...And Another Thing

On April 7th not only did Avid announce the release of Pro Tools 11, they also announced the release of Media Composer 7. Avid's Media Composer has become the industry standard for film and motion picture editing.

This version of Media Composer is part of Avid's "Avid Everywhere," and offers several new features that include Interplay Sphere for Mac. But wait there's more. Media Composer 7 offers AMA (Avid Media Access) which features a set of industry-leading media management tools that in the past were only for reserved for native Avid media. Also, there's FrameFlex which enables editors to ingest 2k, 4k, and 5k media and deliver content directly to HD. There's a Master Audio Fader and Clip Gain for adjusting the audio of individual clips as well as several other features.

Those features alone are worth the price of admission, but Avid has gone one step further. As part of their new "Avid Everywhere," philosophy, Avid has brought the price down to just $999. That makes Media Composer 7 price competitive with Final Cut Pro. And, with Avid's reputation of quality and professional features, I personally would have to say that that's more than a bargain.

I spend a lot of my time working with Pro Tools, but when it's time to create or edit some video I turn to Media Composer. Nothing works quite like it, plus it works seamlessly with other Avid products, including Pro Tools. Media Composer 7 would be a standout at any price, but now anyone can have that professional look.

Ya Don't Say?

You may have already heard, but in case you haven't, on April 28th, Apple's iTunes turned 10 years old. The brain child of Steve Jobs has turned out to be a game changer that has rewritten the book on how we not only listen, but how we buy, and sell music.

The late 1990s brought us the mp3, a compressed music file that quickly became popular among college students and then others as well. Not long after it's introduction, the mp3 became the most popular way to stream and down load music on the internet. Mp3 players were just coming on to the market when Apple took a chance on inventor Tony Fadell's latest creation. After a year in development Apple released the first iPod in 2001.

Steve Jobs saw the iPod as more than just an mp3 player. He saw it as an opportunity to bring together the music that everyone loved with a way to listen to it, buy it, and play it back later. He got together with the then big five major record companies to hash up a deal that ultimately produced the iTunes Store.

Fast forward 10 years and we find that iTunes is the leader in digital download sales offering not only music, but movies, TV shows, eBooks and more. Apple's secret to success? That can be debated, but offering single songs for .99 cents and albums for $9.99 was a very good place to start. And, if you owned an iPod, what better place to get new content than the iTunes Store.

To go a little further, iTunes also changed how the market place worked for recording artist. Not only would major label artist be featured, but independent artist have been given access as well. This has made a huge difference in what an emusic store can offer as opposed to what a brick & mortar store can offer. And, it has given artists with music from every genre, from all around the globe, a voice in the music market place.

Recently iTunes racked up it's 25 billionth download. While streaming is on the rise, it's my opinion that the continuing growth of broadband, coupled with the advent of new compression schemes that allow for lossless file creation, will keep the desire for ownership of your favorite tunes at the top of every music lover priorities. But, Apple is said to be readying it's own iRadio in the event that what I believe should not be the way it goes. One way or another, Apple is looking to stay on top of it's game.

This Just In.... Almost

On April 7th 2013 Avid, the industry leader in digital recording software, announced the release of Pro Tools 11. The big news is that Avid has completely rebuilt it's audio engine from scratch. The new design features a 64-bit architecture, which Avid say will allow Pro Tools 11 to deliver many times the processing power of Pro Tools 10, and with more memory head room, the ability to run many more plug-ins.

Another new feature is "offline bounce," which will allow users to create final mixes with blazing speed. Instead of bouncing to disk (mixing down) in real time, "offline bounce," can deliver your mixes up to 150 times faster.

The new upgrade will feature expanded metering capabilities that offer everything from peak and average to VU and PPM which will help maintain adherence to broadcast standards.

Plus, Avid's built in video engine will allow users to work directly with HD video so that there's no need for timeline transcoding or to leave the interface for any reason.

As soon as it hits the stores, Pro Tools 10 users can upgrade to Pro Tools 11 for $299, while Pro Tools HD 10 users can upgrade to Pro Tools 11 for $599. If you're running Pro Tools 9, you can upgrade to Pro Tools 11 for $399 while Pro tools 9 HD users can upgrade to Pro Tools 11 for $999. Pro Tools Express users can get the Pro Tools 11 cross grade for $499 and the Pro Tools 11 full version will sell for $699. What ever version of Pro Tools that you are using there's sure to be an offering that fits both your software needs as well as your budget.

I've been using Pro Tools for several years now and in my opinion, Pro Tools 11 is clearly a break through in digital recording technology. It's easy to see why Avid's Pro Tools continues to be the industry leader.

Good News

I try to keep this blog as much about music as I possibly can, but last week there was a bit of good news about the announced end of Saturday mail delivery. It seems that Congress has stepped in to put the kibosh on said plans. The Postal Service had planned to cut Saturday mail delivery at the end of August 2013, in an effort to reduce cost and become more efficient.

However, Congress passed a law in 1987 requiring that mail be delivered six days a week. It did so again several weeks ago when it passed a stop gap budget measure, raising the issue of the legality of the Postal Service's decision. The Postal Service Board of Governors stated last week, however, that they would extend six day mail delivery while they wait for Congress to come up with an alternative or grant them permission to make the change.

The Postal Service had stated that they were only going stop delivering first class mail, while they they continued to deliver packages and express mail. This would have had an impact on rural communities and the elderly as well. It's just my opinion, but I'm sure that there are many others who also breathed a collective sigh of relief.

While it's true that advances in computer technology, such as smartphones and tablet PCs, have made things like email and online bill paying speedier and convenient for some, there is still a large portion of the population that has yet to adopt the trend, and have yet to become, "wired." For those individuals, an extra day of mail delivery could in effect be like a life line.

Having lost a reported 15.9 billion dollars last year, this is clearly a cost cutting measure. But, surely there must be some other way, as there doesn't appear to be any problem getting the mail to it's designated recipients every Saturday. The stop gap budget measure passed several weeks ago ensures that six day mail service will continue, at least until the end of the fiscal year which is September 30th. That should be enough time to come up with at least a temporary fix. Of course, the hope is that a solution will be arrived at, so that we can all continue to receive the kind of good news that we got last week, for some time into the future.

C'est La Vie

In January of this year, Britain's leading music retailer, HMV went into bankruptcy. After being in business since 1902, the company had succumbed to tough economic times and the growth of the digital economy.

HMV, which stands for "His Master's Voice," and was best known of the image of the little dog, "Nipper," sitting next to a gramophone, had employed a staff of 4,123 in 223 stores in Britain, Ireland, Singapore and Hong Kong. At one point it had several outlets in the US that opened in the 1980's but the last of those closed in the early 2000s. 

Hilco Consumer Capital has come forward to buy HMV's outstanding debt, which had reached a high of $279 million back in October of 2012. Hilco has agreed to pay $190 million to purchase that debt. In so doing, Hilco will save as many as 2,643 jobs, as 141 stores will remain open.

This was not the case for Tower Records here in the US, as the chain shut it's doors in 2006, after losing it's footing to Walmart, Kmart, and Best Buy, not mention, iTunes, Rhapsody, and Amazon. Tower failed to move forward into to the digital domain, and as a brick and mortar only platform with CDs selling for 17.99, sooner or later, something had to give.

In February of this year, it was reported that global music sales had risen 0.3 percent in 2012. That increase is the first since 1999, however, actual CD sales continued to decline as digital downloads gained more of the market share.

Perhaps, we are on the eve of a paradigm shift. Or, maybe not. Certainly, this has to be a transition in the making. While CDs have a greater sound quality than a digital download, at least at this stage, it appears that the digital delivery system is coming into it's own. Even still, just as vinyl faded, it seems that we are on are way toward the next big thing. The most that can be hoped for, is that the music will survive, as well as those who make, distribute, and sell it. Through it all, the only constant will be change. 

Seriously?

Recently, a judge ruled that the online resale company Redigi was in violation of copyright law. The company established in 2011 was operating under the premise that it would buy used digital downloads and resell them. Capitol Records took the company to court and won a judgement against Redigi for infringement.

According to Redigi, the software used to upload a users used digital file did not result in a copy being made, and that it deleted the old file once the upload proved successful. This turned out not to be the case. Uploaded files were being copied to Redigi's servers and not deleted on the users computer. Redigi stated that this was a flaw in the first version of their software. They claimed that the problem had been solved in version 2.0 and that it, in effect acted like a transporter, ala, "Star Trek."

This judgement brings the digital resale business to a standstill. The only way that digital re-sellers could move forward at this point is by either getting permission from the copyright holder or acquiring a license.

While the idea of a used mp3 might appear as a welcome alternative to the purchase of a new one, since both files would be identical there would actually be no such thing. The only thing that would change is who possesses the file. If both Redigi and the first owner both retain a copy, then this would amount to nothing more than file sharing, with the exception that the seller and Redigi would be making money without any consideration for those who made, packaged and originally distributed the file.

If this sounds like I'm not in favor of digital resale it's because, in my opinion it sounds like an open door for a good dose of piracy. And, it appears that Capital Records just stepped in and brought a halt to things before the legal waters became too murky. As an independent, it's not often that I would side with a major company, but digital resale without permission could ultimately affect everyone who produces and distributes music in the digital market place.

I think that this is the same argument that music makers have been presenting since the days of Napster. But, that's just my opinion. I could be wrong.

Mass Appeal

I read an article that stated that music industry sales were flat for 2012. I found this interesting, because back in February I read another article that stated that music industry sales were up for the first time since 1999. After a quick review of both articles, I quickly realized what the problem was. This month's article was based on a survey done by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America), while last month's article featured a survey done by the London based IFPI (International Federation of the Phonographic Industry).

The IFPI's survey was based on global record sales while the RIAA survey was based on US record sales. It seems that while global sales of recorded music were up by .03 percent, sales in the US for 2012 were actually down about .09 percent, which was a decrease from 2011. However, digital sales in the us for 2012 actually rose by .08 percent.

What does all of this mean? At first glance it appears that the US music industry has reached a level of what I'd say is, "stagnation." While new artists and veterans are having success, clearly, no one is crossing onto more than one genre in order to gain broader or what I like to think of as, "mass appeal." Artists who start on one chart or another may find themselves moving onto the Pop chart, but that is as far as they make it. In the past, this was enough to propel some artists into super stardom.

In past decades, an artist considered to be relegated to the teen market might actually appeal to a much wider audience than the 14 to 24 age demographic used by the music industry to market recorded music. In the 70s, 80s, and the first half of the 90s, it wouldn't be uncommon to see fans from all demographics showing up at an artist's concert or showing up at brick & mortar stores to purchase their music.

From the last half of the 90s through the first decade of the 21st century and into it's second, things, in my opinion have become more splintered. There's a sense that while most music fans may say that they like a variety of music and artists, it's more than likely that they tend to buy from only one particular genre. When you consider how many genres and sub genres of music that exists now, you can see how difficult it's become for an artist to obtain, "mass appeal."

Add to that, the continued consolidation of the music industry from seven major companies down to only three, and you can see how an artist signed to a major, but not having a hit record, could get lost in the shuffle. It takes time to build a following, unless a major label promotion machine is behind you from the start. Even with that, if what you present isn't broad enough, you may not reach a segment of what you feel should be your audience.


Still, we wait. Who will be the first artist of the 21st century that will produce a sound that not only their children with love, but their parents, and even grandparents might like as well? That artist will truly have, "mass appeal."