Every move that Apple makes in the digital sphere has implications on the digital entertainment world and last week’s announcement of the iCloud was no exception. As predicted, the company’s new cloud service stores the data that exists on various computers, smartphones and tablets to the virtual space so that that calendars, mail, contacts, photos, music and documents will be seamlessly updated on all your devices. Apple’s ubiquity and the fact that the iCloud is such an all-round data product means that it has already surpassed Amazon and Google’s cloud music services. It makes you think – where is Microsoft in all of this?
Apple’s iMatch feature is their answer to Google Music and Amazon Cloud Drive in terms of the management of music libraries. Firstly, iCloud means that any music you have bought from the iTunes Store in the past or future will automatically be available for your other devices: whether that’s a PC running Windows Vista (but not XP), a Macbook, an iPad or an iPhone.
Apple managed to secure what Google and Amazon could not: agreements with the major music labels. Most interestingly, for $24.99 a year (only available in the U.S for now), iMatch will scan your existing iTunes library for music you haven’t purchased from iTunes. It matches those songs with their equivalents in the iTunes Store and automatically adds the 256kbps iTunes version to your iCloud library. If no match is found, you can upload the song to the cloud yourself. The number of unmatched songs you can upload is limited to 25,000.
Reaction to iMatch was mixed. Many commentators seemed disappointed that the iCloud didn’t instantly revolutionise our entertainment habits. Apple are not offering a music streaming service to rival the likes of Spotify, rather they are offering fancy synchronisation of your existing music collection. While it’s true that with major label support and a catalogue of 18 million songs, iTunes would be the ultimate streaming service, that is not within the interests of Apple. Their modus operandi is to sell more of their iOS devices.
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While all the talk about cloud music in the last year or so was centered on when Apple would launch their service, it was Amazon, the leading online retailer who made the first move into the cloud last week with the announcement of their Cloud Drive & Cloud Player.
I’m sure a few of you are wondering what kind of hippy dippy nonsense I’m on about. Cloud music? It all sounds suspiciously like an ill-advised experimental ambient concept album, but fear not, this is THE FUTURE (probably). The cloud concept in computing is one that is becoming much more ubiquitous (ironically after the last big computing system concept was called “ubiquitous computing”).
Cloud computing allows you to harness the power and resources of multiple computers rather than rely on one computer or server to host your website, email or files. So, as we all become increasingly more connected, the theory is that everything we own on our hard drives could exist on the virtual cloud, so we could access it anywhere we needed it and our data will persist across our digital life. Continue Reading..»
The mysterious DJ duo DJA and DSJ are back with a followup to their first ’80s action-movie mixtape with more pumped up and steroid-assisted tunes from Rocky, Scarface, Top Gun and Cocaine Cowboys.
Blood Bros: Heaven2Hell by maddecent
The Gossip singer and the London dance duo hooked up before on the brilliant disco-dance track Cruel Intentions in 2009. Their partnership was obviously a fruitful one so they got back in the studio and have just released a 4-track EP of similar tunes.
Two Irish music bloggers – Swear I’m Not Paul and 2UIBestow got together and posted a Soundcloud compilation of Irish artists they think will be worth more investigation in 2011. It includes Milan Jay, B-Movie Lightning, Deaf Joe, The Riot Tapes, A Northern Light and more.
Listen at Swear I’m Not Paul »
While most of Taiwan-born Canada-based Alex Zhang Hungtai’s music is reminiscent of electro-punks Suicide, Lord Knows Best showcases a different side to his music. It’s a smokey lo-fi serenade with Hungtai in bar-room, loose tie mode.
Two music services looking to consign your CD collection to history are to be made available in Ireland within weeks of each other. Eircom launched its MusicHub before Christmas which promises free track streaming and cheaper music downloads than iTunes. Last week, UK company We7 announced that their large streaming catalogue will be available to Irish customers from this Monday 17th January.
Eircom’s MusicHub offers free unlimited music streaming (at 128kbps AAC+ audio junkies) to all of their broadband customers and that service is €6.99 per month for non-Eircom customers. If you want to add downloads to that subscription, then for 15 and 40 downloads for Eircom customers costs €5.99 and €12.99 a month respectively while the same for non-Eircom customers is €11.99 and €22.99 a month.
The company also has plans for app versions of the MusicHub for iPhone, Android and Windows phones. At 32 cent per download, the download offering is a lot less than iTunes pricing and the music is not restricted to certain devices. Eircom says it has over 4 million tracks in its MusicHub library.
We7 meanwhile are a company that have been operating in the UK since late 2008. Now claiming to have 3 million monthly users and 6.5 million tracks to stream, it has established itself as one of the frontrunners in music streaming services in the UK.
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This time last year Digital profiled two bloggers who moved into the business side of things. Perez Hiton’s Perezcious record label signed its second act Travis Garland (French popster Sliimy didn’t really work out) around the time mainstream media began to question his grip on the pop zeitgeist while the small-time two-person indie blog Neon Gold has had more influence, serving as the breeding ground for major label successes Marina And The Diamonds, Passion Pit and Ellie Goulding.
Since that time, starting a record label is cool again, judging by the number of music bloggers who are now doing so. In many ways, a blogger starting a small independent label is a simple extension of their modus operandi with the blog – to promote music they are interested in.
Popular alternative Texas-based music blog Gorilla Vs Bear started Forest Family Records along with fellow blogger Weekly Tape Deck three months ago. Far from acting as an MP3-selling hub, the label releases limited vinyl releases from bands they love. So far artists like Cults, Gauntlet Hair and Dent May have been lined up with the first two releases selling out quickly. Continue Reading..»
As you may have noticed via the masthead above the column (in the print version), I run Nialler9.com, a music blog that is now in its fifth year of operation. Last week, I received an email from the Irish Music Rights Organisation (IMRO) which represents bands, composers, artists and songwriters. IMRO sent emails to four prominent Irish music blogs (Nialler9, Asleep on a Compost Heap, The Torture Garden and MP3Hugger) saying as these blogs are making copyrighted music available online, they are liable to pay a licence.
The licence in question, the IMRO/MCPSI Limited Online Exploitation Licence (LOEL) covers the use of music online by small scale/non-commercial companies and individuals whose gross revenue is less than €7,000.
Now of course, in black and white terms, music blogs are covered by this blanket licence and all the music bloggers in question have no problem paying royalties if that is what is required. Currently, Nialler9 is the only site which actively takes advertising while the rest are distinctly non-commercial. The bigger issue here is by taxing amateur and hobby bloggers who don’t have any money available at their disposal to pay these licences (from €150 – €750 per year depending on the situation), IMRO will be effectively putting up a significant financial barrier to music blogs in this country resulting in the decimation of a now-vital part of the Irish music landscape.
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We all can navigate our way around Youtube, blogs, Spotify and sites like Last.FM by now but what other sites can help you find your new favourite band? Digital looks at ten others you should know…
1. Soundcloud – It started as a highly intuitive way for bands and labels to share music with others. Thanks to its lightning fast speed and visual waveform interface, Soundcloud has become the place to catch the latest new tracks, particularly in dance and electronic circles. Try out http://player.thejackplug.com as it shows you the most popular tracks on Soundcloud.com.
2. Tuneglue – An expandable interactive spider diagram that helps you find related artists to who you search for. It’s extremely accurate and is essentially a cool visualisation of the musical landscape and its interconnectedness.
3. Grooveshark – It seems to be operating in a legal grey area but its popularity is not in question. Type in a few artists and build a streaming playlist made up of user-uploaded songs. The library is deep with plenty of remixes and full albums.
4. 14tracks.com – If underground movements and cutting-edge genres are your bag, 14tracks is perfect for you. Handpicked compilations based on themes like Scandanavian disco, cosmic soul, junglist hardcore, UK funky and loads more for about €7.50 each.
5. The Hype Machine – The daddy of the MP3 blogs. Put simply: “Every day, thousands of people around the world write about music they love, and it all ends up here.”
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The combination of a music industry unsure of its future, trying economical times and the ubiquity of the internet has left fledgling bands of the world in a tough situation. How does a band peek its head above the ocean of noise in the hope of being noticed?
Great tunes are a must but it’s never that simple. So it’s good to see an example of an Irish band seize the initiative and attempt to attract listeners and interest in what they are doing. MacroGrizzly are a rock band from Laois who are doing just that in innovative ways.
Since the beginning, the core band members of Cormac Strain (formerly of 79 Cortinaz) and Steve Ryan have used an open source social networking platform called Elgg to upload ideas and work on music remotely when it suited them. Dubbed “The Shed” after their own real-world practice space in a field in Laois, the platform has led to the creation of a (forgive me) shedload of songs.
With DIY spirit firmly intact, the band have hatched plans to release their first of 12 monthly singles on January 15th 2010. Unlike Ash, whose ongoing A-Z singles project happens fortnightly and racks up 26 single songs, MacroGrizzly’s version includes remixes, alternative versions and interpretations.
The band are also doing live web gigs from The Shed. The first took place in November, with another happening this Saturday from 10pm with streaming video via HD cameras or an audio stream. There’s even support from Carlow band The Louis Walsh Assassination Project.
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