Written on August 24, 2008 – 11:01 am
Ernst-Jan Pfauth, editor in chief
Sometimes I look back at the good ol’ days of Magix Music Maker 6. I used to spent hours in my bedroom, creating cheesy dance songs. The software so rich and incredibly complex, at least that’s what I thought back then. Little did I know that a decade later, tools like Magix Music Maker would’ve found their ways to the web. Some are even more sophisticated than the hobby-minded music tool. Remember the incredible audio tool from Hobnox? This morning I received a tip about another music editing tool called Koblo.
Technology caught up with a vision
The Aarhus, Denmark-based developers have enriched their desktop software (which dates from 1998) with an online community.t Founder Max Gronlund looks back the days of ‘98: “Big stars had teams of experts and sophisticated working groups to produce their music. I wondered how could technology be used to do that for all musicians. I wanted to create tools that connect people to music and musicians to each other. Technology has now caught up with that vision. With the advances in web applications and computing in the cloud, we can now collaborate globally in a way that really works. Enabling groups of people to work together in an efficient fashion.”"
What does Koblo add?
This is also the thought behind Berlin-based start-ups Hobnox and Soundcloud, although the latter doesn’t provides audiotools. The people behind these companies told me that both music start-ups are doing pretty good. Is Koblo too late? Or does this Danish service adds something Hobnox and Soundcloud don’t?
Apart from my Magix Music Mixer glory days, I don’t have any experience mixing and recording music. So I have to leave the mixing comparison between Hobnox and Koblo up to the experts. I can say that an advantage of Hobnox is that musicians can do everything online. Moreover, Hobnox is free. Koblo charges money for several plugins. On the other hand, their software is open source.
Sell those tracks
But there is definitely one thing which gives Koblo added value in the online music world (once again, maybe their editing tool does as well, but I can’t be the judge), musicians can sell their tracks on the marketplace. In the ideal situation, a vibrant community emerges which will share and comment on each other’s tracks. Just like on SoundCloud. But while at Soundcloud it all revolves around indirect advantages, Koblo wants to give it users the possibility to make some money out of it as well.
Where’s the soul?
I’m not sure whether this approach will work, since a large and active community is a necessary condition. If I were Koblo, I’d take another look at competitor SoundCloud, which seems like an expert in making feel their users welcome and part of something (both online as offline). Koblo will have to show some more soul, so that their website becomes a more welcome environment. It looks a bit cold now. If Koblo succeeds in this, it might grow out to be an enrichment of the online music world.
I hope you like that post!
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Written on August 23, 2008 – 4:52 pm
Ernst-Jan Pfauth, editor in chief
After spending only three days of my life in Germany’s capital, I’m already in love with this city. I’ve been exploring the streets, shops, museums, and restaurants, but most of all, I’m trying to get in touch with the locals here. Berlin is famous for its underground scene and there’s only one way to get there, via the people.
David Noël - marketing manager of Hobnox (review here) - organized a Music 2.0 dinner last night and guess what, your blogger was so fortunate to be invited. After some good chats - some of which lasted till 4am - with the guys from Hobnox, Soundcloud (review here), and The Hype Machine, I realized Berlin is one rocking start-up city. Here are four reasons why. “Only four?”, you might ask. Yeah, just four, because that’s all you need to realize this is the place where a digital nomad should stay for a while.
1. Cheap office space
For some reason, the rents in Berlin are ridiculously low (maybe because it’s so spacious?). I’ve met some guys who only paid 250 euros per month for a huge office space with a great view and all. Even in Mitte, hearth of the city, rents aren’t that high.
2. Find inspiration on the streets
Just like New York, this city really oozes energy. Mostly because of all the weird and funky people walking around. So whenever you have something that comes close to a temporary burn-out, just hit the streets and suck up the creativity. Read these tweets by Hype Machine founder Anthony Volodkin (who is here for a month) to see what I mean:
3. International allure
This probably not the first article you’ve read that describes how awesome Berlin is. The great reputation of the formerly divided city attracts thousands of creative people from all over the world. Fellas like Hype Machine guys just like to hang out here because the atmosphere is great. That gives the city - and thus your start-up - international allure. Moreover, it offers you plenty of opportunities to meet other Web-minded people who visit your city. Like the TechCrunch UK meet-up last May. No wonder the whole Web 2.0 Expo circus is gonna do its act here.
Party at SoundCloud’s Henrik Berggren’s
4. Vibrant web community
I’ve only been here for a few days, but already met a lot of interesting Internet entrepreneurs and bloggers. While we were having dinner, everyone called friends and business partners to come down to the restaurant as well. But the best thing was yet to come. Henrik Berggren from Soundcloud invited us to a smashing party at his home. Next to being an entrepreneur, this Swedish guy is also a DJ. He sure knows how to throw a party with a mini casino, bar, dance floor and a balcony filled with uber cool people.
That’s all there is to it. If you’re up for some creative and fun times, while working on your start-up, Berlin is the place to go to. Who can lend me a room for a month or three?
Written on June 23, 2008 – 10:31 am
Ernst-Jan Pfauth, editor in chief
When you’ve read the interview with Media Futurist Gerd Leonhard a couple of weeks ago, you know there’s a huge shift in music going on. The early adopters don’t download music anymore, but listen to it on the web. These Last.fm lunatics and MySpace maniacs all ask the same question: why would we wait for a download to finish? They want to listen right a way. In this changed music landscape, people also prefer a different, faster, and better way of sharing. Well guys, welcome SoundCloud.
Founders Eric Wahlforss and Alexander Ljung
This Swedish/ German start-up allows you to share your own music with friends, fans, and possible fans - your could - and has made quite an effort to make this process as easy and intelligent as possible. No more cluttered emai boxes with large files, but a clean and good-looking place where your tracks are gathered. When you’ve used the - very smooth - uploading tool, you can publicize the music by using the embeddable player (there’s a Facebook button as well). Then, the fun part starts, at least, I hope it’s fun for you.
Your cloud can start fine tuning your music, literary, as it’s possible to put comments on a music time line. No more endless conversations about where that strange little sound is, just put a dot there. I think music fanatics have enough material here to have fun for at least a week.
Is it all sunshine at SoundCloud? Well, for the user, the answer is almost yes. There’s one thing though, I wonder whether your music library will be open. Can you download your tracks when you’ve accidentally lost your collection?
Apart from that, the main challenge for founders Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss seems to be the business model. How will these guys make money? The service is in private beta, and so far, I can’t discover any features that would grant these two Sweeds and their team any money. Though they probably will receive some high bills for data usage. I’m sure the angel founding they received in 2007 and 2008 will help to get them started, but I wonder how long they can cope with the - unavoidable - popularity.
However, they’ve got their corporate image, user interface, and killer app all pretty lined out, so I think I just have to trust these guys business instinct. Will you? Give it a shot and grab one of the fifty invites.
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