Mobile Music Roundtable Podcast #3

MobileMusicPro

Premiering Today @ 9am PT / 12pm ET / 5pm UK.

Topics include:
-State of mobile music production
-App Pricing Models

Panelists include:
-Jordan Rudess
-Michael Tyson
-Tim Exile
-Patrick Baird
-Doug Woods

McD

Interesting conversation featuring:

Panelists:
-Jordan Rudess: https://jordanrudess.com
-Michael Tyson: https://atastypixel.com (Our Host and the developer of Loopy Pro)
-Tim Exile: https://endlesss.fm/
-Patrick Baird: https://thegaragebandguide.com/
-Doug Woods: = "cool beans"

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★ TIMESTAMPS ★

Intro (0:00)
Panelists (1:48)
State Of Mobile Music Production (4:01)
App Pricing Models (29:14)
Outro (1:04:00)

@Michael gets the mike at 21:13.

@Michael exposes a key driver in developer to abandon mature apps: "The one thing I would change (about Apple's IOS strategy) is the relentless update policy."

Apples forces "updates" on the community at large and it forces a sho like @Virsyn for example to test and re-mediate 20 apps at once. It's a model that's not sustainable for the developer and a company like @sonosaurus has to throw in the towel as revenues slow and it's hard to keep do those updates and adding features that might drive IAP revenue.

@Michael as we now know is moving to the purchase with paid update model that the major desktop apps have used since the 90's. It keeps developers focused on adding code
to drive another round of funding while trying to maintain "brand" loyalty with stable/well maintained apps.

Subscriptions on the desktop we're pioneered by Adobe... the "big dog" in the Apple Creative universe. Their swing over to subscription followed the "Software as a Service" model that made the CD Box obsolete.

The Endlesss lead is moving away from subscription (since we just ain't goin' there because there's no Adobe to drive a market of "pros" to that model). Endlesss will make everything free, add AUv3 support and seek to find revenue in some "online gaming" strategies and
a emerging internal marketplace.

You can treat these shows like podcasts and listen to the audio while doing something else.
There will be monthly releases.

I was surprised to learn that Mobile Music Pro has 100 tutorial videos on YouTube. For reasons I can't divine they don't show up in my IOS focus Youtube stream of recommended content. Now that I watched this episode end-to-end that will likely change.

Paulinko

A very good discussion on sustainable app development with lots of different models and specific applications for how to go about it. Further discussion on app development that doesn’t lead to sustainable apps as well.

I hope Endlesss has a landscape orientation at some point.

In the future, I hope the participants of these round tables refrain from commenting on controversial Audiobus threads because I think the threads are too complex to characterize in a few soundbites. If you don’t follow a thread closely, you can also miss out on some key points and only focus on the most dramatic posts which can give a distorted perspective of the overall discussion.

LinearLineman

Thx Vortex, good job. Kudos, too, for having the clout to get those guys together on your channel.
I would suggest you limit to three guests. It was a shame to have some heavyweights just sitting silent for most of the time. You rode the razor’s edge, successfully, I thought, with your own contributions to the conversation… but it was close 😉. Good work and happy holidays to you. 👍👍🙏

McD

@Paulinko said:
In the future, I hope the participants of these round tables refrain from commenting on controversial Audiobus threads.

All of the guests and the host are attempting to do IOS music in some capacity for their livelihood or at least as a business in Jordan's case.

The message I got when the forum was mentioned was one of fear, caution and the difficulty of pleasing everyone.

But you can hope they filter themselves on controversial threads... we rarely do.

I think it's interesting to learn more about their role in the marketplace and the challenges they deal with to "keep the doors open".

Any regularly scheduled "broadcast" tends to get better and better with practice. I suspect the faces on the screen also appreciate listening to the views of their peers and in some cases competitors.

I think a short "questions" from the audience would be a nice touch.

circledsquare

Very impressive, thanks Vortex! I think the Endlesss vision, to make money on music creation in the app as a partner with the musicians who are creating, could change the world, bravo for trying this! That was my biggest highlight, but all 6 panelists were super interesting. I learned a lot about things that a lot of people here care about. Highest recommendation.

sonosaurus

@McD said:

Apples forces "updates" on the community at large and it forces a sho like @Virsyn for example to test and re-mediate 20 apps at once. It's a model that's not sustainable for the developer and a company like @sonosaurus has to throw in the towel as revenues slow and it's hard to keep do those updates and adding features that might drive IAP revenue.

Gosh, did I throw in the towel and not realize it?

My priorities have shifted around but I'm staying afloat thanks to TonalEnergy Tuner, whose success is primarily driven from the music education market. So most of my available time is directed there to make sure they stay happy enough.

Hopefully in the coming year I'll be able to get some new things out for the AB forum crowd, though!

audiblevideo

@sonosaurus glad you’ve kept your towel

Always bring a towel
— hitchhikers guide to the galaxy

attakk

@Paulinko said:
In the future, I hope the participants of these round tables refrain from commenting on controversial Audiobus threads

Why?

I think it’s good that they commented on it - this forum is a public forum and as such they have as much right to state their opinions about the things & views expressed here as the people who post here.

I’m very, very uneasy with the idea that we would want them - or expect them - to “toe the Party line” : i.e. to self-censure because they have opinions about our posts here that we do not want to hear.

Paulinko

@attakk said:

@Paulinko said:
In the future, I hope the participants of these round tables refrain from commenting on controversial Audiobus threads

Why?

I think it’s good that they commented on it - this forum is a public forum and as such they have as much right to state their opinions about the things & views expressed here as the people who post here.

I’m very, very uneasy with the idea that we would want them - or expect them - to “toe the Party line” : i.e. to self-censure because they have opinions about our posts here that we do not want to hear.

I think the panelists didn’t discuss enough of a thread to give an equitable presentation. I think many of these people are too busy to really read the whole thread and therefore there will be some gaps in their knowledge of what’s happened. Given these realities and the limited time they have for questions, I don’t think it’s really a great idea to tackle it. They also have professional relationships which may result in conflicts of interest which bias their take on the topic. In short I think they should know more about the thread and cover it in depth rather than just do a superficial uninformed take upon it.

LinearLineman

I think the panelists ABF remarks are a bit tongue in cheek. Our oft caustic demeanor is not as serious as a bunch of one star reviews, after all. I think those guys appreciate (as I do) the expertise that can be found here… if some visit at all.