David Emery OnlineI think iTunes is done.
I hated the media-creep of iTunes from the start. A dedicated ‘QuickTime Video Library’ would’ve been my preferred solution for Movies and TV shows, a rebuild of iSync to handle MobileMe and iPhone synchronization settings, and a standalone iTunes Store app (or, frankly, web site) for media purchases.
I have a real love/hate relationship with iTunes; I love the fact it has all my music in, and the power of smart playlists and the useful features it’s accumulated over the years, but simultaneously rue the fact it’s undoubtably the worst designed application Apple have.
I think it’s quite interesting that on iOS the functions iTunes does on the Mac are split out into 3 different apps (or 4 on the iPod/iPad with the Movies app) – “iPod” for media playback and organisation, “iTunes” for purchasing media and “App Store” for apps. I’d quite like to see something similar on the desktop, with the Finder handling syncing devices (don’t really need a separate app for that I don’t think).
Visit ➔Swan Song
A couple of weeks back – it’s been a little too busy recently to keep up with blogging, as you may have noticed – at work we launched a new site for Vampire Weekend:
I’m happy with the way it’s turned out, which is fortunate as it’s liable to be the last artist site I do for a good while. Such is the way these things go I’m now no longer in the position where I do any actual design or development anymore. Not to say I’m not involved with all that – I certainly am – but the pixels are no longer pushed by my own hand. I’m sure I’ll keep on doing the odd job on the side (I’m not just going to stop designing, perish the thought) but certainly I’ll be doing it a lot less. Hopefully that doesn’t mean I’ll start redesigning this place even more though…
With vampireweekend.com being my swan song then, I thought I should try and make it a good one.
My favourite element is the homepage with it’s fullscreen scroll-y carousel, and particularly the ‘Contra’ page within it, which you can drag around like a google map to reveal the lyrics to all...
Read more ➔Robyn launches 3D, interactive video
Swedish pop star Robyn has launched a 3D video, complete with Twitter integration, for her delightfully titled new track, Don't Fucking Tell Me What To Do...
Pretty nifty, although it’s not the most amazing bit of computer animation I’ve ever seen.
It is though a good signifier of how the music video really has transitioned to being based primarily on the internet, and how it’s changing because of it.
Visit ➔No cloud-based iTunes in Apple’s WWDC keynote
As you’ll know if you read our earlier liveblog, the rumours that Apple would have an iTunes announcement during CEO Steve Jobs’ keynote at its WWDC show today were inaccurate. No cloudstreaming iTunes, and no web-based iTunes.com store. Sorry folks.
I would have been very surprised if Apple had announced a cloud-based iTunes service yesterday - it was always going to be about the new iPhone, and it's worth remembering that this is a developer conference; new features for iTunes aren't very interesting to developers.
My bet is that we'll see iTunes 10, complete with some form of MobileMe-based over-the-air library functionality, in the traditional music/media focused September event they normally do. Same goes for a new version of the Apple TV, which will tie in to all that cloud malarky.
And the new iPhone? My only question is whether to get it in white or black…*
* Although it will be my second new Apple gadget in the space of a month, which makes me feel like a consumer whore. A happy consumer whore, though, with lots of nice shiny things.
Kazaa, Skype Founders Launch Twitter-Like Music Service Rdio
Janus Friis with Niklas Zennström, who disrupted music distribution with the Kazaa file sharing service and phone companies with Skype, unveiled their Twitter-like version of a digital music service at the crack of midnight Thursday morning.
Rdio offers instant access to more than 5 million tracks from all the major labels and several indies to listeners in the United States and Canada through a web browser, downloadable software or mobile app. It’s available for free for three days and then for fees of $5 (web only) or $10 (web plus mobile).
Looks like a great service, but I can’t help but think that the pricing model doesn’t quite work; the lack of a free, ad-supported version (even if it’s limited to x amount of hours per month) is going to hamper adoption.
It’s why Spotify is doing so well, obviously; their subscriber levels are doing nicely, no doubt in part due to their mobile app, but I don’t think they’d get many people starting off on the paid plan without growing to love it via the free version first.
I also imagine it’s exactly the existence of the free plan – the one that makes it all work – that’s stalling Spotify’s launch in the US.
Visit ➔Six Degrees of Black Sabbath
Find the path that connects two artists
I think it’s impossible to go to this site and not get sucked in for at least 10 minutes.
Visit ➔Indie music mogul: The net's great for us
You read the industry is 60 per cent of the size it was ten years ago. But that 40 per cent that has gone is almost entirely the cream at the top. Records that sold two million now sell 500,000 - that's where that's gone. At the same time it's easier to sell those slightly smaller levels. [...] 99 per cent of what you hear about artists who can survive on their own playing live is crap. It's recorded music that drives success in other areas. Something like Enter Shikari was clearly a contrary example, and Mumford and Sons are something of an exception too - they built a large live following before putting out records - but there are very few exceptions.
A great read, and dead on the money (of course I would say that, as Martin’s my boss).
Visit ➔Pitchfork.tv: The National - Terrible Love
The Brooklyn rockers bring their big sound to an abandoned castle overlooking New York's Hudson river.
This track is just astonishingly good live:
Visit ➔Spotify Goes Social
In its newest app update, and the biggest since launch in 2008, Spotify users will now be able to connect to their Facebook page and import friends from their profile who are also registered Spotify users. Connected friends will become visible in the Spotify browser, and this opens up a whole new landscape of interaction and activity which can now be published simultaneously to users’ Facebook profiles and within the Spotify browser in the new feed section.
The social features in the new version of Spotify are pretty nifty – I already know plenty of people that share playlists so this is a perfect enhancement to current user behaviour.
What’s far more interesting – at least from my point of view – in this update though is the ability for Spotify to play, store and manage local files. At the moment I pretty much don’t use Spotify because the large proportion of music I listen to isn’t on there (music from blogs, pre-release albums etc), so this new feature makes it a lot more attractive.
If I didn’t have to pay £10/month for the iPhone app I’d ditch iTunes…
Visit ➔M.I.A. - Born Free
Director : Romain Gavras
This is one of the best videos I’ve ever had the fortune of working with (although please note, it’s very NSFW and not for the faint hearted):
This is what happens when you make videos for the internet, not for the TV – it doesn’t need to be lo-fi, cheap and easy. If anything, it can be better.
Visit ➔