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'The iPhone Antenna Song' Writer Profiled

MacRumors

MacRumors

macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
63,547
30,864


Hours before Apple's iPhone 4 press conference, we pointed to a YouTube video of "The iPhone Antenna Song", a humorous two-minute song written by Jonathan Mann, who has been writing and performing a new song every day for the past year and a half.

Mann's effort received new prominence when Apple opened the press conference by playing the clip, with Steve Jobs noting, "We saw that on YouTube this morning and couldn't help but want to share it."

The Los Angeles Times profiles Mann, an "unabashed Apple fanboy" who uses his iPhone 4 for shooting and editing footage.
"The idea of Steve Jobs doing a little jig to my song, it doesn't get any more amazing than that for me," Mann said in an interview in his rumpled Berkeley apartment.
Click to expand...
Mann notes that he wrote the song to express frustration over his perception that the iPhone 4 antenna issue has been blown out of proportion, claiming as he did in the song that he has never dropped a call with the device. He reports that he was contacted by Apple early Friday asking permission to use the clip in its press conference.
"I knew the press conference was happening. I had my own opinions. The media was blowing this thing way out of proportion, so I wrote the song and sent it around to a few blogs," Mann said.

The marketing effort paid off. Apple contacted him early Friday morning to ask permission to play the song at the news conference.

"I created something at a moment that resonated with people in a way that was really positive and meaningful. That's what's so cool about it for me," he said.
Click to expand...
According to the report, Mann has received no compensation from Apple for the song's use in the press conference, although he apparently wouldn't say no to a free iPad if Apple were to offer him one.

Article Link: 'The iPhone Antenna Song' Writer Profiled
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2010/07/17/the-iphone-antenna-song-writer-profiled/
G

gnagy

macrumors regular
Sep 7, 2009
166
15
"According to the report, Mann has received no compensation from Apple for the song's use in the press conference, although he apparently wouldn't say no to a free iPad if Apple were to offer him one."


I would be disappointed if he couldn't purchase an iPad with the money he made today.

Help the guy out by purchasing his song:
http://jonathanmann.bandcamp.com/track/the-iphone-4-antenna-song
 
spillproof

spillproof

macrumors 68020
Jun 4, 2009
2,028
2
USA
Congrats to him. Not many little people get showcased by Apple. His video was funny and relatable and/or sarcastic to many (while others found it reeking with fanboyism and not the tiny bit funny :rolleyes:).
 
G

Gromit

macrumors newbie
Jul 19, 2004
26
0
TonyBlairland
They should have put it on iTunes

Congrats to him, it's a great funny song. It would have been good to get it into the iTunes store so people could have purchased it and he could have capitalized on the worldwide publicity.

I have bought the song. The long way with pay pal
 
G

G5isAlive

Contributor
Aug 28, 2003
2,599
4,494
3 fricking comments?

this is my beef with macrumors.. any little antenna rumor.... no matter how implausible.. or remote.. they spread across the front page like no body's business... (or theirs LOL)... making me think its not just consumer reports that likes the attention gotten by being negative... but now that we are sick of the ugliness promoted... we get the chance to laugh and what does macrumors do? bury this LOL

this song is fricking brilliant.

if you dont like it.. return it!

YES!
 
E

Eddyisgreat

macrumors 601
Oct 24, 2007
4,851
2
I bought and iPhone and it doesn't work. I want a Droid.
Click to expand...
♫If You Don't Want an iPhone 4! Don't Buy It!
If You Bought it and You Don't Like It! Bring it back!♫

The iPhone and it's antenna killed my first born.
Click to expand...
♫If You Don't Want an iPhone 4! Don't Buy It!
If You Bought it and You Don't Like It! Bring it back!♫

Apple's arrogance is ridiculous. I shouldn't have to use a bumper to use my phone.
Click to expand...
♫If You Don't Want an iPhone 4! Don't Buy It!
If You Bought it and You Don't Like It! Bring it back!♫

Steve Jobs knew all along what's going on. He's clearly trying to rip off customers and think no one cares.
Click to expand...
♫If You Don't Want an iPhone 4! Don't Buy It!
If You Bought it and You Don't Like It! Bring it back!♫

Apple should have known they can't get around Nokia's antenna engineering. I hate my iPhone 4.
Click to expand...
 
A

appleseed76

macrumors regular
Feb 6, 2010
127
0
My signature has been saying this for a long time. Although it's not quite as catchy as this song.
 
ob81

ob81

macrumors 65816
Jun 11, 2007
1,406
356
Virginia Beach
G5isAlive said:
this is my beef with macrumors.. any little antenna rumor.... no matter how implausible.. or remote.. they spread across the front page like no body's business... (or theirs LOL)... making me think its not just consumer reports that likes the attention gotten by being negative... but now that we are sick of the ugliness promoted... we get the chance to laugh and what does macrumors do? bury this LOL

this song is fricking brilliant.

if you dont like it.. return it!

YES!
Click to expand...

Well it is Saturday morning. People are off work spending time with thier families and doing activities.

Yay this guy made a song.

Posting from the gym. I lost and had to get off the court. Love the iPhone 4!
 
TripHop

TripHop

macrumors regular
Mar 18, 2009
202
1
Jonathan Why Don't You Podcast Your Songs?

Jonathan Why Don't You Podcast Your Songs? With all your video editing and website production talent I don't understand why you don't make your daily songs a podcast. I'm sure it would be very popular and help increase your notoriety, fame and higher profile in the infotainment world. :)
 
B

broncopde

macrumors 6502
May 12, 2007
262
1
Conway, AR
"Rumpled apartment"? Interesting way of words there.

It still kinda amazes me that Apple used this video to open the press conference. I still can't figure out what I think about that.
 
BlondeBuddhist

BlondeBuddhist

macrumors 6502a
Jun 7, 2010
560
0
Good tune. I'm happy for the guy. As someone said, Apple usually keeps the press conferences "business as usual", so for this little tidbit to open it up was nicely played.

I hope he makes a million dollars.

Blonde Buddhist
 
Rocketman

Rocketman

macrumors 603
Dec 2, 2001
6,191
1,186
Claremont, The intellectual capitol of the world.
BlondeBuddhist said:
Good tune. I'm happy for the guy. As someone said, Apple usually keeps the press conferences "business as usual", so for this little tidbit to open it up was nicely played.
Click to expand...

Apple played this conference a bit looser than usual with the profanity and Jesus reference. The thing I liked best about that was they backed up their "pointed" comments with HARD DATA.

I invite ACCURATE mild rudeness. In your face erroneous critics!

We rock and we know it. And can prove it.

I like that attitude from Apple, at least in response to a blown out of proportion controversy.

Rocketman

Sometimes extreme is what is called for.
 
BlondeBuddhist

BlondeBuddhist

macrumors 6502a
Jun 7, 2010
560
0
Rocketman said:
Apple played this conference a bit looser than usual with the profanity and Jesus reference. The thing I liked best about that was they backed up their "pointed" comments with HARD DATA.

I invite ACCURATE mild rudeness. In your face erroneous critics!

We rock and we know it. And can prove it.

I like that attitude from Apple, at least in response to a blown out of proportion controversy.

Rocketman

Sometimes extreme is what is called for.
Click to expand...
I'm with ya.

My favorite piece of data was the fact they quoted Consumer Reports saying that it's the best smartphone out right now.

Blonde Buddhist
 
J

jonathanmann

macrumors newbie
Jul 18, 2010
2
0
I have to say, as someone who has read MacRumors for YEARS, it's quite exciting to, along with everything else that's happened, see a post about me. Yay MacRumors!
 
S

starstreak

macrumors 6502
Dec 5, 2004
456
11
Funny song. Too bad I'm a minority in this. I would return it but like many, I was jaded with how great this new phone would be. It finally did everything I was used to doing on my windows mobile (yeah,yeah..) so I sold my old phone, switched carriers. I needed it on the go for a trip so I bought a bunch of apps and bigger costing ones like tomtom. Car charger, etc. Found out I kept getting people saying they had trouble hearing me. Read all the things about the attenna. And etc.
Long story short, Steve Job said I made the iphone4 better. It has an attenna issue.Not gonna really say its defective. Here's a bumper.

K. So I return the iphone4. Ops. Can't get my money back for everything else including another phone. $100's lost. Yay for switching to Apple. Oh and I bought my bumper. At least I can get my money back for that.
 
iphones4evry1

iphones4evry1

macrumors 65816
Nov 26, 2008
1,197
0
California, USA
Without the background info, I had thought I was 99% positive that this guy was secretly hired by Apple 'under the table' to make this video.

I guess I'll have to back away from that ... but we still don't know if Apple met him in a dark alley and handed him a briefcase though.
 
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