Go Forward, Move Ahead, 2009
Jan 1, 2009 12:00 PM, By Remix Editors
PREDICTION NO. 7: THE BOOTSTRAPPING RENAISSANCE
The flush days of well-funded music startups will take a hiatus, at least during 2009. Less liquidity and less credit means less funding from venture capitalists. But the daring entrepreneur will still find a way through “bootstrapping,” a term used by VCs to describe a self-financed startup. Savings accounts, credit cards and sweat equity will power startups in 2009, but expect some steely, strong teams and ideas to emerge. Sometimes, a downtime is the best time to start a company, simply because of the discipline and focus it creates. — Paul Resnikoff
HIGH-QUALITY VIDEO ON DEMAND: BLASTRO
Not so long ago, cable networks devoted their schedules to music videos, and those within antenna range of The Box network had video-on-demand via a 900 number. But those days are gone for good. The supply-and-demand technologies are finally commonplace, and the art of the music video is fully transplanted to the Internet.
“I think online music videos, that's their home now. [The past couple of years] is when it really established itself as being the media source for music videos,” says Rob Campanell, co-founder of hip-hop/R&B video site Blastro (www.blastro.com).
These days, online video clips are entrenched everywhere, with the omni-focused YouTube leading the way. But music videos are also carving out independent spaces, and Campanell thinks sites like his are tuned to give people videos in ways MTV never could. Blastro showcases a curated collection of more than 4,000 hip-hop, R&B, dance and Latin videos in a large and crisp 640-by-480-pixel display.
Deals with Sony, Universal and a slew of independents provide a deep selection, and while users can upload their own submissions, the site's programmers provide quality control for the sounds and images. This genre-focused approach is mirrored by his Y'allwire and Roxwel sites for country and rock fans, and Campanell knows the game is about getting people the videos they want as quickly as possible, so keeping the site tightly focused is critical.
“Hardcore music video fans, they go all over the Net for videos that they want to watch,” Campanell says. Since he started programming online content in 1996, Campanell has seen generations of improvement in the video and audio quality. It tends to improve in leaps, and another of those is on the horizon. Blastro intends to be there to put the highest-quality urban beats where you can get them. — Noah Levine
PREDICTION NO. 8: THE SWAP GETS SUPERSIZED
This could be the year that BitTorrent truly enraptures the music industry. P2P apps like LimeWire deliver the single, but BitTorrent is the place for albums, discographies and DVD collections. And for those who can still afford their broadband connections, the lure will become irresistible. — Paul Resnikoff
INSTANT GRATIFICATION: SITES MAKE MUSIC COLLABS EASY
Instant access is something today's music fans expect. Now, a number of companies are tapping into mobile technology to simplify collaborations between artists. Along with Websites offering new tools for musicians and music fans that crossbreed social networking and online recording applications, it's becoming easier to share and edit songs before they're finished.
Indaba Music (www.indabamusic.com) allows users to integrate the work of numerous musicians into sessions with its in-browser editing console. The site recently introduced IndabaVox, allowing musicians to record vocals or melodies on their phone or mobile device and instantly integrate them into a session. The feature also lets users set up conference calls with other participants.
MixMatchMusic (www.mixmatchmusic.com) wants to build up a community based on the free exchange of musical ideas while making money for artists. Users make and upload songs or “stems,” which can be combined by other users via the site's online sequencer to create a song. When these songs are purchased, $0.85 of every dollar goes to the artists, with a $0.15-cut for MixMatchMusic.
MyCypher (www.mycypher.com) aims to expand cross-cultural collaboration and awareness in hip-hop via a social-media setup. Users can call a toll-free number and record their lyrics, which are then posted on their profile, where they can build up a library of freestyles.
While bandwidth issues and technological limitations mean these programs lack many of the features of in-studio technology, they still can engage artists and fans and become catalysts for new types of interaction. While recording its latest album, Third Eye Blind posted parts of unfinished tracks on Indaba, inviting feedback throughout the recording process. Other artists, including Mariah Carey and The Roots, have held remix contests on Indaba. And MixMatchMusic created a Remix Wizard, a customizable widget that allows artists to open up their songs to remix contests. — Patrick Sisson
PREDICTION NO. 9: DIVERSIFIED MODELS KEEP GROWING
Bigger, diversified players will continue to gain steam. That includes LiveNation and Ticketmaster, both companies aiming to deliver a more comprehensive suite of artist products and experiences. It also includes labels such as Universal Music Group, a company pushing more aggressively into publishing, merchandising and management. But time is narrowing for labels, and 2009 could be make-or-break. — Paul Resnikoff
WAVETABLE: ATTIGO DJ CONSOLE
Designer Scott Hobbs' exciting Attigo (www.attigo.co.uk) showcases the futuristic vision that touch-screen technology offers for music performance — particularly for DJing. Like a turntable for waveforms, each Attigo box lets you play single MP3 tracks with a vertically scrolling waveform that can be manipulated by touching and dragging; the center horizontal line acts as the playhead, and sounds play by passing the waveform across it.
Attigo may be intuitive to use, but its architecture is complex. Using Adobe Flash and Flash Server with a highly detailed Cycling '74 Max/MSP layout, Attigo offers real-time manipulation and basic operating controls such as play/stop, cue-point triggering, pitch control, slow down and more. In the online demos, two Attigos sit on either side of a DJ mixer with the artist effectively beat-juggling between the pair. Each unit is about the size of the JazzMutant Lemur but oriented vertically. Also, because Attigo uses resistive touch-screen technology, it is not a multitouch device. However, as resistive touch-screens become cheaper, that could become an option. Either way, Attigo is an early realization of an idea that is a long time coming: a physically intuitive touch-screen instrument that lets users interact with their audio files in an immediately tactile and visual way without the levels of separation that come with timecoded vinyl or CDs.
While there is still no information about when Attigo might be available or how much it might cost, we're hoping 2009 holds the release of the first truly “playable” touch-screen DJ device. — Asher Fulero
GENRE COMEBACK: DISCO
But is it disco? That's what Morgan Geist wants to know about the so-called disco revival and producers such as Simian Mobile Disco, Hercules and Love Affair, and Lindstrøm.
“It seems like a fabrication of the press, to be honest with you,” says the acclaimed electronic producer who just released a solo album, Double Night Time. “I think disco died a long time ago.”
Of course, it depends on what your definition of disco is. There's the Saturday Night Fever-style disco that briefly dominated our consciousness in the late '70s. No one's really making stuff that kitschy, although Justice recently experimented with string arrangements for an Ed Banger Records compilation. Then there are the oblique synth symphonies of Cerrone and Giorgio Moroder. Finally, there are late-period disco styles such as Italo-disco, dance-punk and hi-NRG. Morgan Geist and his acclaimed Metro Area partnership (with Darshan Jesrani) are keepers of the Italo tradition, while Hercules and Love Affair sound similar to the hi-NRG and early house styles of the mid-'80s.
Perhaps disco is just a cool way to note the resurgence of interest in dance music. If bloggers, fans, club kids and hipster tastemakers use “outdated” terms like disco to describe new sensations such as Treasure Fingers and Glass Candy, then it's only to exploit a recognizable brand. After all, the disco revival is just as much a populist craze as a musical trend. One day, maybe someone will come up with the right phrase to describe it. — Mosi Reeves
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