Whatever happened to DVD-A or DVD Audio? Created in 1999 and released in 2000, DVD-A or DVD Audio is a format that was to become the successor to the CD. Depending on what source you read, DVD-A was either developed by Toshiba, Panasonic, or the DVD Forum whose members include, Hitachi, Matsushita, Mitsubishi, Pioneer, Philips, Sony, Time Warner, Toshiba, and JVC. The format makes use of a DVD's larger memory capacity to add greater bit depth and resolution and 5.1 surround capability.
A second format called SACD or Super Audio CD, was developed by Sony and Philips and was released in 1999 as an alternative to DVD-A. With the advent of 5.1 surround sound, the two formats were billed as the next big thing in high end audio. But, though many artists had dabbled with surround mixes of their work at the outset, major label foot dragging coupled with consumer disinterest has ultimately left stereo, the once and future king of the audio formats.
A year after the release of DVD Audio, Apple offered the world the iPod in 2001. At the time, the Mp3 was taking the industry by storm, and Apple took advantage of the trend by creating iTunes, which converted CDs into Mp3s. With the arrival of the iPod Mp3 player, Apple was primed to make a move that would change the way that most of us buy our music.
While it is true that the Mp3 is inferior to the sound of a CD and can't come close to what you hear with DVD Audio, the Mp3 offers music lovers two very important considerations. Those are, the immediacy of a digital download and a very low price per song. And over time, it has been determined that a bit rate of 320kbps produces a compressed audio file that yields what has been called, "near CD quality," sound.
Most SACD or DVD Audio discs sell from $17.99 to as much as $59.99. and most available titles are from Jazz and Classical artists. Mean while, most albums sold as digital downloads are $9.99 with single tracks being sold at $.99 or often even lower. I think that the pricing tends to make a consumers decision a little obvious. After all, what is a little distortion of your audio, if you can't really tell, or know what to listen for?
Why bring all this up? I'd being lying if I said that I don't buy Mp3s. Sometimes, it's the quickest and most affordable way to hear the music that you love or have been searching for, for a long time. But, I record my own music, and the software that I use produces 24bit 48khz sound, which is so good that when you play a CD after to listening to it, the CD sounds a little fuzzy and not as defined. I was looking forward to DVD Audio, just as I was hopeful that CD prices would fall instead of rise like they did. Fear not. The flac file is slowly being adopted by software manufacturers everywhere.
Flac is what's known as a lossless codec that is similar to a zip file. In this case, a CD or Wav file can be compressed into a flac file without any loss or degradation of sound. This is possible because nothing is being removed from the file as in Mp3 conversion. And, when the flac file is expanded the result is an exact duplicate of the original music file. But wait, there's more. A flac file when played, sounds identical to the original file from which it was made.
I'd say that there may be hope for greater sound quality yet. Now, if we can only increase the bandwidth, then we'd be talking.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Monday, August 15, 2011
In The Market Place
Indie labels took the Grammys by storm this year. DIY artists are enjoying greater success as well. Part of the success is due in large part to digital distribution.
What is digital distribution? Simply, it is the dissemination of recorded music over the internet via mp3 or some other compressed file format. It is taking the artists' music and placing it with the various emusic stores. I think that just about everyone knows what an emusic store is by now. The most notable of these is iTunes.
Some are calling digital distribution the new market model, however my personal opinion is, that it's way to early to tell how the market will shake out. There are too many variables like streaming, the cloud, and high end audio that have yet to reveal what their true impact on the music business is going to be. It is true that the internet has given artists a voice who would otherwise not have one. Online distributors such as The Orchard, Tunecore, CD Baby, Reverbnation, and Catapult are currently placing the artists' music in emusic stores such as iTunes, Rhapsody, Amazon, eMusic, Zune, Spotify, and others. But what separates the online market place from the major labels is the level and amount of promotion that goes along with the distribution of each release. DIY artists are pretty much on their own when it comes to promotion, and traditional media is still a very powerful means of getting the word out about new releases.
The rise of the internet as a powerful and effective delivery system for the dissemination of music has created a sort of gateway, in the guise of the online distributor. Several decades ago, if you wanted to take your music to the masses, you had to do it by way of a major record label, or at least a large independent. Label execs were essentially the arbiters of good taste. If you were lucky enough to be offered a contract, so much of who you were as an artist may have been negotiated away, that by the time your album hit the market, it probably didn't sound anything like what you had when you started. Not to mention the large portion of artists' royalties collected by the labels in order to recoup any cash advances that were paid.
That being said, the lure of retaining a greater percentage of ones earnings is a very strong one. Most online distributors are only charging a flat fee upfront, with the emusic stores taking a small percentage from the actual sale, leaving the artist with a much greater portion of what their releases are actually earning.
If you're looking to release a CD then The Orchard or CD Baby is a good idea. The Orchard delivers it's artists' music to brick and mortar as well as the online music stores, while CD Baby can sell your CD release at their website and get the music onto iTunes. Reverbnation and Catapult can sell your music from their site and get it into the online stores. Tuncore, which has been my personal favorite for the last few years, gets your music into iTunes digital stores in every country. Plus they can get your music to Rhapsody, Amazon.com, eMusic, Zune, and Spotify. While Reverbnation offers a free widget, I like the distribution pricing and the features offered by Tuncore, and I like their widget's design and functionality.
Being an independent artist I'd have to say that I'm biased. Not so much against the major labels as I am in favor of doing it myself. While it may not be for everybody, I like the freedom that the DIY movement allows an artist. You can work at your own pace and produce the kind of music that you love.
What is digital distribution? Simply, it is the dissemination of recorded music over the internet via mp3 or some other compressed file format. It is taking the artists' music and placing it with the various emusic stores. I think that just about everyone knows what an emusic store is by now. The most notable of these is iTunes.
Some are calling digital distribution the new market model, however my personal opinion is, that it's way to early to tell how the market will shake out. There are too many variables like streaming, the cloud, and high end audio that have yet to reveal what their true impact on the music business is going to be. It is true that the internet has given artists a voice who would otherwise not have one. Online distributors such as The Orchard, Tunecore, CD Baby, Reverbnation, and Catapult are currently placing the artists' music in emusic stores such as iTunes, Rhapsody, Amazon, eMusic, Zune, Spotify, and others. But what separates the online market place from the major labels is the level and amount of promotion that goes along with the distribution of each release. DIY artists are pretty much on their own when it comes to promotion, and traditional media is still a very powerful means of getting the word out about new releases.
The rise of the internet as a powerful and effective delivery system for the dissemination of music has created a sort of gateway, in the guise of the online distributor. Several decades ago, if you wanted to take your music to the masses, you had to do it by way of a major record label, or at least a large independent. Label execs were essentially the arbiters of good taste. If you were lucky enough to be offered a contract, so much of who you were as an artist may have been negotiated away, that by the time your album hit the market, it probably didn't sound anything like what you had when you started. Not to mention the large portion of artists' royalties collected by the labels in order to recoup any cash advances that were paid.
That being said, the lure of retaining a greater percentage of ones earnings is a very strong one. Most online distributors are only charging a flat fee upfront, with the emusic stores taking a small percentage from the actual sale, leaving the artist with a much greater portion of what their releases are actually earning.
If you're looking to release a CD then The Orchard or CD Baby is a good idea. The Orchard delivers it's artists' music to brick and mortar as well as the online music stores, while CD Baby can sell your CD release at their website and get the music onto iTunes. Reverbnation and Catapult can sell your music from their site and get it into the online stores. Tuncore, which has been my personal favorite for the last few years, gets your music into iTunes digital stores in every country. Plus they can get your music to Rhapsody, Amazon.com, eMusic, Zune, and Spotify. While Reverbnation offers a free widget, I like the distribution pricing and the features offered by Tuncore, and I like their widget's design and functionality.
Being an independent artist I'd have to say that I'm biased. Not so much against the major labels as I am in favor of doing it myself. While it may not be for everybody, I like the freedom that the DIY movement allows an artist. You can work at your own pace and produce the kind of music that you love.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Shameless Promotion
Time for a bit of shameless promotion. The new Nprogram album, Work The Program was recently released online. I consider the album to be R&B/Pop. The album has nine new songs and the three internet singles, Count On Me, On The Spot, and Dreamin, plus there are alternate versions of those singles. It's available at iTunes, Rhapsody, Amazon.com, Zune, eMusic, and Spotify. You can listen to full length steams of each song by clicking the widget below!
Monday, August 1, 2011
Beyond The Music
I was listening to the radio again, the other day. And, the first three or four songs that I heard used little or no real musical instruments what so ever. I know that this has to do with the station I was listening to, but I recall it being a top 40 station. So, I was wondering, if most of today's hit records don't use many real instruments, then whose buying all of the musical equipment?
I've actually been thinking about this for quite some time. Trying to find statistics for musical instrument sales has been no easy feat. I was, however able to find a Social Statistics survey that asked respondents if they had played a musical instrument in the last three years. Out of 3125 participants, 37% said that they had, while 21% said no, and 29% said that they didn't play an instrument at all. One thing I do know, is that most major online musical instrument stores are doing just fine. Musician's Friend, American Musical Supply, Sam Ash, and Guitar Centers all have online stores that are doing brisk business with or without sales and specials. So, if this is true, then again I ask, whose buying?
A couple of years ago, I read a blog where the writer suggested that recording artists should give their music away for free and make their living doing live shows. I can't say that I agree with that at all. One thing I can say, is that the DIY movement is most likely responsible for a large portion of the musical instruments that are bought and sold. Artists and bands on every level are doing live shows to support their recorded work.
The nature of making a record has changed many time over the years. In the 1990s there was a heavy emphasis on production. This gave rise to the use of a lot of special effects. The question is now, is whether or not the use of these devices have become part of the actual music making process. If this is the case, one would have to wonder if popular music has moved so far from the songwriting process, that the soul of the music presented is either buried or simply not present, given over to "clicks, pops, and sound effects."
Now, I'm not a purist when it comes to recording music. When I record, I will use anything that's available to deliver the sound that I'm looking for. But, I always try to start with a song that I have written before hand. It isn't written in stone that all recorded music must be done in this fashion. However, as the old adage goes, "great recordings start with great songs." Which, I might add, may sound like a call for a return to some nostalgic time that may seem to no longer exist. But, if you ever visit Nashville, you will find that you can't make it there in music with out a well written song. While it remains the home of Country music, there other genres of music that are represented there as well as some top recording studios.
In the late 1990s VH1 started the Save The Music Foundation. the purpose of this foundation has been to raise money to purchase musical instruments to give to schools to help them restore music programs that were lost due to budget reductions. So far the Save The Music Foundation has raised a total of 34 million dollars which has helped to improve the live of 800,000 students in 1400 public schools. I think, and this is my opinion, that this is a great way to at least keep the tradition, if not possibly the future of real music alive.
I've actually been thinking about this for quite some time. Trying to find statistics for musical instrument sales has been no easy feat. I was, however able to find a Social Statistics survey that asked respondents if they had played a musical instrument in the last three years. Out of 3125 participants, 37% said that they had, while 21% said no, and 29% said that they didn't play an instrument at all. One thing I do know, is that most major online musical instrument stores are doing just fine. Musician's Friend, American Musical Supply, Sam Ash, and Guitar Centers all have online stores that are doing brisk business with or without sales and specials. So, if this is true, then again I ask, whose buying?
A couple of years ago, I read a blog where the writer suggested that recording artists should give their music away for free and make their living doing live shows. I can't say that I agree with that at all. One thing I can say, is that the DIY movement is most likely responsible for a large portion of the musical instruments that are bought and sold. Artists and bands on every level are doing live shows to support their recorded work.
The nature of making a record has changed many time over the years. In the 1990s there was a heavy emphasis on production. This gave rise to the use of a lot of special effects. The question is now, is whether or not the use of these devices have become part of the actual music making process. If this is the case, one would have to wonder if popular music has moved so far from the songwriting process, that the soul of the music presented is either buried or simply not present, given over to "clicks, pops, and sound effects."
Now, I'm not a purist when it comes to recording music. When I record, I will use anything that's available to deliver the sound that I'm looking for. But, I always try to start with a song that I have written before hand. It isn't written in stone that all recorded music must be done in this fashion. However, as the old adage goes, "great recordings start with great songs." Which, I might add, may sound like a call for a return to some nostalgic time that may seem to no longer exist. But, if you ever visit Nashville, you will find that you can't make it there in music with out a well written song. While it remains the home of Country music, there other genres of music that are represented there as well as some top recording studios.
In the late 1990s VH1 started the Save The Music Foundation. the purpose of this foundation has been to raise money to purchase musical instruments to give to schools to help them restore music programs that were lost due to budget reductions. So far the Save The Music Foundation has raised a total of 34 million dollars which has helped to improve the live of 800,000 students in 1400 public schools. I think, and this is my opinion, that this is a great way to at least keep the tradition, if not possibly the future of real music alive.
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