Want some furniture? Trade a talent…
Har Mar Superstar explains/pimps the Blu Dot Swap Meet. from Blu Dot on Vimeo.
Blu Dot, the now iconic Minneapolis-based modern furniture company (whose wares we’ve been purchasing for years to furnish our homes), has just announced an interesting idea.
Do you want a new piece of furniture? Trade ‘em for it.
Today, you can visit Blu-Dot’s site and participate in their “Swap Meet“. If there is a couch or end table you’ve been eyeing, place a bid between now and March 11th, 2011, that you think might be a fair trade for that particular item. Thus far, we’ve seen individuals offer BBQ dinners, original watercolors, and even graphic design services in exchange for furniture.
While NoWare Media has been secretly privy to this campaign for a few weeks (we supported Blu Dot with some audio assistance and music composition for the above promotional video), we think something really compelling is going on.
In some ways, this approach reminds us of Radiohead’s 2007 release strategy for “In Rainbows” wherein music fans were able to either download the record for free or “donate” whatever amount they thought was appropriate. Famously, the free downloads created quite a bit of publicity, while deluxe packaging options and a subsequent tour generated a sizable incomce.
Yet outside of the similar novelty between these two systems, Blu Dot’s approach offers real value-exchange between parties instead of a simple product discount. When you think about it, this is what human beings and communities have done for millennia.
Your friends help you move. Your neighbor assists with a yard project. The village raises your barn. In short, we’ve been trading for centuries. As life becomes inevitably more complex, shared expertise, skill, and production has been essential for the development of modern society.
In many ways, post-Great Recession, we’re encouraged to see this notion returning. Money hasn’t been necessarily flowing back into the coffers, and we think this just might be a viable option for many sectors of our lives as we collectively work to rebuild and re-invigorate our schools, communities, and country in light of pending “austerity cuts” which are looming around almost every corner.
We’re not sure what to trade yet for that new Bonnie Sofa, but we’re grateful someone has given us the opportunity to try.
Well done Blu Dot. A hearty thank you from all of us…
Thunderbolts Hoooooooo!
Its happening again. Apple has introduced a new port technology for computers. While we no longer miss our serial ports (that was a rough transition), we’re currently trying to make sense of what really really fast high-bandwidth connectivity might actually mean.
As it stands, the impact could be quite significant.
Venerable blogger Bob Lefsetz made us pause yesterday by asking the simple question, “how long will it take to now copy your neighbor’s entire music library?”
Wow. Hadn’t thought about that.
The NoWare’s iTunes library currently sits at 45.86 gigabytes. With the Thunderbolt’s 10mb/s transmission rate, you could transfer all of our Beatles, Stones, and Verve recordings in… oops, you’re done.
Matter of fact, a colleague just pointed out that you could theoretically copy the entire holdings of the Library of Congress in about 35 minutes.
Huh. Kinda minimizes the big red scare of peer-to-peer file sharing doesn’t it? How would the RIAA sue those folks?
Furthermore, if we take Moore’s Law and its storage equivalent out another three or four years, we’ll also be able to fit the entire holdings of the Library of Congress on something the size of an iPhone. And what if that 8th generation mobile device has a Thunderbolt. Or some other blazingly fast wireless connectivity? Every bus, classroom, and concert hall will become its own localized network…
To put it mildly, the purchase driven content industry is going to continue to face some incredible challenges in the coming years. Will this portend the death of art making? Of course not. Brilliant art is being made everyday by inspired individuals around the world. Instead, we’ll probably see an increase in the sharing and collaborative development of that material amongst our fellow creatives.
We don’t pretend to know the best way for future songwriters to monitize their art, but we still believe that today’s disruptive technology will ultimately prove to be a net positive for our society. Chances are, maybe, just maybe, the messages and ideas that our global populace chooses to share might just be those notions of peace, acceptance, and celebration that are shaking much our world right now.
Our first thoughts with ProTools HD Native…
Approximately one week ago, NoWare Media made a major purchase- we bought a ProTools HD Native System with an AVID HD 16 I/O converter. We’ve had quite a few queries as to how the new system is working, so we thought we’d share our initial impression.
First off, we are not new to the world of ProTools.
When all of the partners actually thought about it, collectively we have personally owned 11 ProTools systems of various sizes, shapes, capabilities, and price points. As such, in many ways we were even a bit resistant to the need for this latest purchase. “Oh this again? How much?”
Yet we realized, like all too many commercial facilities have in the past, that the upgrade was likely necessary to stay competitive and produce the caliber of work that we want to create.
When the boxes arrived and the time came to shut down the studio and install the new system, we were ready for the traditional all night siege of wiring and updating software. To our pleasant surprise, that wasn’t necessary.
Our new system was up and running within 25 minutes.
The upgrade to ProTools 9?
15 minutes.
The install of the HD Native card?
6 minutes (we couldn’t find a screwdriver).
Unplugging our old interfaces and moving a few DB25 cables?
3 minutes.
Restart.
And then we heard the system come to life with an openness in the high end that sounded natural and rich (a characteristic we love from great gear like the Bricasti M7), a wide and spacious stereo image, and a low end that felt tight and reassuring. After the first week of use, we believe that every session we called up sounded stronger, more defined, and had better balance across the listening field.
We think that this is digital audio redefined and a great new option for audio creatives looking for a powerful production tool. First, our installation was not only painless, but also almost instantaneous. We could’ve allotted a short break between projects instead of an evening. And, paired with even a moderately old Intel Mac, the system has been running flawlessly with processing power to spare and nary a crash in heavy mixing situations and video based post-production.
Days later we were tracking vocals with a singer (not stranger to recording studios himself) who said he was blown away by the sound and total lack of perceptible latency while performing. Later, he indicated that he felt more comfortable tracking with this system than just about any prior experience.
Bottom line, this upgrade has become what you always hope any capital expenditure will be- indispensable. We’re thrilled. Our work sounds better, our clients are more inspired, and we’re happier to come into the office.
Isn’t it always good when things are “win-win-win”?
Finally, a special thank you to Alex Oana and the Vintage King team for their retail and product support through this process. This is quite literally a game-changer for us. Thank you.
It was a night to stay in, but we’re glad we didn’t…
Snowmageddon II struck last night in Minneapolis. This is a picture of Washington Avenue, one of our largest east / west thourogh fares, at around 7pm a block from the studio.
Wow. Eerily quiet…
Over twelve inches of snow fell in just a few hours.
Why did we venture out? There was good reason, Aby Wolf and Her Claws were playing at the Cedar Cultural Center. Who are the Claws you ask? Its a new group whose conception was supported by the Cedar’s own 416 Commissions program in partnership with the Jerome Foundation to support artistic diversity and collaboration. Featuring Linnea Mohn (Rogue Valley, Coach Said Not To) on vocals, bass, and keys, Jesse Whitney (Danceband, Golden Apple Manufacturing) playing his homemade synthesizer rig and adding Ableton Live generated loops, and the talented Joey Van Phillips (Mystery Palace and just about every jazz combo in the city) supporting on vibes and drums, we were simply blown away.
Art and music are supposed to be fun, collaborative, and creative. This show was just that and we’re glad we didn’t miss it.
Adding to the magic of the evening was also Grant Cutler and the Gorgeous Lords featuring Joe Johnson on keys. Grant’s subtle yet stunning tremolo-dripping guitar tone opened the night along with a moving performance from Rosy Simas Danse.
we just bought a radiohead what?
The Inter-webs are abuzz as a new Radiohead record, The King of Limbs, is days away from release.
And we’ve ordered a copy. A $53 purchase for what is apparently a “newspaper album”.
Hmmmm… “newspaper album”… What exactly does that mean?
We have no idea.
And that’s kind of exciting.
Clearly, we are all entering a new era. As digital tools and efficiencies continue to chip away at traditional business models, creatives in a variety of fields are experimenting.
Trent Reznor explained that the sliding scale release strategy for Saul William’s latest album was just that, an experiment. Maybe it would be utilized again, maybe not. Similarly, Prince probably won’t release another album with a newspaper. Highlighting all of these issues, in an interview last fall, Colin Greenwood of Radiohead explained that the “In Rainbows” pay-what-you-want strategy in 2007 was more of an attempt to deal with specific concerns and systems of the day than a plan to create a solidified blueprint for the future of music distribution.
And, these experiments at redefining industries aren’t isolated to musicians. Rupert Murdoch is testing the boundaries of daily news with his new iPad app, The Daily. Even Hulu, the popular video streaming internet startup jointly owned by Fox, NBC, and Disney, just announced they might radically change their business plan.
Many of our old models for content production, distribution, and marketing aren’t effective any more. The answer? It might be try something new. Take a leap of faith. Experiment. And in the words of Adam Greenfield, “Be less wrong than yesterday”.
That’s pretty liberating.
It might not be easy, but everyday we’re encouraged a little bit more to at least try…
NoWare Media is now a ProTools HD Facility.
Our AVID HD I/O is now installed with an HD Native processing system.
Announced at last year’s AES Convention, the new AVID HD I/O apparently represents an entirely new redesign from their previous Digidesign 192 audio converters.
There has been alot of talk about these units. In shoot outs sponsored by both Sound on Sound and Gearsluts, these IOs were often favored over other boxes on the market.
Our opinion? In 24 hours of operation both tracking and mixing, we are absolutely blown away. Clear top end, solid bottom. We can truly hear what we’re recording and its kinda freaking us out.
Normally, we try to discount any suggestions that specific pieces of equipment are ever critical to a recording as great art can be made with just about any medium. That said, what we’re hearing and how it’s making us feel emotionally is pretty surprising.
We’ll share a more informed review in the coming days. Its time to get back to work.
The box says AVID.
This is very strange indeed.
We were expecting a Mr. Coffee today, but this is somewhat surprising. AVID is an audio and software company.
How peculiar…
Uh oh, the postman left a box at the door.
Its heavy.
It came from Vintage King.
Hmmmmmm…
its been a big day at noware…
Triangle.
Thats right, triangle.
We’ve been working on 3 different corporate projects this morning. While adding shakers and various percussion to one particular composition, we reached bar 58 and knew, “We need a triangle here”.
Those moments of musical inspiration can often be both fleeting and wonderous. Not wanting to lose the moment, we did what we had to do. We recorded some triangle.
Whew.
Is it the weekend yet? This type of magic can be exhausting…
Is Twitter worth it?
If you’re asking that question this morning, you’re probably among the legions responding to the news which recently surfaced that Twitter has been in talks with various potential suitors discussing partnerships, acquisitions, and other business dealings.
What’s fueling the barrage of stories about this particular development? The price that has been discussed among the parties involved: apparently somewhere between $8 and $10 billion.
Those are big numbers.
Correspondingly, there seems to be no end in the debate about whether such a valuation is fair, exaggerated, or the indication of a new Internet bubble. All forms of talking heads are discussing earnings, EBITA, advertising, and “financial multiples”.
While these issues might all have some validity and bearing on the potential stock price of Twitter, we think that the current analysis misses a crucial point. Twitter has an enormous human capitalization that isn’t being considered yet.
Twitter is one of the most amazing aggregators of human experience (lo expertise) human kind has ever known.
While most view Twitter as distribution tool, that misses the point of Twitter’s tremendous potential to share, publish, and collect global knowledge and awareness. As such, the benefit to individuals, higher education, industry, local communities, and even foreign aid is probably immeasurable.
Without hyperbole, Twitter teaches us something new almost every hour and we consider it a cornerstone of our business. Furthermore, its use is required for all of our students in the media business and collegiate economics classes we teach outside of our studio obligations.
Like the rest of the socially connected tools available on the Internet, resources still in their infancy, we see Twitter as truly transformative. It is a harbinger of a world wherein the news and valuable information can come to you, instantaneously, allowing an unprecedented level of engagement and individual participation. The resulting revolutions in the areas of art, science, education, and politics are already around us.
If you’re still confused, please send us your mailing address, and we’ll loan you Nick Bilton’s recent book, “I Live in the Future, Here’s How It Works“. It is quite a read.
Is $10 billion a fair price? Maybe. This morning. But tomorrow? It should be unimaginable.
Good luck people of Twitter. And thank you, the world needs something like this…
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