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LET IT BURN got app’ed!

12. Februar 2010 in Label Biz | No comments

Today Apple approved the LET IT BURN RECORDS app. Huh? Yes, that’s right. We created an iphone/ipod touch app for LET IT BURN RECORDS with loads of nice features you may need or not. There’s news, tourdates, over 50 songs for free streaming, twitter, (this) blog, pictures, videos, a full discography, general info on the label and lots more to be found in this app and here it comes: it’s for FREE.

Preview and download: LET IT BURN RECORDS app
App_Store_Badge_EN

I am aware of the fact that there’s no real “need” for label-apps yet but being one of the first indie-labels to get this up an running definitely feels nice. I am sure hundreds of labels will follow and soon having an iphone app will be as common as a website, myspace-page or twitter account.

letitburn_iphone_app

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iPad – Meaning & Power

28. Januar 2010 in Brain Damage | 1 comment

ipad_apple_official

Apple’s keynote is not over for 5 minutes and the WWW immediatelly starts discussing (best case) and bashing (worst case) about the new alpha dog in digital media: the iPad. I spent a couple of hours over my decision whether to write an article about the iPad or not and – most obviously – decided to do it. In case you wonder why, you might have to wait for my last paragraph.

All this buzz about the iPad which is going on right now mainly is about its features/capabilities, its pricing, its overall “meaning” for our workaday life and most of all about its success or failure. You will find loads of blogs about technical details, also about the pricing policy and it’s predicted developement on the market. The issue I want to pick up in this article is the “meaning” of the iPad or – what fits my point more precisely – its “power“.

Even if the iPad presented yesteapple_ipad_stevejobsrday is not the non-plus-ultra multimedia-device (infact there’s some important things missing: a camera, flash-support, maybe usb-ports and sd-card-slot, the often requested multitasking ability, etc.) it’s overall “meaning” and “power” is unfathomable! It’s nothing less than a digital revolution.

When you saw Steve Jobs sittng on his couch last night, holding the iPad in his hands it was crystal clear that this is the way we all are going to live out our digital lifestyle for the next 3-5 years (or maybe even beyond that). This is the way we’re gonna surf the internet, read books and magazines, check emails, watch movies, share photos, play games and do a little office work along the way. This is the future and it’s going to take place on our couches, yippee-ki-yay!! ;-)

It may not be THIS iPad generation (the SDK already reveals some great features for future generations), maybe it’s not even a neverending “Apple only” victory like the iPhone (Infact the competitors have learned a lot from their past mistakes. The first “iPad-killer” was released even 3 months before the iPad itself) but three things are unquestioned:

  • this is the way to go
  • everyone will follow
  • and once again Apple was the company who set the agenda

So why is the iPad relevant at all for a blog that is circuiting around music in general and detail. Well if you had read my postings about musicDNA, iTunesLP, the death of the CD and the argument over haptics, you would know! ;-)

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Audiofile XL – MusicDNA

25. Januar 2010 in Brain Damage, General Music | 1 comment

Similar to the infamous iTunesLP audioformat that includes videos, pictures and multimedia additions (besides the standard audio files and coverartwork), a new file format entitled MusiDNA has entered the battlefield of digital downloads versus physical sound carriers. Norwegian developer Dagfinn Bach, wo was responsible for the crecoverflowation of the “Mp3″-format, introduced MusicDNA at music business conference MIDEM in France.

Besides videos, lyrics and extended artwork, MusicDNA is capable of carrying blog-information that can be continously updated everytime the user/file-owner goes online. A file size up to 32GB is possible.

MusicDNA is said to be released in late summer 2010. Leading recordlabels have already shown large interest and iTunesLP-inventors Apple will definitely keep an eye open, too.

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Compac Disc – what’s up next?!

20. August 2009 in Brain Damage, General Music | 2 comments

THREE ANSWERS for “What’s coming up next when the CD is dead?!”

500px-Compact_disc.pngShort: Digital Downloads. Yeah, no big news, right, so let’s get a little more into detail. Digital downloads are definitely on their way to replace the Compact Disc as main music-media format. But this process is rather slow (especially in Europe) which can be attributed to the fact that most people (mostly the so-called “digital immigrants“) are still insisting on a certain “haptic” of their sound carriers. Still no big news, I guess everyone can follow me so far.

Talking to friends and familiy over the past months I had to answer the question mentioned above quite often (I wish they would ask me more questions about horror movies, though). My answer usually is pretty much like this (short version, of course):

  • FIRST: Music will be primarily available in a digital format. The difference between what is currently available at iTunes, Musicload, Allmusic, etc. is the following: This digital format will include all kinds of (multi-)media bonus data such as fully readable booklets / lyric-sheets you can skim through, high resolution cover artworks, HD quality music videos and ‘making of’s’, various live- and band-pictures, fanart, wallpapers, aim icons, weblinks, download-codes, fanclub-registration information, etc. There’s basically no end to this list.

walkman

  • SECOND: To “use” this new digital format in a satisfying way and also to make it accessible, affordable and most of all ESSENTIAL for 99,9% of all music-comsumers there will be a new media-player/-device that  will take a position comparable to the Walkman in the 1980s. Everyone (and I MEAN everyone) will own it, no exceptions, no alternatives. This new media-player will be the perfect amalgamation of functionality, usability and (life-)style combined with an intelligent pricing policy that makes it affordable for everyone.
  • THIRD: Since the new digital format will by far exceed the 60-80 MBs a full album + small cover art  enquires these days (I expect it to be something between 1 and 3 GB per album), the “personal media library” will not be stored on the device. Every music-fan will own large or unlimited web-space (most likely purchased for a low price together with the device mentioned above) where he/she stores all their music and media. This web-storage can be accessed everytime and everywhere with the help of new and intelligent streaming and compression technologies and the ever expanding UMTS- & Wifi-Networks.

Sounds good, huh? The next question would be “How close are we to this ‘next generation of music comsumption’?” Well, I’d say something between 2 and 5 years. Regarding the fact that US ‘fruit’ mega-corporation has already established an audioplayer which can be easily connected to the internet and is a perfect blend of style, usability and technology, I doubt that it will be any other corporation but this one which will provide all three neccesities mentioned above.

UPDATE: I just rece

ntly read this article: “CMX gegen COCKTAIL” (sorry, german language only). It looks as if Apple also has already solved the FIRST point and partly the SECOND and THIRD one.

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