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Comments
@gjcyrus -- Thanks (I think!). Glad you like the low budget videos, although I prefer the term "rustic," because it sounds classier, and it's less obvious that I don't have any money set aside to do things right! ;-)
There's much less money in apps than most people might expect; one recent survey put the average revenue per app around $5k per year. Some apps obviously make piles of cash, but most make next to nothing. A lot of indie developers are trying to find a way to put food on the table -- it shouldn't be surprising that some of them push out apps before they're ready, and hype them up.
I'm fortunate to have a day job that I like. It pays well, and leaves me time to goof off with app development. If I had to worry about a rent payment, I probably wouldn't be so relaxed about sales. But if I do hit the big time, and make a fortune from Angry Synthesizers, you can bet that I'll get Angelina Jolie for the promo video!
The biggest offender here, in my opinion, is Apple. IAA is atrocious. They made a huge deal about it and then handed it to developers with little to no documentation. Of course the various guessed implementations are going to be buggy. I don't blame the devs for having buggy IAA implementations when it's anyone's guess what a "proper" implementation is or could be. Sorry, not trying to drag the original topic away from apps, but this is a legitimate gripe IMO. It feels like to me that it's at least a year away from any kind of predictability.
@secretbasedesign - haha, sorry if my post came out weird. Low budget to me isn't an insult. The content is the most valuable thing. Was just trying to illustrate a point that I could care less about some crappy graphics or editing but am more concerned about getting my questions answered, obtaining honest detailed info so that I can focus on what I need to do, make music. So if it just takes setting up a simple camera to record someone knowledgeable to provide this content, thats all i personally need. (Unfortunately soundtestroom can only do so many at a time) Not sure how others feel but thats how i see it. I've also always appreciated how you would actually say how certain other apps and/or technology fared against your app as these are questions your target market will have, so why not nip it in the bud and answer it for us, which you do. Just want to commend your approach and business strategy.
@gjcyrus, + 1.
Presentation is appealing but getting the info across is more important to me. Plus the feedback here according to the devs insight is icing on the cake.
Not saying that SBD's videos are subpar but Jolie does increase my watching aptitude :-) .
@Boone51 could not agree more when the very company that creates the platform release a bug infested operating system update. I'm not sure how the Devs are expected to release bug free apps. And for Apple to not release the iPad Air with more than 1GB of Ram when they cited Auria in the release of the 128GB model whilst they're pushing IAA is beyond me !
Maybe when Audiobus 2 comes along we can get more apps working together with better stability.......but then I know my focus may shift from the bugs to the Low Memory warnings and Apps randomly closing as they do on my iPad Air now when I have 4 or more apps open
The thing that makes it worse is I can't seem to push the CPU over 50% before I run into memory problems so its clear there is a memory/CPU imbalance in my case.
Hopefully they will release IOS 7.1 and with all it's Audio improvements and bug fixes all will be forgiven
@DaveMagoo said:
Sadly there is absolutely nothing that third party developers can do about this, other than reporting these bugs to Apple and hoping for the best.
Cream rises to the top. It always does. Version 1 software or hardware are never the real McCoy, although there are exceptions. The current Audiobus is at version 1.0.2.5. Patience my friends.
.**@SecretBaseDesign said:
The voice of a developer says it all really. Pragmatism.
We should not expect apps to be all singing and all dancing especially at version 1.0. It is a top competitive world out there and only the best survive or fight for survival. No app developer is going to tarnish their reputation and say that their app is only 50% complete. If they take a chance and put out a half finished job then they will have to take whatever consequences that follow.
Some apps come with all the bells and whistles but still don't quite hit the big time. People will always find negatives about even the most brilliant of apps. That's just the way it is. This iOS music platform is still in its infancy so let's support developers rather than try to chastise/boycott them. Some of these guys are a one-man team.
As creatives, we are not going to put out our most recent creative project and say it is only 30 or 40% completed? That would be suicidal. The half completed project could still become a hit though. I'd say, take a chance on iOS developers as these guys don't have the R&D budget of big companies like Yamaha, Korg or Apple.
I think it wasn't 5000 $US per year on average but 5000 bucks, period.
Just to put things in perspective.
@FrankieJay said:
Yes please, because we could use all the help we can get. At a developer conference I've had the most infuriating conversation with an employee of a huge computer and tablet manufacturer that rhymes with Snapple who tried to convince me that iPads simply aren't 'general purpose computers' because they don't have CD drives and USB ports. He wouldn't let my argument stand that the Apple II didn't have those either and was a pretty awesome general purpose computer.
The idea to use an iPad as a real platform to make music isn't just unknown to many users/musicians, it's not even clear to everybody within mentioned company. You guys need to show how you're using your iPads and iPhones to make music to your friends (and their children and parents).
Probably from the same department that went with the 1GB of Ram for the air
Nope, different department.
Oh dear it's endemic
@Sebastian what's their vision for the ipad as a music making platform then ? Or haven't they got that far yet ?
I don't know what Apple's vision is with regards to music and I don't think that one engineer's opinion is necessarily shared by everyone within the company that rhymes with Snapple.
I think it makes sense to just let people do more things with iPads than they do with Macs, simply because people are moving away from desktops and laptops wherever they can grab a tablet or cell phone instead.
At the same time there are efforts to make iDevices more secure which counteract this general drift to general purpose usage of them.
oooohh... I know who @Sebastian is really talking about...
@uglykidmoe
This "take a chance on iOS developers" point is the flip side of @gjcyrus 's original comment that the devs should show respect and honesty toward their customers. It's a two-way street. If the devs are more open, honest, respectful etc towards users, then users will also cut them more slack, be more tolerant of random glitches, growing pains etc. But if devs are going to claim non-existent features, take months to respond to support requests etc, their feet will be held to the fire.
Tim Webb characterizes the music app economy as hobbyists (music app users) funding hobbyists (music app developers). We're really this pretty tiny little community, a villlage really. Everyone knows everyone, everyone remembers everything, people may forgive but they don't forget bad behavior. Indie music app devs are not large corporations, and when they and their customers embrace that, it makes our village healthier.
@Rhism said:
With all due respect... I fully disagree that this is a hobbyist thing. I've founded two companies already just for the purpose of making music apps and I've created jobs with that. It's certainly no hobby for me. We're making serious tools for hobbyists AND professional musicians.
I think using the word hobby too freely actually doesn't help anyone. Hobbyist musicians don't need to really rely on their tools. Hobbyist developers don't need to make a living with what they do. It removes the pressure to do anything in a professional manner. Once more: I strongly disagree with that and so should anyone who wants iOS music to grow and thrive.
@Sebastian You're right - 'hobbyist' is perhaps the wrong word here. It implies a lower level of quality and lower expectations of professionalism, neither of which is appropriate here. I personally prefer 'artisan' (stole that from @Michael).
That said, we've already established that very few music app devs can live off their app revenue. So any given music app dev is either (1) part of the 1% of devs who have real revenues, (2) doing it on the side, or (3) rich enough to do whatever he/she wants without worrying about money. I believe most music app devs are in group #2. Which means they don't need to make a living with what they do. Which perhaps does reduce the pressure to be professional. That aspect doesn't change no matter what words we choose to use here.
Tools and toys again. Different devs, different attitudes to what they do. Some are consumate professionals, some are hobbyists, some are complete scoundrels. These categories do not map exactly to income, from apps or otherwise.
"Hobbyist musicians don't need to really rely on their tools. Hobbyist developers don't need to make a living with what they do. It removes the pressure to do anything in a professional manner"
^^^^^^^^^^^^
THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yes. But being a truism, it isn't about to change...
I think the "artisan" term is a great one. "Hobbyist" implies a lack of professionalism, and professional training. "Artisan" implies training, skill, and also "small and independent," in contrast to "large corporation." Most of the teams developing music apps don't look like the Apple team behind GarageBand. Instead, it's a couple of skilled people (or lone wolves) working in their proverbial garages.
There's nothing wrong with skilled people in their garages. Apple started that way. So did Hewlett-Packard and Microsoft. And Adobe. And Google, Yahoo, and Facebook. Nobody gets to start out their company at Google-scale; we all start small. At the small scale, there's more room for creativity and risk taking. Many of the companies that start in garages will fail -- but some will grow and prosper. Rovio has done this, and the prospects for a bigger Audiobus look good.
The Audiobus story really illustrates the strength of the artisan developer model. Michael and Sebastian were able to take their time to get the code right. Not many companies could take a year to work on a project, knowing all the while that Apple might never let them into the App Store (or might come out with a directly competing product minutes before the release). Both M&S had "side gigs" with their other apps, and who knows what else, that enabled the creation of something that I think we can all agree is pretty amazing.
I've worked professionally in software and hardware for about 25 years, and my day job is as a professor of computer science. I write code because I enjoy writing code, I love making and listening to music, so I fell into writing music apps in the evenings. I do this for fun, but the artisan label fits better than hobbyist (and I think this is true for most of the serious app developers I've talked with).
To stir things up.... I'm aiming my apps primarily towards hobbyist musicians (and it's worth noting that every pro musician started out as an amateur). I firmly believe that everyone should be allowed to enjoy making music, and from a business perspective, there's a million times more hobbyist musicians than there are professionals. Vangelis would have no use for my Bluetooth MIDI app, because his data needs are way beyond what the app can handle. As much as I respect Vangelis, I'm not making the app for him -- I'm making it for the people who just want to connect a pair of devices without the expense and headache of cables. Adrian Belew has no use for MIDImorphosis; he's better off with a Fishman TriplePlay. MIDImorphosis is for guitarists who can afford to spend $5 for some MIDI fun, but who don't have $400 burning a hole in their pockets.
While I'm aiming at the hobbyist market, quality still matters. Hobbyists are price conscious, but still want good stuff. The artisan developer is a great fit for this market -- we're small enough to be innovative and take risks, we don't have to make a fortune to support the development team, and we for the most part can produce stable, reliable products.
There are going to be more quirks and bugs with software from small development teams. Writing a good app is a lot harder than it might look, and there are times when Apple makes life very difficult. But all things considered, what we have on iOS is pretty astonishing. For less than the cost of a modern Les Paul, you can get the hardware AND software to make pretty much any music you can imagine. And unlike the Les Paul, you don't have to worry about breaking a string, or having a noisy pot. You'd think that for all the money that you spend on the Paul, they could keep the strings from breaking, and dust out of the potentiometers….
To touch on one of Sebastian's points -- iOS should not be considered only for hobbyist musicians. iOS music is in its early stages, but I firmly believe we'll see it become a standard element of pro recording studios and on stage. It took a while for the electric guitar to be accepted as a real instrument. There's no reason an iPad isn't "pro gear," and it's very likely the artisan developers who will make the software that changes any "hobbyist" perception.
There are plenty of developers who do not deserve the term artisan. Fortunately, there are a few who do...
These 2 certainly aren't hobbyists and they seem to like iPads in the professional environment
"The Scoundrels and the Artisans". Sounds like the title of a book. Or song. Or reality TV show.
A sequel to Swallows and Amazons, perhaps. The children grow up and start up rival iOS app development companies...
Great post Patrick.