The music industry is fantastic at hindsight. We’ve obsessed over the spread of online piracy, the death of the CD, then the impact of streams. But every measure of the business model is somehow framed around acquiring records. And it’s about passive consumption.
We have to remember, though, that passive consumption is itself really the outlier. Until the dawn of recording, music only existed when you played it. Our current copyright and licensing system was first structured around sheet music. And that world never went away. Precise recordings can give you the experience of listening, but no technology can give you the feeling of singing.
So it’s time to start thinking about business models that involve active participation. We saw that earlier this month with label Ninja Tune embracing remixing in an app and Launchpad sound packs. Here’s a more conventional approach.
Wurrly is an app for recording covers of popular songs. It starts with a song store (and links to the originals on iTunes), but instead of tapping to download, you tap to sing. Choose a pre-made accompaniment (full band, piano, or guitar), set the key and tempo, and record. The cleverest part of the app is probably the interface for adding finishing touches: you get a simple fader for mixing and Instagram-style effects. (I’m sure we’ll keep hearing about an “Instagram for music” or “Instagram for sound” until someone really nails it.)
Of course, this is all paired with social sharing features and featured songs. I’m impressed, some of the recordings are pretty good – there are some talented singers, not just karaoke fare. I find the arrangements themselves to be a little dry; I think the app would benefit from original stems coming from the artists.
And yes, theoretically, this sort of thing could be a revenue stream – though again rates set for statutory licensing are key. A spokesperson for the developer tells CDM:
We have deals with all of the majors and we have blanket licenses on their content. As you know, songs these days can have multiple co-publishers, so we go directly to the stakeholders to get permission. We pay them royalties based on the seconds of usage in the app, quarterly. We also have encryption within the app so that users cannot manipulate it.
Think of this as the pop song / singer analog to Native Instruments’ Stems, and you begin to see where the landscape might shift.
It’s tough to tell what will be a hit and what won’t, in apps as in music itself. But looking beyond just acquiring music directly is wise. The beauty of the shift from devices like the iPod or Walkman to those like the iPhone or tablet is that it’s far easier to engage the user in a creative, active experience. And just as the phone made people feel better about taking more photos by making them look better, there’s no question that making people happy with the way they sound is a key motivation for encouraging musicianship.
Of course, in the past I made this prediction about music games, and that trend lost some steam. But I think we’re still in early days. Watch this space.
This and stems is just music as entertainment for spoiled rich kids one more tine. Make some funny shit people can share on social media so the greedy internet corporates can make some more money without doing any actual work.
I’m sorry for my language above but I just find this whole scene so passé, old and boring. Add the whole DJ thing that has been going on for 25 years now. These scenes are just repeating themselves now.
Postmodernism has run its course. And social exhibitionism has become a very tired phenomena.
Give me some modernistic true creativity and asocial exclusivity any day. I’m so ready to pay for exclusive access to real stuff. Limited access. Me and my cat – and when we’re done listening, burn the master tapes.
I can’t agree with any of this. OK, that’s putting too much in. I can’t agree with the basic premise of this. Social exhibitionism is what drives a huge amount of music and other arts both professional and amateur, its been around for most of our history and I would guess pre-history. Its not going away.
I think there is a space for apps that enable amateur music production, just as there are that enable amateur photography and everything else. In fact, because its made by me, one of my friends or one of my children makes it more valuable – to me – than if it were made by my favourite band.
This and stems is just music as entertainment for spoiled rich kids one more tine. Make some funny shit people can share on social media so the greedy internet corporates can make some more money without doing any actual work.
I’m sorry for my language above but I just find this whole scene so passé, old and boring. Add the whole DJ thing that has been going on for 25 years now. These scenes are just repeating themselves now.
Postmodernism has run its course. And social exhibitionism has become a very tired phenomena.
Give me some modernistic true creativity and asocial exclusivity any day. I’m so ready to pay for exclusive access to real stuff. Limited access. Me and my cat – and when we’re done listening, burn the master tapes.
I can’t agree with any of this. OK, that’s putting too much in. I can’t agree with the basic premise of this. Social exhibitionism is what drives a huge amount of music and other arts both professional and amateur, its been around for most of our history and I would guess pre-history. Its not going away.
I think there is a space for apps that enable amateur music production, just as there are that enable amateur photography and everything else. In fact, because its made by me, one of my friends or one of my children makes it more valuable – to me – than if it were made by my favourite band.
This and stems is just music as entertainment for spoiled rich kids one more tine. Make some funny shit people can share on social media so the greedy internet corporates can make some more money without doing any actual work.
I’m sorry for my language above but I just find this whole scene so passé, old and boring. Add the whole DJ thing that has been going on for 25 years now. These scenes are just repeating themselves now.
Postmodernism has run its course. And social exhibitionism has become a very tired phenomena.
Give me some modernistic true creativity and asocial exclusivity any day. I’m so ready to pay for exclusive access to real stuff. Limited access. Me and my cat – and when we’re done listening, burn the master tapes.
I can’t agree with any of this. OK, that’s putting too much in. I can’t agree with the basic premise of this. Social exhibitionism is what drives a huge amount of music and other arts both professional and amateur, its been around for most of our history and I would guess pre-history. Its not going away.
I think there is a space for apps that enable amateur music production, just as there are that enable amateur photography and everything else. In fact, because its made by me, one of my friends or one of my children makes it more valuable – to me – than if it were made by my favourite band.
I know most of you are music composers, but there are tons of artists who are just happy (and pretty good) at performing other peoples songs. If you are against this app, you are probably against elvis, frank sinatra, or any number of performers who are the instruments in the hands of other composers.
I know most of you are music composers, but there are tons of artists who are just happy (and pretty good) at performing other peoples songs. If you are against this app, you are probably against elvis, frank sinatra, or any number of performers who are the instruments in the hands of other composers.
I know most of you are music composers, but there are tons of artists who are just happy (and pretty good) at performing other peoples songs. If you are against this app, you are probably against elvis, frank sinatra, or any number of performers who are the instruments in the hands of other composers.
Cover songs are huge. Loudr is an example of one music tech startup that’s been working in that space. Karaoke is also really big. Smule would be an example of a music tech startup doing well in that space. YouTube’s full of cover songs and karaoke broadly defined. People love to make music. Snobs love to make fun of it. But all that activity is also generating licensing fees and has a lot of other benefits. You can find more about that by checking some of my posts in Hypebot from 2014 and before on these related topics.
Thanks for letting everyone know that you’re not a snob. Oh wait…
That doesn’t even make any sense.
Are you sure you meant to reply to me?
Cover songs are huge. Loudr is an example of one music tech startup that’s been working in that space. Karaoke is also really big. Smule would be an example of a music tech startup doing well in that space. YouTube’s full of cover songs and karaoke broadly defined. People love to make music. Snobs love to make fun of it. But all that activity is also generating licensing fees and has a lot of other benefits. You can find more about that by checking some of my posts in Hypebot from 2014 and before on these related topics.
Thanks for letting everyone know that you’re not a snob. Oh wait…
That doesn’t even make any sense.
Are you sure you meant to reply to me?
Cover songs are huge. Loudr is an example of one music tech startup that’s been working in that space. Karaoke is also really big. Smule would be an example of a music tech startup doing well in that space. YouTube’s full of cover songs and karaoke broadly defined. People love to make music. Snobs love to make fun of it. But all that activity is also generating licensing fees and has a lot of other benefits. You can find more about that by checking some of my posts in Hypebot from 2014 and before on these related topics.
Thanks for letting everyone know that you’re not a snob. Oh wait…
That doesn’t even make any sense.
Are you sure you meant to reply to me?
Cover versions are still a mega important part of making music. There’s such a long tradition there, as Peter has touched upon. Many a talented musician cut their teeth playing other people’s songs. Bob Dylan’s first album is mainly “cover versions”.
Although for me (and I’m sure I’m not alone), a big part the magic of cover versions is in the interpretation of the arrangement, changing the tempo, the instrumentation etc. It’d be great to see some way to add your own instrumentation in a future update, or great to see these aspecs tackled in another app.
*while typing out this response, some Jeff Buckley from Live at Sin É comes on the radio. Some serious magic in his cover versions right there*
This has little to do with someone like Bob Dylan picking up an acoustic guitar and croaking out some cover versions of old blues and folk songs, and everything to do with your job (and mine) getting replaced by robots at some point in the not too distant future.
Cover versions are still a mega important part of making music. There’s such a long tradition there, as Peter has touched upon. Many a talented musician cut their teeth playing other people’s songs. Bob Dylan’s first album is mainly “cover versions”.
Although for me (and I’m sure I’m not alone), a big part the magic of cover versions is in the interpretation of the arrangement, changing the tempo, the instrumentation etc. It’d be great to see some way to add your own instrumentation in a future update, or great to see these aspects tackled in another app.
*while typing out this response, some Jeff Buckley from Live at Sin É comes on the radio. Some serious magic in his cover versions right there*
Edited for spelling corrections
This has little to do with someone like Bob Dylan picking up an acoustic guitar and croaking out some cover versions of old blues and folk songs, and everything to do with your job (and mine) getting replaced by robots at some point in the not too distant future.
Cover versions are still a mega important part of making music. There’s such a long tradition there, as Peter has touched upon. Many a talented musician cut their teeth playing other people’s songs. Bob Dylan’s first album is mainly “cover versions”.
Although for me (and I’m sure I’m not alone), a big part the magic of cover versions is in the interpretation of the arrangement, changing the tempo, the instrumentation etc. It’d be great to see some way to add your own instrumentation in a future update, or great to see these aspects tackled in another app.
*while typing out this response, some Jeff Buckley from Live at Sin É comes on the radio. Some serious magic in his cover versions right there*
Edited for spelling corrections
This has little to do with someone like Bob Dylan picking up an acoustic guitar and croaking out some cover versions of old blues and folk songs, and everything to do with your job (and mine) getting replaced by robots at some point in the not too distant future.
The iPhone is the most popular music-playing device in world. Not only iPhone but every device made by Apple has been great for playing audio and video. Playing music or record videos with customized music has now become easy with the apps like you mentioned here and more alike i.e. “Shimmeo”. This app https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/shimmeo-music-video-creator/id974747911?mt=8 is great for emerging musicians or a fan that perfectly creates beautiful music video to add charm in their music. You can certainly make it a cover song with perfect lip-synching masterpiece.
The iPhone is the most popular music-playing device in world. Not only iPhone but every device made by Apple has been great for playing audio and video. Playing music or record videos with customized music has now become easy with the apps like you mentioned here and more alike i.e. “Shimmeo”. This app https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/shimmeo-music-video-creator/id974747911?mt=8 is great for emerging musicians or a fan that perfectly creates beautiful music video to add charm in their music. You can certainly make it a cover song with perfect lip-synching masterpiece.
The iPhone is the most popular music-playing device in world. Not only iPhone but every device made by Apple has been great for playing audio and video. Playing music or record videos with customized music has now become easy with the apps like you mentioned here and more alike i.e. “Shimmeo”. This app https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/shimmeo-music-video-creator/id974747911?mt=8 is great for emerging musicians or a fan that perfectly creates beautiful music video to add charm in their music. You can certainly make it a cover song with perfect lip-synching masterpiece.
And … How about an app that accompanies you with a real orchestra that synchs with your changing tempo in real time? Here you go: https://itunes.apple.com/app/id791155298
And … How about an app that accompanies you with a real orchestra that synchs with your changing tempo in real time? Here you go: https://itunes.apple.com/app/id791155298