Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

iTunes AAC Encoding/Submission Service

Audible Magic and "Digital Fingerprinting"

can anyone provide more details on the "fingerprinting" part of the deal?

apparently, Audible Magic will insert a fingerprint of each song in a database so they can identify the song when it is played or downloaded off a P2P network. but, how does this technology fit with the iTMS and what could the benefits be? it's clearly not required to get into the iTMS. could it be used to collect digital reproduction royalties from places other than iTMS?

this kind of deal could be the internet boom for music. start-up costs are low, anybody can go in and it'll be survival of the fittest. some bands could score big from this. not only in royalties, but record deals with major labels. that is, in fact, so probable that the Rain Dog contract says they will release the author from the contract should they get into a record deal that requires them to do so.

anyhow, this all looks like a sweet deal to a lot of great indie bands. i'm going to my favorite indie bands' web sites and emailing them a link to the oasis page. (it's pissing me off that i can't find their CDs anywhere)
 
Originally posted by Snowy_River
Of course, this could lead to the downfall of labels, in general, and that may be why Apple couldn't do it themselves.
Click to expand...

You ain't seen nothing yet!

Just wait until eMagic Logic has a menu item for "Upload Album to iTMS..."

Small fee, direct to Apple, online contract signing.

Apple could have deals with artists YEARS before the "labels" will ever hear of them!

Ever wonder why eMagic Logic isn't labeled as an Apple product yet? :)

No inside information claimed.
 
So what's the deal with rights for these guys? If you submit your CD to RainDog, do you basically sign on to their label or can you still go out and try to get signed to a more real label in the mean time.

And if you do get signed by a larger label, does RainDog own the rights to the songs you sent in? Just wondering and not wanting to read the legalese.
 
i work, to an extent, in the music industry and often find oasis compilations in my inbox. each band they press has an option to be on this compilation, i believe.

they are normally 2-disc sets and i've had countless editions sent to me. i can't say that any of them were particularly interesting though. oasis, to me, seems to be a good option for bands who lack the talent to get signed by an indie label or just aren't connected in the music world enough to be able to pull much off by themselves.

the thing with "indie" music is that the great majority of it is bad. don't take that the wrong way and think i'm not for indie music, my job is to get indie music out there, but i sit and sort through dozens of discs a day to find maybe one or two that are actually worth people's time. there is a lot of inexperience, immaturity and posing going on in some indie music. on the other hand some of it (a lesser proportion, though) is the best music out there, far superior to what you're already finding on the iTMS. if all of the sudden itunes is hit with a deluge of mediocre indie bands i don't see that as a good thing for itunes and i don't see it as a good thing for the indie bands that are amazing but haven't the name recognition they deserve.

then there is the talk of the downfall of the label or big labels pulling out because of this. first off oasis isn't going to make the big labels run away. they do not have good enough product to probably even be noticed by the big boys and they are in themselves a label (rain dog? or whatever dog it's called) then there is the fact about the really good "indie" bands already being on "indie" labels and waiting for them to negotiate with apple themselves.

as for the destruction of the label. that is a long ways off. i think it's possible that it will happen, but the label is important because it provides one thing that the artist doesn't always have. money. no matter how they can distribute their music, if a band can't tour then a band can't prosper. touring costs money (it makes a lot of money too, but you have to spend money to make money is what they say, i believe) so until a band doesn't need startup capital to record and tour and help with retail distribution (all things that a band would have trouble with on their own unless they have some good funding, which some do) the label isn't in any danger of extinction.

the only band i can think of right off that has done a good job for themselves independently of a label is troubled hubble out of chicago. (www.troubledhubble.com) i know there are more but that is the first that comes to mind. regardless, there aren't a ton of them that continue on without label support at some point.

sorry for the length, hope this was a little informative
 
Yes, I think we were all hoping for this.

But before we get all starry-eyed about the "downfall of labels" let's remember that it's very expensive to record music at the quality that is becoming expected. This will be a little less apparent with iTMS quality, but we've all heard radio releases from local bands, they usually stink, even if the band is good. And they stink well enough to easily notice at 128-bit AAC.

Labels give big advances to facilitate the high-quality recording and producing of records. I'm not saying they haven't taken advantage of this, but it does give signed bands a certain audio edge over the competition if they have no backing.

Bottom line: if a band doesn't have backing from somebody (that could be a studio) they will need their own money to make quality recordings.
 
Most Indie music bad

I know an indie band that is good. Great? He needs a little
work for that. Natchet Taylor, headed by Rich Smith. Album
is called Backlash America. I love the DIY version, but
it's a bit too raw for commercial consumption, they're
working on a better cut. Rich even works for Apple Computer
in Austin, so I hope his band gets on the ITMS. If anyone
is interested in checking out this band, I forgot the url
but I'm sure you can search google for Blacklash America
and Natchet Taylor. But then again, I'm in Austin, and we
do have a lot of good indie music, because there is a lot
of competition here.

Jaedreth
 
Originally posted by tmornini

Small fee, direct to Apple, online contract signing.
Click to expand...

It's my understanding that the labels specifically didn't want Apple to allow independant artist to sign up to upload their music to iTMS, and it was through their arm twisting that Apple placed the stipulation in their contract that an artist had to be represented by a label. So, at least for the time being, I don't think we'll see this...
 
Originally posted by Pappy Wappy
...
as for the destruction of the label. that is a long ways off. i think it's possible that it will happen, but the label is important because it provides one thing that the artist doesn't always have. money. no matter how they can distribute their music, if a band can't tour then a band can't prosper. touring costs money (it makes a lot of money too, but you have to spend money to make money is what they say, i believe) so until a band doesn't need startup capital to record and tour and help with retail distribution (all things that a band would have trouble with on their own unless they have some good funding, which some do) the label isn't in any danger of extinction.
Click to expand...

I agree. It is a long way off. I just think that this is the first step toward that. Or, to put it in a better way, I think that this is the first step toward the transformation of the 'label' system into something that will be much more music friendly, and less controlling.

Yes, there are issues of costs in producing a good record. I think getting studio backing could be a real possibility for indies to produce quality recordings. And what better incentive for a studio than to know that the artist's recordings are going to be available around the world through iTMS?

And, yes, there are questions of paying for a tour. But, if a band's music is selling well enough, and they want to go on tour, I'm sure that there would be a bank or lending house that would be willing to put up the money . . . given proof of album sales from iTMS, of course. Or, perhaps there will even be professional tour companies that will buy sales information from Apple and directly approach indie bands that are selling well.

Anyway, I think that this will lead to quite a change in the music industry. I have no delusions that it will happen over night. This will be a slow process, but I think that it could be a very, very good thing.
 
Originally posted by Snowy_River


Yes, there are issues of costs in producing a good record. I think getting studio backing could be a real possibility for indies to produce quality recordings. And what better incentive for a studio than to know that the artist's recordings are going to be available around the world through iTMS?

And, yes, there are questions of paying for a tour. But, if a band's music is selling well enough, and they want to go on tour, I'm sure that there would be a bank or lending house that would be willing to put up the money . . . given proof of album sales from iTMS, of course. Or, perhaps there will even be professional tour companies that will buy sales information from Apple and directly approach indie bands that are selling well.
Click to expand...

i don't think studio time/quality is an issue for indie artists. i'd say the ones who know what they are doing are already making better music and better sounding recordings than the majors. i know quite a few artists who are also recording technicians and either own a studio or do lots of work for other bands in studio like mixing or producing. if someone can't put together at least a decent sounding 4-track then odds are they have other things to work on before they get to recording.

as far as your comment about touring. the touring is what makes the cd sell. it's a rare case that cd sales enable touring. most often it is touring that enables cd sales. so that point doesn't quite hold the way you want it to but it isn't too far from the truth in what you're trying to say. right now a band can get a good start with a little helping hand and easily be on their way, independently booking their own gigs around the country, paying for pressing of their own cds and getting their music out to radio (noncommercial radio). the key is the jumpstart, being from a label or some mysteriously benevolent benefactor (it happens. . .)
 
Originally posted by Snowy_River
Well, I must say that this is what I had hoped would happen from the beginning. I was rather disappointed with Apple for having made it a stipulation that an artist had to be represented by a label /////
Click to expand...
I would guess they had to put it that way to get the majors in.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back