignited by Shane Hurlbut, director of photography for Bale's latest film. Hurlbut accidentally walked onto the set during a live scene, sparking Bale's outburst.

Bale has been both berated and defended in every facet of the media since the news hit the airwaves. This tongue-lashing released by Bale scored a huge hit as a news story, but news is not the only category this rant reveled in.

According to Billboard, Kelly Clarkston's 'My Life Would Suck Without You' dominated the charts through the first week of February with 280,000 downloads. Although the first American Idol is a tough competitor, anyone can tell you 2.5 million is greater than 280,000. That's how many downloads audio engineer Lucian Piane, aka RevoLucian, raked in with his production of 'Bale Out.' Piane's track is composed of various soundbites from Bale's diatribe of profanity and was constructed in only three hours using Logic Studio.

Piane said...

The clip with Christian Bale was so rich with musicality, I couldn't resist! You have to act fast on these internet things, because they become old news very quickly. I couldn't afford to spend more (time) because I was finishing up work on the new RuPaul album.

After all the time, money, sweat and effort put into today's pristine studio recordings, a simple dance track with a bangin' drum beat and synth lead that Piane composed using soundbites in lieu of recorded or sampled vocals not only beats, but annihilates the studio recording. Keep in mind, Piane engineered this track for fun.

Is this a sign of trends to come for successful releases from an audio engineer, or is it merely a viral video alongside a well-engineered dance track? You decide.

Below is the above-mentioned video.

WARNING---Contains Adult Content & Language---NSFW



Here's another hilarious adaptation of Bale's shining moment. The above warning still applies, NSFW.

Comment Responses

In response to comments on 'Analog vs. Digital,' I'll briefly attempt to answer your questions.

Insignificant Wrangler said...

I have found, using Pro Tools, that digital music has a terrible time
translating distortion. When I needed to record distortion, I would always start
by getting it on analogue and then transferring the analogue to digital--but
then this caused trouble. Perhaps the software and technology is getting better,
its been a few years since I played with this stuff.

Using digital editing software like ProTools, distortion is much easier to create than it is to capture. Due to the randomness of the soundwaves of distortion, it is difficult to digitally compress the waves in a manner that retains the true sound. Editing suites like ProTools are extremely powerful however, and instruments like these are able to craft wonderful digital sound. But it is offered in tiers with great differences in features. With ProTools you can get an M-Powered, LE, or HD system. M-Powered being the cheapest with the least features and HD being the most expensive with the most features. The more advanced the features, the better quality sound produced.

Musing Azrael said...

This was very interesting to me. I know that some music sounds better than
others, and depending on the source, it may seem richer with no real
explanation, be it the radio, my car stereo, my PC speakers. Is that these
effects, or is it due to the quality of the speakers and reproduction system
perhaps?

The differences in the sonic quality of the music you listen to on a daily basis are due to many things. Most of the differences in the listening situations you mentioned are likely due to the speakers the music is playing through. Also, all mentioned normally offer the user an ability alter the sound further with an equalizer, or EQ. Most of these situations usually have either a CD or MP3 used as the audio source. Radio uses CDs as a source in most cases and the sound is first compressed before being broadcasted. Of course, you also have HD and Satellite radio which offer even more differences. In most cases, the differences you hear are due to the reproduction quality of the sound (speakers and receiver) and the differing characteristics of CD quality and MP3 quality audio. In some cases, you may even be hearing the differences between different bit rates of MP3s.

Belsarius said...

This is something that has always bothered me but I didn't know there was an
actual known reason for it. It seams that whenever I play on my acoustic guitar
the sound has more warmth and tonality than when I play back a recording of
myself playing on the same instrument. I wonder how this effects the way an
electric guitar works. Are the infinite little tones lost when the sound is
amplified or are they still there?

The recording doesn't sound as good because not all of the same frequencies/sound waves are being reproduced. Some of the harmonic frequencies are lost when recorded, that's what adds the 'warmth' to the sound. The loss of quality could also be due whether your acoustic guitar was mic'd to record it or had a direct feed. Electric guitars are different because they use the pickup to'pickup' the sound instead of it reverberating inside the shell of an acoustic guitar. As far as amplification goes, it simply makes the height, or volume, of the wave greater. Only when the wave is amplified to the point where the signal becomes distorted is the quality of sound loss.

vintage rust said...

So, what do you recommend for an incredible listening experience?

No matter what the format, analog or digital, the quality of the listening experience depends upon the quality of the components involved in reproducing the sound for your listening pleasure. In most cases, better quality reproduction means more money, but there are products that reproduce quality sound for less coin. In analog, the components could involve a turntable, tape machine, stylus (needle), and cartridge (needle shell) just to name a few. I'm sure you're probably familiar with the common digital components; CD players, media players on computers, MP3 players, etc. Involved with both are then speakers, or headphones, and amplification. I'm probably just confusing things, but there are so many avenues anyone can take for a great listening experience. My optimal experience would be a well-kept record treated with anti-static on a reasonable turntable using a fairly new stylus heard through some studio quality headphones.

Hi, I'm an MP3. I destroy sound quality.

Today the most common format used to enjoy music is the MP3, short for MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3. Designed by the Moving Picture Experts Group, MP3 is a form of lossy compression used in digital audio encoding. The Group's intent when designing the format was to faithfully reproduce an uncompressed recording using as little storage space as possible.

MP3s are most commonly created by 'ripping' music from a CD. The most common bit rate for an MP3 file is 128kbits/second and to put the difference in perspective, the bit rate for uncompressed music on CD is 1,411.2kb/s. This means that the MP3 file will take up about 1/10 the space as the uncompressed file from the CD, so in a sense it is a compromise of storage space and sound quality. MP3s can be created at several different bit rates ranging from 32kb/s up to 320kb/s. Higher the bit rate, better the sound quality. So next time you're listening to your MP3 player and happen to notice that some songs just 'sound better' than others, remember that what you're hearing is the difference in sound quality between variable bit rates.

It was also the development of MP3s that led to peer-to-peer file sharing and widespread copyright infringement, but that is a can of worms I'll wait to open at a later time.

To recap, the quality of digital music is first degraded by the processes of sampling and anti-aliasing then it is further reduced by the process of compression. The degradation of the sound doesn't have to continue, there are other options available today. There are lossless compression options available as well. FLAC, or Free Lossless Audio Codec, is the most common. FLAC will reduce the storage space needed, but will not sacrifice the integrity of the audio source. Compared to MP3s averaging approximately 10% of the original file size, FLAC results are around 46% of the original file size.

Analog Sound Waves vs. Digital Sound Waves

Expanding on the sound quality topic from an earlier post, I would like to go into further detail on analog sound. The sound you hear on an every day basis is natural sound. It reaches your ears as nature intended. When sound is digitally recorded, many of the sonic nuances of the sound are lost. Let me provide a simple visual example of the differences.

This is an analog sound wave.










This is a digital sound wave.












Now this is a crude example of what happens in a process called sampling. When sampling occurs, small 'samples' of the sound wave are used to represent a larger portion of the wave. Sample rates are measured in Hertz (Hz, cycles per second). In other words, it is how many times the sound wave is split into smaller 'samples' per second to represent the whole sound wave. So the higher the sample rate of a digital recording, the closer that digital sound wave will be to that of the original sound. A familiar example would be that the sampling rate for CDs is 44.1kHz, meaning the sound has been sampled 44,100 times per second. DVDs have an audio sample rate of 48kHz, giving them a higher resolution sound.

Sound can never be truly represented in a digital recording, but sampling isn't the only process that diminishes sound quality. A process called anti-aliasing also occurs with digital sound. Anti-aliasing minimizes distortion artifacts when representing a high resolution signal at a lower resolution. This process is not only used in digital audio, but also with digital photography and computer graphics. in a sense, this process 'smooths' the edges. When this happens in digital audio, many frequencies of the natural sound are lost.

The human hearing range is from 20Hz to 20,000Hz. Even though most of the frequencies filtered out in the process are outside of the human range, they include harmonic frequencies within our range. It is these frequencies that add the 'warmth' that is commonly referred to with analog sound.

High Tech Soul

Now that 'techno' was a established as a specific genre within the realm of electronic music, the following videos will explore the foundations of techno.
If you have watched 'Pump Up The Volume' from a previous post, see if you can hear the different musical characteristics of techno that differ from those of house music.

2 parts, each about 35 minutes long...enjoy

High Tech Soul: The Creation of Techno Music [2006]

Music is changing. It's hard to tell who "invented" some or other music style, basically because we are all influenced with our experiences, and every music artist is influenced with music that he heard before - the music that someone else created.

"High Tech Soul" explains why techno music was "invented" in Detroit, and not some other city. It contains many interviews with people who were there and who were influenced enough by the city itself and many other things, artists and music - that they felt the urge to create something new and beautiful. Derrick May, Juan Atkins and Kevin Saunderson are basically the fathers of techno music. Besides them, this movie contains many other people who are important innovators in techno music, or made they contribution in those early days.

A great film that everyone should see - because techno itself influenced many other musicians in almost every music style that has been made in the past 20 years.

Part 1



Part 2

It's not all "Techno"

"Techno"...It's a term that makes me cringe. This is how most people would refer to Electronic Dance Music, or EDM. Techno is actually a specific genre that has it's own qualities that are different from other genres of EDM. There is such a vast array of different genres of EDM, and even more sub-genres contained within them, that even those who may not like music they consider 'techno' can, with some exploration, find something they like. I definitely don't expect everyone to know the differences, but below is a link where people interested in the differences can explore them.

This is a link to 'Ishkur's Guide to Electronic Music'

It contains a sort of time line approach to electronic music. It provides sample music of each genre, but the publisher does have some bias that is evident in descriptions of genres he may not exactly be fond of.

Pump Up The Volume

'Pump Up The Volume' is a 3 part documentary on the history of house music. Each part is about an hour long and Real Player is needed to view these videos. If you can't play / see the videos, download Real Player free here.!!!

The video may be choppy depending upon your connection. If you experience this, try clicking play on the video you wish to view, then click pause and let the video load for a minute or two. You should see the time line fill in as it loads.

--WARNING--
These videos contain adult content and language - NSFW

Part 1


Part 2


Part 3

A Re-Introduction to 'Aural Pleasure'

Since the original concept behind this blog was too wide to cover, I decided to narrow my focus. In lieu of all things media, this blog will now concentrate on pro audio & DJ culture. Many of the communities I will be visiting are listed in the link rolls in my sidebar and they are organized by topic for easy navigation.

Some of my first posts will include videos that provide the history of dance music and insights into DJ culture. This aims to give a general understanding, or at least establish a perspective, of the topics that may be presented in the future. I do not necessarily agree with all of the ideas presented or condone exhibited behaviors in the videos, they are simply meant as an introduction to the topic for those who may not know much about it.

Battle for Supremacy

If you have ever visited any community centered around music, then you have no doubt come across a lengthy debate between those who prefer vinyl (records) and those who prefer CDs. If you have read through threads or participated in discussions regarding this argument, then you have more than likely realized that these arguments can get heated quickly because those who present their opinions on the topic normally feel very strongly. These arguments have a tendency to present specific arguments that justify their stance in the debate. Generally, the specific points argued are usually portability, sound quality, convenience, price and aesthetics. CD supporters usually argue that their format is lighter, takes up less space and is the latest technology. Vinyl enthusiasts argue that the major advantages of their format are that it has better sound quality and the aesthetics of the cover artwork are superior to those of CDs.

This has been an ongoing debate as long as I can remember. But why has this topic continued to be debated? Probably because that differing stances on the subject are formed, for the most part, as a result of opinion formed through experience or indirect biased exposure to the idea. Lets break down the main points of the different arguments that can be made.

1-Portability

Portability includes qualities such as size and weight. This is a war that is normally won by CDs. They are lighter and take up much less space than vinyl records. Not many people carry around a large amount of music media with them, with the exception of DJs. In most cases, DJs must bring their own music media to their gigs. As a DJ myself, I can attest that it is much easier to haul a small 1' x 1' notebook filled with CDs than it is a crate full of records. Although I would prefer to play only vinyl at gigs, many times I will simply bring CDs because that one notebook full of CDs will not only take up MUCH less space than crates of records, it will also weigh coniderably less. CDs will usually dominate with regards to this topic simply because it is nearly impossible to make a convincing argument that vinyl is more portable than CDs.

2-Sound Quality

This topic usually generates the most heated arguments. There are countless threads strewn across the Internet beating this dead horse beyond recognition. In some discussions, you'll find those who argue for a specific format with no supporting information and those who support thier arguments. When most discuss this topic, they are unaware of the differing technological processes that are involved in creating CDs and vinyl records. If they were, then this topic would be settled and no longer debated because once Nyquist's Theorem and anti-aliasing are explained, these questions and arguments for CDs are no longer valid. To generalize, CDs are digital and records are analog. In order to convert an analog signal into a digital one, the process of sampling must occur. The quality of the signal is greatly diminished in this process. In order to prevent a lengthy technological discussion on the 'hows' and 'whys' of this, I will go into an in-depth discussion of this in a later post.

3-Convenience

This is also a battle usually won by CDs. Think about the music store at your local mall. Does it carry records? Probably not. CDs are definitely the more readily available of the two. The CD enthusiast more than likely couldn't even tell you where to find records. On the other hand, the vinyl supporter can easily tell you where to buy CDs....because they're more readily available to the general public. One other factor that influences convenience is that most people do not own a record player. Maybe your parents do, but most only have a CD player. Even if someone has only listened to CDs their whole life and they may want to see what records are like, they may not follow through because in order to listen to records, they need a turntable. So, this effort would involve purchasing a turntable or using a friends...which isn't exactly convenient. CDs are more convenient, simply because they are more readily avaible and the technology is, in most cases, readily available to the consumer. Think about how many people you know have a turntable. Probably not many, right? Now think about how many people youn know own a CD player of some sort. Everyone, right?


4-Price

This argument can fall in favor of either side depending upon a number of variables. Music media can vary widely in price. The variables present in these arguments can differ depending upon what type of forum in which they are being argued. From domestic to imports, from collectibles to limited pressings, from production errors to geographic location; all of these are factors that can determine the price of the media. In order to fully explore this variable, a specific situation must be presented. In a later post, I will find a specific argument to present and explore the options from there.

5-Aesthetics

These arguments are almost, if not always, driven by personal opinion. some may prefer the compact CD booklet and silk-screen artwork on the CD. On the other hand, some prefer the 'feel' of vinyl or the large inserts and cover artwork. After all, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Argue over this all you want, but bring a lunch. Everyone has an opinion, so go beat that dead horse some more if you feel like it.


No matter whether you are a music fanatic or you could care less about it, you undoubtedly have a preferred media. Hopefully, this post has established a basic understanding of the arguments both for and against CDs and records because this subject will be explored in more detail in posts to come. In case you couldn't interpret which I prefer, I am an audiophile and a purist so analog is my preference...too bad I live in a digital age.

An Introduction to 'Media at Large'

I will be discussing all things media within this blog. The focus will be centered around music, movies and TV but I will also cover other aspects of media if I feel it is pertinent. I plan to relate information regarding media and how it may affect, or is affecting, not only the common consumer of the media but also those who work in the industry.

New and old formats for video and audio are always being compared or pitted against each other in a battle for supremacy, new laws and regulations are being passed frequently and there are major changes pending already that will have differing affects on media consumers. It is things like this that affect everyone involved; the consumer, those who produce product; those who distribute product. I expect to learn many things in the attempt, but also expect the opportunity to share what knowledge I have regarding the subjects I touch upon. I may defend my own opinions on things media related that many others feel strongly in favor of the opposition, but will represent opposing sides with as much equal objectivity possible.

The blog will consist of all aspects of 'media at large' today which will provide plenty of content that may be informational, instructional, educational, interactive or any combination of. The list of communities discussing media related topics is endless, so a diverse wealth of material will be available for my digestion and evaluation. I aim to at least educate, and occasionally entertain, the reader with all things media. If the reader is better informed regarding any aspect of media that I may discuss, then the attempt was a successful one