10 Great Podcasts for True Music Lovers

iTunes isn’t just a place to store and listen to all of your favorite music—it can also be a great tool to help you learn about new titles or to expand your knowledge about your existing favorites. Through podcasts you can keep up to date with the music scene and quench your thirst for the latest and greatest bands without really having to do much but sit back and listen. Here are a few that music lovers of all kinds can try out.

1. All Songs Considered: This NPR production is a great place to discover new music. Artists covered range from world music to indie artists and just about everything in between and the show not only offers insights into new music but concerts that you can download and listen to as well.
2. Gramophone: If classical music is more your style then check out this UK podcast that takes you inside the magazine of the same name, sharing reviews of the best new releases, news, and interviews with composers and musicians.
3. Above and Beyond: Trance Around the World: Those who are into dance music or clubbing will appreciate this podcast that tracks the latest developments in these tracks from all corners of the globe.
4. KEXP’s Song of the Day: The small snippets from this Seattle radio station will let you keep up with some of the latest and greatest independent artists out there.
5. Morning Becomes Electic: The podcast of this song makes it possible to listen to an assortment of creative music including jazz, indie, funk, rock, pop and even world beat artists, focusing on both new talent and established artists.
6. Sound Opinions: Listen to this podcast to hear interviews with many of Rock and Roll’s greats as well as artists who are just up and coming. You’ll find shows on everyone from Jesus Lizard to She & Him.
7. Push the Night: This podcast focuses on the best dance music out there including house, trance, techno and prog tunes.
8. Sphere of Hip-Hop: Those who love hip-hop will appreciate this podcast that brings them the latest tunes and makes keeping up with the best new artists a piece of cake.
9. indiefeed Blues Music: Here you’ll find a great collection of blues titles that mixes the old with the new so you’ll get the best of both worlds.
10. Podrunner: If you need a great workout mix then look no further than this podcast which will provide you with a wide range of tunes to listen to while you’re getting all sweaty at the gym.
11. Musicresearch.com of course! The place where you can find new music and RATE it. Help the music find its audience.

This post was contributed by Hannah Watson, who writes about the distance learning colleges. She welcomes your feedback at HannahWatson84@ yahoo.com

Muffin is one of the many, new music apps or technologies which use some clever mathematical formulas to work out what kind of music we like! 

Muffin can be embedded into Itunes and Facbook as well as being used on its ow website http://www.mufin.com/us. It looks at your current music, learns the tempo, instruments and other musical components. It then suggest tracks which are similar (well similar if based upon the criteria like tempo etc!).

Muffin is not unique and we have seen similar technology being pushed. Why the sudden increase is services like Muffin? Simply that traditionally the majority of consumers ‘found new’ music by watching TV and listening to Radio. This worked when there were only a few channels the nation watched, or only a few radio stations. However, in the world of mass media we have witnessed not only music shows being given their own channels (good) and hence coming off the main networks (bad), but via the net we have witnessed a fragmentation of the audience. 

So along with the fact that there is now MORE music than ever, and that none of us know about it or have the time sift through it it seems that that why there is the demand for Muffins!

Its been rumoured on a number of sites now that Itunes will be dropping DRM. Well hurrah if they do. Lets quickly go through the pros, and cons of this decision. 

Cons -

From Apple’s perspective they loose a reason to buy an IPOD or to keep buying an IPOD. Traditionally music bought was tied into that piece of hardware. It would not play on anything else

Music which is exclusive to the Apple’s, Itunes Store can be copied and shared with as much ease as any other material.

Pros - 

For the last two years, people have been able to buy music, legally, without DRM from a number of players in the market. That music would work on an IPOD. So Apple’s business model had actually become a barrier to them growing the Ipod market, as consumers would soon become use to the idea of music download interoperability (remember in the early years, Apple were not the only company with closed DRM).

It should also be noted that the Ipod has now grown beyond its original functionality. Its now a phone, a games machine and slowly becoming a business smart phone which is competing with Blackberry. Hence, there are lots of different ways Apple can make sure it still has content exclusively tied to its hardware by having the best business applications and games to play (adapted uniquely to its hardware). 

Apple still has the Itunes store, and for many that is of value in itself. The Apple hardware, with a dedicated ’streamlined’ (some people think that the Itunes Software needs a MAJOR makeover) software application for purchasing and managing content is a major plus. There are still very few competitors with a fully joined up experience such as Apple’s (Sony are slooooooowly getting there with their PS3 and PSP platforms).

All we need is the record labels to allow Apple to lift DRM across its entire catalogue. Does this mean Apple was always telling the truth when they said it was the Record Companies that forced DRM on them? Well I suspect, that yes, in their continual fear of anything which is not some form of physical distribution system they did insist on DRM. However, I reckon that Apple then saw how they could make it proprietary and use it as a way of making sure no one could ride their success in developing the Ipod platform. 

That market reality has now gone, and now we look forward to a world where, music at least, has no locks on it. The question remains will the Movie Industry follow suite and also allow Apple to unlock the films and tv shows? That would be superb boost to the world of legal digital content, and would result in many more people embracing it.

After all EMI recently stated that since they had lifted DRM via a number of download sites they had not seen an increase in illegal sharing. Those that want to break the law always will, and for the rest of us, if the price is right, if we feel we own the content and can use it across all our hardware without being punished - well we always buy it.

After all we can STILL buy it on CD/DVD and rip it with ease. If companies were THAT concerned with stopping Piracy they would have stopped making CDs and DVDs by now!

Web User is reporting that many of the music retailers, who sell music downloads which are not encrypted with DRM, will be adopting a universal logo to highlight this fact. It will be a ‘MP3 compatible logo’ and will make it clear to the user that the files purchased from this store can be used on any digital device without restrictions.

Now we have discussed the issue of DRM many times before on our podcast. We recognise that IF as a label you fear the internet, then yes it does offer a degree of protection. This in turn makes it easier for you to bring your content to the marketplace, which is good for the consumer. However, taking into account CD has no protection, the question is why have the fear in the first place? Yes, it is easier to copy a file than a CD, but not that MUCH easier. 

Hence we have been applauding those companies pushing content without DRM, and I want to applaud this initiative, as not enough people know that there are alternatives without DRM out there. In fact why not have a logo that says, ‘legal, paid for and DRM free’. That way we have education about why people should pay wrapped up into the message too.

Talking of which; I saw the new Bond movie the other night. A lot of fun it was too. However, preceding the movie was not the normal ‘dont copy or you will go to hell’ message, but instead a very very short video of Daniel Craig asking us not to film it (with our camera phones!) because without people paying to see the movie, all of ‘these people’ would not get paid - with a video of all the real people behind the movie playing as he spoke.

What a great idea. More of this please. Its not a battle between us and them. It should be much more about regular communication and education of the public. Let the public see the faces behind the product, not just get the corporate letters threatening to sue them.

Recently Nokia has announced its Comes With Music range of products. This is where you get one of their handsets and can then legally download an unlimited amount of music via their service for a year onto your newly acquired phone. 

Now when we say ‘unlimited’ that always means ‘within reason’ or that which could be ‘reasonably’ listened to by an individual in a year. 

The point is, this is slowly becoming a mainstream model. Sony Music is launching its own version (it has in scandinavia already) along with Sony Ericsson. I think we can expect that a similar deal will eventually work with the PS3/PSP platforms (at least for Sony content) and EMI recently went into a joint venture with Warner Music, not tied to a piece of hardware but allowing ‘unlimited’ downloads for a one off fee. 

Now in many respects these deals with labels add REAL value to music. The labels will get paid a slice off the hardware price or package fee (as with the EMI platform). The customer values music enough to want it and pro-actively download it, but they have lost the sense that they should pay individually for each track/album. Yet this way they are still paying for it, without feeling that they are - and then the money is distributed through to the labels and appropiate artists/songwriters etc etc. 

The flip side is that it could be perceived as the nail in the coffin of the traditional value system. The system which says:

‘That an artist or collection of artists and skilled individuals spent ‘x’ amount of time on this track/album. By purchasing it you are supporting them directly (and not the label - even though must of the money used to go to the label) and making sure they can continue to make music to the same high standard.’

Also it could be a way of blocking off the long tail. I.E. if an individual or band cannot get with a content aggregator.  They may also find that these new services only push material from major labels, as by associated with material with high cache levels adds value to the hardware and is a win, win; for the labels and tech companies. 

Does this squeeze out the individual, semi-pro? If they are left to ’sell’ their music, it would put them at a perceived disadvantage in the market place compared to the labels who have their ‘price hidden’ in the cost of the phone etc etc. 

Times are a-changing as they have been non-stop for the last 10 years. However, is something fundamental happening in front our eyes? As labels panic and seek to find an income (something which is kinda important for a business) are they undermining, further, the very product they wish to make money out of? Or, are they smelling the roses and leveraging the content the best way they can, today, making sure there is money to invest into the music of tomorrow.

Also does this mean that it will impossible to have a complete music collection in the future? Might we see a situation, as with movies and Blueray, that certain acts can only be listened to on certain playback devices? I’m not too sure thats ‘bad’ as its the norm for videogames and as I said, movies. However it would be a complete change for the consumer. 

Discuss……

As rumored earlier today and then commented on us, todays press conference has confirmed that there will be a Beatles music game. However, as we predicted and commented on, it will NOT be a ROCK BAND game in itself.

The Beatles NEVER leverage their content across brands and hence this will be a standalone product which will only play Beatle Content.

What this means in practise is still to become clear. I’m sure the hardware out there will work, but as opposed to downloading new songs into the pre-existing game it will probably be a new piece of software offering its own portal to the Beatles Digital Store.

We’ll report more once it becomes clearer. This is a bold step for the parties involved in the Beatles IP. It’s a coup for EA games and MTV, the publisher and owners of Rock Band.

Read some more about it HERE

Digital Audio – seeing into the future of software development.

As well all know only too well, the relationship between musicians, engineers and producers and their technology is crucial. The progress of those who develop the music often spurs on those who develop the software and visa versa.

Technology has benefited those involved in making and selling content in a variety of ways. Its led to a reduction in the cost of recording and editing sound (the often referred to ‘democratization of the production process’). Its also facilitated the development of new genres and techniques previously only dreamt of by content creators. Lastly, in recent years, the effect digital audio and software has had on the consumer experience has become very clear in terms of distribution, place and time of listening and fragmentation of fans and genres.

Queens Mary University’s Centre for Digital Music is at the cutting edge of software development involving digital music and audio. Setup by Mark Sandler, the centre is focused on creating radical software solutions, which will without doubt find their way into our lives over the next few years.

When asked what the Centre for Digital Music is about, Mark is pretty clear. Its ‘Research where technology, music and audio meet!’

Mark is not new to this area of research and development. Indeed his background is a rich history of study, design and progress in the areas of music, audio and in some cases vision.

Mark Sandler

He studied electronics at Essex University and his final year was in Audio Engineering followed by a PhD looking into and designing Digital Power Amps (his work on Digital Power Amps have won him a Fellowship from the Audio Engineering Society).

From here he went to Kings College and continued research into a range of areas, especially where vision and sound came together. He was mainly involved with trying to analyze the images and sound with the idea of drawing meta data from it, which would allow the computer to build up a parallel picture describing and thereby categorising elements of the content.

He has been involved in a number of projects including a startup, which developed software that could scale the level of compression used on an audio stream as the speed of the Internet fluctuated in real time. That never took off (but perhaps now is the time for someone to develop a similar technology, what with the talk of ‘cloud based technology and the growth of streaming’), but this again drew upon Mark’s focus on the ability to analyse audio and from there prioritise the most important ‘bits’ allowing the codec to loose parts which were not integral to the listening experience.

Mark joined Queen Mary University in 2001 as Professor of Signal Processing and in 2003 the Centre for Digital Music was formally established, with £5 million in grant funding. It now operates with a number of IT suites, a bespoke Studio for testing applications and has over 30 staff and research placements.

Mark explained what he felt would be the next big change. “By the late 90s or early 00s I believed we had done everything. I felt that if there was to be real change then the Internet was going to make the difference. I didn’t fully get what I meant, but searching for music and accessing the long tail (the independent and semi-pro music world), I realized that, that would make music different. By looking at the parameters based in the content of the music, this would allow consumers and creators alike to look at audio and music in a new light.”

One of the examples of how this might affect consumers is simple but powerful query. Imagine using a search engine and asking ‘I like REM, find me something that sounds like them, for under £5 and/or and are playing thirty miles of where I live, and send me the tickets’.

Now this would require human data entry such as bands informing the net where they were performing, and how much for. However, it would also require the type of software the Centre for Digital Music is developing. Software that can ‘listen’ to REM and determine what gives it ‘its’ sound. From there, the computer would search the Internet for similar sounding audio, link that to its creator (via the human inputted meta data) and then to where they might be performing.

Consumers could use the same software to highlight a chorus they like and then ask the software to find similar sounding choruses in other songs. As a consumer you can see how this can help grow one’s playlist, but as a producer I can also see where this technology can be used. For example, I might have a drum loop I like, but to be honest, I over use! I could ask the software to search an online or offline selection of loops for something similar in terms of rhythm, speed but with different sounds (electronic rather than live for example).

The nirvana that Mark is targeting via his centre is one where we get “technology to help us filter music to allow us to find human elements in music and not music based on technology.” Mark’s vision of what software can do for us, the producers and consumers, is very exciting.

Sitting down with his staff I was shown a range of working applications. For example, Andrew Nesbit demonstrated his application that can take a stereo file and then turn it into a number separate audio tracks, with each of the instruments/sounds isolated. It wasn’t 100% perfect but its 90% of the way there! Ideal for remixers everywhere, or mastering engineers who need to isolate a certain area of sound to remove unwanted frequencies.

Before

After

I was lucky enough to experience a plug in (already in a form for Audio Units and VST) which adds a delay in real time. It tracks the tempo as dictated by the performer rather than the sequencer. Perfect for a live setting, using software based plugins with tempo changes as directed by the performer. Its creator, Adam Stark, also told me about a colleague (Matthew Davies) who has worked on Rhythm Morphing Software which can take 2 completely different tracks, analyze them both and then make one match the other in terms of bar, tempo and time signature. It works amazingly well and only takes a couple of clicks on a mouse to work!

One member of staff, Rebecca Stewart, has software which allows you to listen to four (or more) tracks at a time by placing them in a 3D space. They all play at the same time but you can tilt a device such as an Iphone or Wii remote to move between them and isolate the sound whilst they all play. One application for this is simply to choose what track to play on your ipod without crudely flicking through them. Yet, it could also be used by DJs to beatmatch and mix between tracks.

The future of music and software is very exciting. If we really can start to teach a computer what makes up a piece of music (something we do without thinking when listening to it ourselves) and identify instruments, notes, ‘styles’ etc then the ability to take that information and use it to create new sounds, music or genres will be open to us in a way people have only dreamed of. We will also find that the gap between the consumer and the creator continues to blur as the process of listening to a piece of music and doing something with it to create anew starts to become one act.

Wen Xue – Research Assistant 4 years.

Sound and Music analyzer.

Xue’s software looks for pitched events in an audio file. He demonstrated this with a piece of classical piano music. He was able to isolate individual notes and then remove them (ideal for mastering – it leaves everything else in the same sample time intact). Apart from mastering he could see the software being used an information retrieval tool, as it allows the performance to be analyzed in great detail. He is currently working on the software’s ability to separate fine notes (notes where there is a semi tone or less in proximity).

The man himself

György Fazekas – 2 years PHD

Intelligent Audio Editing

György is developing an application that can be used by content creators to embed Metadata into an audio file or accompanying script. You can input simple data such as performers, producers, studio recorded in and more. This is key to protecting rights. However the software is also being developed to take a snapshot of a sequencer’s setup including, instruments, Devices and plug ins, and accompanying settings.

The idea is that it would be able to talk to many types of sequencer (or better, the script would become and industry standard adopted by all companies) and that when loaded into the song, the sequencer would recreate the session using comparable plug ins and settings (where available). Ideal for recreating mixes on different studios or for producers saying ‘I want that sound on a particular album’.

Lastly it has the ability to look at a song, and use colour coding to immediately indentify the sections, allowing for fast editing and comparisons between verses or choruses when editing audio.

By his workstation

Enrique Perez Gonzalez 3 years PHD – masters in music technology university of york

Automatic Mixing

Enrique wanted to develop an application that can help musicians who cannot mix. Its ideal for a live environment from bars to stadiums! So far he has developed a simple eight channel mixer with basic tools – panner, EQ and volume. The user tells the software what instruments are most important (by the order in which the tracks are loaded in) and after a small period it can adjust panning and volume after analyzing the music (we are talking seconds!).

Additionally he has developed other applications such as an automatic feedback destroyer but, one that is pre-emptive rather than reactive. Having seen the demo I’m pretty confident that this will be a life saver!

With his setup

Andrew Roberston

B-Keeper

This is a software program that will modify the tempo of a sequencer so as to stay in time with a drummer. That means if he speeds up or slows down, the sequencer will also change tempo with him.

Whether in the studio, or playing live a band, any pre-recorded virtual instruments would adapt to the human interpretation of tempo, rather than what currently happens which is that the human has to control their natural urges to get slower and faster by keeping with an artificial click track.

UK band Hook and the Twin (formerly two members of DB-signed Psychid) are currently working with Andrew at incorporating B-Keeper and Ableton live into their complex 2-man live set-up.

Check it out at: myspace.com/hookandthetwin

working away!