By Ryan Van Etten on 04/29/2010
Mac computers rock, but I’m no apple addict. When I talk on my iPhone 3G I feel like my head is melting, and even though iTunes launches every time I sync, I’ve never purchased music on iTunes. (I have downloaded apps.) The bottom line of this microwavable disclaimer is that I’m not your average music consumer. Apple continues to create a major dependence on iTunes through their mobile products, and I don’t think that anything is going to “kill” iTunes without a war. iTunes is the 7-Eleven of media—
Posted in Editorial, Music, Music Flux | Tagged 7-11, adaptation, affinity, Apple, behavior, business, change, cloud, consumers, consumption, convenience, generation, Grooveshark, integration, iPad, iPhone, ipod, iTunes, iTunes killer, Lala, last.fm, Mark Mulligan, mobility, Music, music industry, social music, spotify, stats, streaming, youth
By Ryan Van Etten on 03/17/2010
Freematik (Tom Freeman) is a San Francisco-based hip hop music producer. But outside of his fully-equipped studio, he is armed only with his iPhone and imagination. For months he’s been experimenting with apps that let him make beats and riffs on the go. The iPhone’s limitations forced him to improvise and he found himself feeling “more creative than he had in while.”
Posted in Apps, Interviews, iPhone Apps, Music, News, Popular, Reviews | Tagged album review, app review, Bay Area, beatmaker, beatmaking, creativity, development, DJing, flare, freematik, hip hop, idrum, imatik, interface, interview, iPad, iPhone, jasuto, mobile, mobility, music review, phat beats, production, psychedelic, scratching, technology, touchscreens
By Ryan Van Etten on 02/08/2010
Multitouch may be next GUI—is there a doubt? For decades we’ve used the mouse, but as GUI technology improves we’ll find more limitations in a mouse-based system. Clayton Miller’s 2009 project called 10/GUI demonstrates the potential of multitouch. According to Miller, “the industry is now at a crossroads.”
Posted in Boundless, Design, Discussion, Editorial, News | Tagged 10/GUI, augmented reality, brain, Clayton Miller, computing, con10uum, Design, gesture recognition, gestures, graphical, GUI, human, human-computer, interaction, interface, iPhone, mobile, mobility, multitouch, nintendo, Pranav Mistry, science, sixthsense, technology, TED, touchscreens, UI, virtuality, virtualization, wii
By Ryan Van Etten on 12/31/2009
Pandora is blowing music consumption off the grid. Myriad digital choices are sending audio junkies into sensory overload—music wants to be everywhere. The stage is lit—music has always been social, and the web continues to make it even more so. Communication is on the rise.
Posted in Apps, Editorial, Gaming, iPhone Apps, Music, Music Flux, Popular, Visual | Tagged Activision, Amie Street, analysis, AOL Music, Apps, blip.fm, ccMixter, chart, collaboration, comparison, consumption, Creative Commons, deezer, Delicious, Digidrummer, DJ Hero, DJing, EA Mobile, emusic, facebook, friends, games, gigzee, Grooveshark, Guitar Rock Tour, Harmonix, Hip Hop All Star, Hype Machine, iheart radio, iLike, Imeem, Indaba Music, indie, influencers, iPhone, iTunes, jamble music mashups, jamendo, jamglue, Lala, last.fm, Looptastic, mashups, mobile, mobile music, mobility, MOG, music gaming, music industry, music sites, musicians, musicovery, MySpace, Napster, networks, NIN, NLog Synth, pandora, predictions, project playlist, PureVolume, recommendation engine, ReverbNation, Rhapsody, rhythm games, Rock Band Network, scratching, Second Life, seeqpod, sensory overload, Sirius, Slacker Radio, social intelligence, social media, social music, songza, soundcloud, spotify, stats, streaming, Tap Tap Revenge, Tapulous, The Beatles Rock Band, thesixtyone, tinysong, trends, twisten.fm, ustream, Vevo, video, Virtuoso Piano, visualization, we7, your friends are your filter, YouTube
By Ryan Van Etten on 12/15/2009
Based on estimated traffic data from compete.com, this visualization compares November 2009 website visits for 27 popular, legal, music stream-or-download destinations. The heat map is scaled—larger map areas represent higher website traffic. Green indicates positive growth in 2009. Red indicates negative growth in 2009. Hold your mouse over each section for stats on each site.
Posted in Music, Music Flux, News, Popular, Visual | Tagged Amie Street, AOL Music, Apple, Apps, blip.fm, cloud, comparison, compete, data, deezer, emusic, finetune, Grooveshark, Hype Machine, iLike, Imeem, infographic, iPhone, iTunes, jamendo, Lala, last.fm, list, mobile, mobility, MOG, music sites, musicovery, MySpace, Napster, pandora, project playlist, PureVolume, Rhapsody, seeqpod, Slacker Radio, social media, social music, songza, spotify, startups, stats, table, thesixtyone, traffic, trends, visualization, we7
By Ryan Van Etten on 12/01/2009
The interviews below featuring Terry McBride—CEO of Nettwerk—offer terrific insight to the digital era of music. Terry points out that the ways in which we consume music are changing rapidly—largely due to smartphones—and that the “emotional glue” between fans and musicians is the essence of music business.
Posted in Interviews, Music, Music Flux | Tagged access vs. ownership, app stores, Apps, artist labels, behavior, brands, business, cloud, cloud computing, consumers, consumption, content, context, copyright law, culture, digital, direct-to-fan, DIY, entertainment, fans, future, interview, iPhone, kids, marketplace, media, mobile, mobility, music industry, MusicBiz, musicians, Nettwerk, p2p, partnerships, positivity, service, smartphones, social music, streaming, TED, Terry McBride, trends, video, virtuality