In an official announcement yesterday, Microsoft confirmed that the rumoured Zune HD would be coming out this fall. The new multi-media device does away with the circle button for a full-on touchscreen. The device is also a hell of a lot thinner, and dare I say, actually sexy. Yes, I said a Microsoft device was sexy.
As rumored, the new Zune connects to XBOX Live Marketplace, and there are some hints that there may be apps and games on the way. But is Microsoft too late with the design overhaul? Even with HD radio, video, touchscreens, and unicorns, can the Zune stand up strong and tall against both the iPhone and iPod Touch?
We heard about the Pacemaker a long time ago, and it's finally here. The debut model, the Tonium P666 Pacemaker, has a 60gb hard drive, 2 stereo channels, headphone port, line out port, and can pretty much do anything you can do with a traditional setup. At least that's what they claim.
The design of the device is pretty slick, and they spent a long time fine-tuning the features, getting assistance from top-notch producers and DJs like Richie Hawtin, Sebastian Ingrosso, and others. The result is a one piece device that lets you do everything you can do with Ableton or the vinyl setup. I think it's interesting that a serious portable device is finally out, not something like an attachment to an iPod. However, as with most things in the DJ industry, adoption might be a bit slow. People are so set into using Serato, and Ableton, that the pros probably won't be running to this thing.
Engadget did an unboxing a few days ago, and it's obvious the company is all about design and presence, with cute little quotes and horoscopes related to music printed on the packaging. If you have $499 lying around, Amazon is selling the player exclusively here in the US. Check out the creative Pacemaker video on the little device above. The Pacemaker is a fantastic, fresh idea and it will be interesting to see how far it goes.
Mad Decent responds to Paul van Dyk and Deadmau5 iPhone apps with their Own
OH man, there is an all out market now on DJ apps from different labels and artists. Mad Decent released theirs back in January apparantly and it has the ability to trigger sound effects. It's pretty much just something to either annoy the hell out of people, or be really useful for sound drops during a DJ set. "Demo" by label-head Diplo himself on the video above.
Man, there are more and more interesting iPhone apps coming out. I think this is honestly the first time that professional DJs are doing some legit celebrity endorsements with some quality products. And now, every trance fan's god, Paul van Dyk, has his own app on the iPhone as well.
The app looks pretty useful from the demo PvD himself gives above. The thing has noise level meters (which may or may not work due to the crappy iPhone microphones), a BPM counter, a frequency analyzer that works through the mic (again dunno how that will work).
However the coolest feature has to be the Seismic Reader which lets you place the iPhone/iPod touch on your turntable and see the vibrations coming in so that you can set up Serato or Final Scratch up properly.
Oh and the thing has a virtual glowstick and a flashlight. Go figure.
We don't know when it's coming out or it's price, but I would guess it would be under $12.
iTunes to be 100% DRM-Free, introduces pricing structure
So the industry finally caved in to Apple, well, in a way. Today Apple announced that their iTunes music, app, and video store is going 100% DRM-Free on the music side by April this year.
What does that mean? Once you buy it you can share your songs on multiple computers with a higher-quality file.
They also introduced new pricing tiers: $0.99 cents, $0.69 cents, and $1.29. Depending on how the music labels offer music, Apple will price accordingly. It's being said that the "hottest" or top tracks will be sold at $1.29.
Interestingly enough, this is closing in on the prices lots of people already pay on sites such as DJ Download and Beatport, those being around $1.49 and $1.99.
Older songs will be cheaper however, and this could give some new revenue to upcoming artists.
Hey everybody, just giving you a heads up that from now on all future videos included on our podcast will be encoded in .MP4 format. This is to ensure full compatability with all portable devices including iTunes. I noticed that many of the .mov files I post sometimes don't function on iPods or iPhones so I wanted to make sure that from now on that problem is resolved.
Let me know if there's anything else I can add to the site or podcast to make it work better.
Download the Subdrive podcast Directly from your iPhone!
Apple has just released version 2.2 of the iPhone operating system. With it, the iTunes store on the phone now has the ability to subscribe and download podcasts anywhere. So what does that mean if you want to listen to Subdrive?
First make sure you have the 2.2 update. Plug in your phone to your computer as usual and upgrade. From there, just log onto iTunes on your iPhone and click on search, then type Subdrive. The podcast will come up and from there you can download individual mixes and songs or subscribe to get them all!
A quick note, files larger than 10MB will not download over the cellular network so you'll need WiFi for the SELEKTOR sets!
Click here to subscribe to the Subdrive podcast on iTunes!
Ok, so not really a fully-customizable Lemur pad, but at least a touch-screen MIDI controller on the cheap.
Silicon Studios has several iPhone apps that let you take control of your music via the phone's touch-interface. The greatest thing about it? It's wireless! Using a free native-OSX app communicating with your phone on the same wireless network, you can control any MIDI-supported audio application. Think of the possibilities with Ableton or VJ software.
I've been holding out for a while to do a "iPhone" version of Subdrive because I think it's a bit backwards to design a different site for every new device or resolution that comes out. Plus, you know, the iPhone is supposed to be the "real internet". However, I realized that browsing the site on EDGE or even 3G iPhones, or worse, if you're on a slow Opera Mobile phone, can be a horrible, sad, slow experience.
Hence why, as of today, if you point your mobile browser to m.subdrivemedia.com, you'll be able to read, download, and use the entire site in a friendly, mobile format. The iPhone version is quite slick, so if you have one, check it out.
Oh and the site will not automatically redirect to the mobile version. You have the option to use the mobile site or not. But hey, if you want auto-redirect or have some comments on this new stuff, please let us know in the comments box!
Subscribing to the podcast however is still a desktop-only deal as podcasts are not part of the iPhone/iPod Touch iTunes store.
Bye-Bye Muxtape - RIAA Confirms It's the reason Muxtape shut down
You may remember we posted about the digital mixtape website, Muxtape, a few months ago here on the site. Even then Muxtape had become an internet hit and until recently was extremely popular. I say recently because Muxtape is gone, beaten down dead by the behemoth that is the RIAA. Like OiNK last year, the use of Muxtape was in a legal gray area. Muxtape users could upload songs to the Muxtape server and then build a twelve song playlist to share with friends. Obviously, the songs were only available for streaming, but Muxtape was allegedly not paying licensing fees to the appropriate parties and thus with legal rights, the RIAA went ahead and attempted to have them comply by paying the fees. After several months of not removing the alleged illegal materials, Muxtape has been shut down.
Muxtape's situation isn't unique or remotely new. It's just a part of a string of sites being shut down or threatened by licensing fees which are supposed to help the industry pay its artists in the digital age, not hurt them. Artists want to be paid, but many don't want to join the larger labels who have and continue to alienate customers by extinguishing access to new avenues of accessing music that does not include payola tracks or music people don't want to hear.
In that sense, there's some fear online that Pandora may be the next to go down. Not because it's doing anything illegal, but because Pandora simply can't afford to pay copyright-holders royalties. It's estimated that 70% of their $25 million revenue is going straight towards paying licensing fees. And as the site gets more popular, especially as what has been seen with the new iPhone app, there will be more licenses to pay.
It really is a rough path right now with the future of innovative online radio and music in danger. In 2002, royalty charges were threatening companies like Live365; this is the second-wave and something has to be done before the big 5come after the blogs they already have. Kidz By Collete has apparently been shut down due to copyright infringement.
All in all, this is the reality: music is not a hobby. People that make music professionally should be paid for their art; the labels need to work together with the media to find a balance so new blood can come in and help the industry without being charged/sued to hell. Otherwise, we will be left with an even more stagnant, corrupt, and uncreative shell of something formerly known as the music industry.
What do you all think about the situation with online music? Are the labels right to charge such high fees or should each fee be up to the artist?
If you use Ableton Live or other DAW software you know how MIDI controllers are essential for manipulating those on-screen knobs and faders. Now wouldn't you know, a project called SenseSurface is aiming to completely change that with technology that lets you literally attach a knob onto your computer screen and control an app!
The devices use an X/Y matrix on the backside of a typical laptop display coupled with custom designed movement sensors. Supposedly it'll be out for under $100 and it won't mess up your laptop screen. It's also multi-touch so the amount of knobs your packing depends on the size of your laptop's screen. Imagine just showing up to a gig with a tablet PC and these knobs!
Radiohead isn't usually what we post here on the site, but I kept hearing about how their new House of Cards video was absolutely different than anything else out there in the way that it was filmed, and I wanted to share it.
Director James Frost didn't use cameras for the shoot, instead opting for 64 Lidar laser-enhanced 3D scanners to film Thom Yorke's performance. The set was riddled with engineers and tech support instead of an actual film crew, and the result is an eerie blend of art and technology that just feels right.
Because the video is all data-dependent and driven, they were also able to create an interactive viewer that lets you zoom around Thom Yorke's 3D "ghost" throughout the entire video. Zoom into the Yorke particles right here. Frost also mentioned that pretty soon folks will be able to download the data from the hosted Google code page and manipulate it to their heart's delight.
This is pretty freaking cool. It's basically a synthesizer/sampler table that generates sound through interaction with various types of cubes. Each cube has a different sample or synth, and you can manipulate the sounds by adding cubes that sidechain everything together. The farther you pull the cube away from the source cube, the more the sound is manipulated. Björk recently used one of these things at her recent Coachella performance. Check out the whole thing below:
and here's one of the stage performers at Björk's show using the reactable.
Started in 2005, Subdrive is one of the longest running podcasts and blogs about the best in underground electronic music and culture, showcasing new artists via DJ mixes and singles that are updated regularly as well as events, articles, music videos, and more.
All tracks and mixes are posted for promotional use only. If you want your track or mix removed, let us know.
