Tag Archives: Apple

Shorties

Sight & Sound

Leave a comment

While there is considerable attention being applied to the Apple Vision Pro headset—”Revolutionary dual-chip performance. Our most advanced Spatial Audio system ever. Responsive, precision eye tracking. More pixels than a 4K TV. . . “—what is arguably more interesting and less gizmo-like is something that Jony Ive—who led Apple design from 1997 to 2019 and as such is the man who probably had more influence on product design than anyone since Raymond Loewy—has been involved with through the company he established post-Apple: design consultancy LoveFrom, [yes, there is a comma as part of the name]. It would seem appropriate if the name was “LoveForm,” as that is clearly a focus of what Ive exhibited during his career.

As the firm’s website proclaims,

LoveFrom,
is a creative
collective.

We are
designers
architects
musicians
filmmakers
writers
engineers
and
artists.

[They could have probably used some commas there, but. . .]

You may
know us
by our
past work.

[Well, Ive’s, anyway]

We are
obsessed with
the traditions
of creating
and making.

Fanatically
devoted to
excellence.

Insatiably
curious.

We collaborate
with leaders
and founders.

We work on
projects for joy.

[Presumably Ive is at a stage in his career when projects that are not joyful are not going to be part of his portfolio.]

We develop
our own ideas.

[Something of a weak close, but there is it. Would “We develop and insist on our own ideas” turn off prospective clients?]

Continue reading Sight & Sound →

Shorties

COVID, Tech & Cars

Leave a comment

So Kiss cancels. Paul Stanley tests positive for COVID, then a few days later, Gene Simmons did, as well. Hard to rock and roll all nite when you have a severe respiratory illness.

BTS, quite possibly the biggest band in the world, has canceled the BTS Map of the Soul Tour, a world tour. Although the band is from the South, north of the 38th Parallel Kim Jung Un told the country’s Politburo last week that “tightening epidemic prevention is the task of paramount importance”—and it was announced that he was foregoing some vaccines being offered by the U.N.

Alan Parsons—admittedly, one of the musicians of days gone by that I had no idea still existed, which just goes to show that if you don’t think about things, for you, anyway, they don’t exist (no, not a gloss on Bishop Berkeley)—has canceled his U.S. tour.

Nine Inch Nails? Nope.

The Limited Last Minute Post Pandemic Popup Party Edition tour that Limp Bizkit was going to stage has been limited to nothing because we are no post-pandemic and consequently there is nothing much to party about.

A friend who drives from Detroit to New Orleans each year for the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival told me the other day that he was set to go south, the room was booked and the car was ready for the 1,000-mile trip, that it had been canceled because of COVID. But then there was Hurricane Ida, and were it not the virus it would have certainly been the massive weather event. (He is still going down in October: he feels that it is important to support the New Orleans community with his tourist dollars.)

And speaking of Hurricane Ida, Bonnaroo was canceled due to the rain.

Plague. Rain. Whence come the locusts?

Continue reading COVID, Tech & Cars →

Articles

Apple Music and the end of ownership

12 Comments

I’ve been using Apple Music for a couple weeks now, just like everybody else. And I’m starting to think this might be the thing that finally pushes me over the edge away from the purchasing/owning/collecting mentality that has been a part of my life and identity since I joined the Columbia House tape club and got thirteen 8-tracks for a dollar. In high school I would take my dishwasher paycheck and buy a new imported Smiths 12-inch every week. I’ve got boxes and shelves full of CDs. I like physical media.

But the truth is I listen to 90% of my music via iTunes on my computer in my office through decent Klipsch speakers. I have a real stereo and the remaining 10% of my at-home music listening is divided between vinyl and SACDs through a vintage Project One amp and Advent Prodigy Towers. I listen to CDs in my car.

With new music my process has been to buy the CD and rip it to MP3 or ALAC and then add the songs to my iTunes library. I then throw the CD in my car or in a box or on a shelf. Or I’ll buy the record and use the download card. I have an elaborate series of smart playlists that help me make sure I give all new music at least four spins before falling out of heavy rotation. Higher ranked songs get played more frequently. Everything with three stars gets played at least once every four years or so. I’m anal. And this system works for me.

I rarely buy downloads, and almost never from iTunes. I think downloads are grossly overpriced for what you get: lossy files with no liner notes. I’ll happily spend $20 on a record, but I won’t pay more than $2.99 for an album download. Especially when you can usually get the CD for $9.99. CDs are not very glamorous but they’re lossless and they’re permanent.

Continue reading Apple Music and the end of ownership →

Links

DJ Application Comes to iPad

Leave a comment

Get ready to mix and scratch with the best of ’em. Algoriddim, the makers of the popular djay application for Mac, has ported djay over to the iPad. The large touchscreen has had people itching for a fully functioning DJ app but according to Mac Rumors developers have been stymied by iOS3’s limited audio capabilities. The new iOS appears to be better suited for audio applications.

Mac Rumors report that specific features coming in djay for iPad include:

– Full access to iPod library

– Multi-tasking: you can run djay in Automix mode and listen to a continuous, seamless mix running in the background while you surf the web, play games, etc.

– AirPlay: you can wirelessly stream your mix to your Apple TV or AirPort Express station in real-time.

– Fully leverages accelerated CPU extensions (SSE-like) for high-quality audio processing and analysis

– Very low latency (< 3 msec) - Background audio playback (multi-tasking support) - Pre-Cueing (via mono/stereo adapter) Fresh!

Shorties

Apple Records Remasters (Badfinger, et al) Due October

Leave a comment

Apple RecordsApple Records and EMI will be releasing remastered versions of key albums from the Apple Records catalog, including Badfinger, James Taylor, and Billy Preston.

“Each of the 15 albums in this bumper batch of Apple Records releases has been digitally remastered at EMI’s Abbey Road Studios in London by the same dedicated team of engineers behind The Beatles’ recent remastered catalogue releases of 2009.”

Wait, they’re passing over 1971’s The Radha Krsna Temple (SAPCOR 18)? That wouldn’t have happened if George was alive.

Full press release below…

Continue reading Apple Records Remasters (Badfinger, et al) Due October →

Shorties

iTunes Beats All with 69% Digital Market Share

Leave a comment

Two things: One, Digital sales of music is up 15% over last year; Two, iTunes is killing everyone out there, including Walmart, Target, Best Buy and Amazon.

According to The NPD Group, “Apple iTunes leads in the U.S. with 25 percent of music units (digital or otherwise) sold, which is up from 21 percent in 2008 and 14 percent in 2007.” Walmart comes in second with 14%. CDs are still the dominate medium and account for 65% of all music sold in the first half of the year but digital is gaining fast.

It’s that gaining market that is so interesting and show just how dominate iTunes is in that arena. According to the report iTunes comprised a whopping 69% of the digital sales market, followed by AmazonMP3 with just 8%. Shazam!

Previously: iTunes is #1 (2008); iTunes is #2 (2008); iTunes is #3 (2007).

Via MacNewsDaily.

Links

Apple, Labels try to resuscitate the album

5 Comments

According to the Financial Times, Apple is working with EMI, Sony Music, Warner Music and Universal Music Group “to stimulate digital sales of albums by bundling a new interactive booklet, sleeve notes and other interactive features with music downloads…”

Consumers would be able to play songs directly from the interactive book without clicking back into Apple’s iTunes software, executives said.

“It’s not just a bunch of PDFs,” said one executive. “There’s real engagement with the ancillary stuff.”

Looking at a September launch date, apparently to coincide with a 10-inch tablet computer (essentially a big iTouch). This could be interesting. I’ve often complained that one of the things that’s kept me from giving up (most) physical media entirely is the lack of liner notes, information, etc.

Of course if they really want to stimulate album sales, releasing albums without filler would help, too. And maybe not focusing all the label’s resources on groups that are so blatantly all about the single… You know, like maybe try to promote “album artists” instead of pop stars who have the staying power of a fruit fly.

Links

iTunes Shocker: Raising Price Decreases Sales

8 Comments

Billboard takes a look at the iTunes sales charts and determines that “the increases have hurt the sales rankings of songs given the higher $1.29 price.” Once sales fall more than 23.3%, the label starts losing more money than they would’ve made had they left the price at 99 cents. The average $1.29 song dropped “about three positions” since the price increase. A drop from #3 to #6 equals a 30% drop in unit sales, which means the label is losing money on that. Billboard has a handy graph to explain this:

$0.99 to $1.29: Impact on Unit Sales, Revenue

Further down the chart, with lower unit sales differences between chart positions, it can work out better for the labels. A drop from #42 to #45 represents a difference in sales of “about 300 units per day,” but ends up earning almost $1,100 per day more for the label.

So who knows? I’m not an economist and I hate math, so if somebody can tell me whether or not this was a smart financial move by the labels, I’d appreciate it. Thanks.

Previously: iTunes: Why Pay More!

Links

iTunes: Why Pay More!

7 Comments

We first mentioned this back in January, but now the L.A. Times puts a date on it: Hottest tracks to cost $1.29 at iTunes starting April 7.

The world’s largest music store, Apple’s iTunes, plans to boost the price of many hit singles and selected classic tracks to $1.29 on April 7, breaking the psychological barrier of 99 cents in what could be the first big test of how much consumers are willing to pay to download individual songs.

Although the date for higher prices has not been publicly announced, Apple has been notifying record labels it will go into effect on that date, industry executives said.

So what do you think? You willing to spend thirty cents more for that new Flo Rida jam?

Links

Apple ditches DRM, adds tiered pricing

1 Comment

Apple, labels both win with DRM-free iTunes, tiered pricing:

Today, Apple promised that by the end of this quarter, all 10 million iTunes songs will be DRM-free, and released at the higher-quality 256 kbps iTunes Plus bitrate. This policy change applies across the board to all four major music labels (Universal Music Group, Sony BMG, Warner Music Group, and EMI) as well as thousands of independent labels.

In addition to that, Apple gave in and will finally allow labels to set the price of tracks to 69¢, 99¢, or $1.29 based on a “demand-based pricing system.” This is something the labels have been asking for since the beginning of iTunes.

Everyone’s a winner. Except, of course, for people who have MP3 players that cannot play AAC files…