Jody Whitesides

Author: Jody Whitesides

Do The Right Thing Apple Music!

Open Letter To Apple & Apple Music:

That’s right Apple Music, time to listen up from the trenches.
Think Different
&
Do the right thing.

Dear Apple & Apple Music,

I’ve been using your products for a long time. I’ve enjoyed every computer, iPhone, and iPad that I have had in my possession. I’ve defended your business on many an occasion whether it be on price or about your software. In doing so, I’m quite sure that I have helped your business grow to the behemoth that it is now – the richest corporation in the world.

I have purchased and I still purchase your products to create the music I put into the world. I respect your business and it should be compensated appropriately – even when you purchase a company I had an endorsement with (Emagic) and you in-turn disband their endorsements. I still buy those products I use to create the music you need for your service.

I was excited when I helped CD Baby create the path for artists to be a part of iTunes. Which I saw as a way to level the playing field between those signed on major labels and those who opted to avoid them.

However, the recent news of your Apple Music streaming service has me befuddled.

How can the richest corporation that once heralded the arts and their creators, especially music, now drive a stake through our hearts? Seriously. Apple & Apple Music, asking those of us without major label deals to forego royalties for 3 months is OUTRAGEOUS. Its reprehensible. To put it mildly its thievery. The humor is Taylor Swift, an artist who could actually weather this type of “lull” in her income, has also stood up in solidarity about this injustice.

Mind you Apple & Apple Music, I’m a massive proponent for streaming. Its where music is going, I fully understand it and welcome it with open arms. But what I do not understand, is how you can place such a burden on the very people that create the content you need to make your streaming business actually work. At least Spotify pays on their “freemium” model, and pays quite well.

Apple, Apple Music, or more directly Tim Cook/Eddie Cue, unless you’re going to start giving me computers, iPhones, iPads, and Apple Watches for free 3 month trials and subsequent lower payment rates – I see no plausible reason why I, or any of my colleagues, should give you the labors of hard work to promote your business for free. That’s bad business. Its bad enough that you won’t allow non-signed artists to get promotion on the iTunes store [nor likely in Apple Music either]. Its bad enough that you won’t allow us to sign our own small labels directly with you (forcing us to use 3rd parties to distribute our catalogs to you at additional cost to us and introducing more middle men into the system). Treating us like 3rd world citizens despite the fact that non-signed music represents more than ⅔ of your catalog over the major labels is, what I call, classism at the expense of art.

This is what I [and I’m sure many of my fellow musicians who do believe in streaming] would ask of you: Think Different and Do The Right Thing Apple Music.

What is “Do The Right Thing Apple Music” you might ask?

Simple: Pay us our paltry royalty for every stream regardless of the 3 month trials you’re offering. Hell, right now you’re getting a discounted royalty rate as it is; as has been set by Congress. Paying us (writers, publishers, producers, artists) out of the billions in your hoard of cash reserves should not be a problem for you. While at the same time it will prove to your customers that you have a service worth paying for because our musical art is there and properly compensated.

So I ask you to Think Different, Apple Music… and do the RIGHT thing.

2015-06-21
Moving Into The Lead

Moving Into The Lead

There’s a little event coming up called the Utah Music Awards. My single Touch has been entered into the process for Best Pop Song and for Best Music Video. There’s an ancillary award called the Audience Choice Award. Currently Touch, as I write this post, has been moving into the lead. But there’s a hot contender that is moving up fast.

Awards events can be a massive boost to the ego, or they can be a massive drain on the ego. I’ve won in the past for my song Falling In. That was a such a cool feeling. I’ve also been in the prelim rounds of the Grammys. I’d really like to make it out of the prelims and into the nominations round.

There’s an awful lot of work that goes into making people aware of the music being voted on. I’ve got a couple of friends that have won Grammys and its essentially becomes a full time job sending out the music, making friendships, calling in favors, and generally asking people to look out for your music – then vote on it. A lot of moving parts that have to coordinate.

Utah Music Awards Audience Choice Vote Here

Hit the link, throw a vote on it and help boost my ego a little bit. I’ll be a sour Jedi Knight, ala Anakin, if I lose to a cover song from a two year old movie.

2015-06-02
Developing A Midi Foot Controller

Developing A Midi Foot Controller

In an effort to create a better live performance experience, I’m developing a midi foot controller. One that is more simple and more advanced than any other I’ve researched on the market.

Why? Well, I caught a glimpse of Ed Sheeran playing live and found that his rig is a customized device that is fairly large. Initially I went looking for ones on the market that I could twist to my will. The common problem is they’re generally too simple or way too complex. None of them actually show you the computer’s screen that you’re connected to. Most are made of thin materials and plastic, meaning they’re not super durable.

I had an old midi controller for a traditional guitar rig that I have of normal hardware like an amp, power amp, effects racks, etc. I connected it up to the computer to see if it would communicate correctly with the software I’m going to be using in a laptop. What I discovered was disappointing. It could do a few things, but not everything, despite being a very advanced midi controller. Oh well.

Next Step:

A couple of months ago I started sketching (using Paper by FiftyThree) on my iPad for a pedal board that would do what I wanted it to do.

Then I picked up a 20″ x 30″ piece of foam board. I started poking holes and tracing things out to make a bit more sense. My next sketch became this:

I mentioned my endeavor to a buddy of mine at lunch and how I was looking to find a fabricator that could make the casing. That sent me on a long journey. I learned about metals and how they get cut and/or welded. The original company I went to sent me on an excursion. First I needed a version of my design in a file format I had never heard of, dxf. Then he could give me an estimate. I called my sister and asked if she had heard of that format because she’s an architect. Sure enough she had and asked me to send her my drawings. A week and a couple of lengthy screenshare sessions later – she sent a dxf of the design that was improved upon initial vision.

I went back to the builders to get an estimate. Then he sent me on another journey to ask about powder coating. I ended up talking to about 8 different manufacturers. None of whom could do the case from front to back. Everyone had one thing they did and charged a lot for. So I went back to the first company and said: Let’s go with it. They responded, sorry – our cutter won’t do aluminum because it screws up their machines. I wanted aluminum because it would be strong a light.

Another round of hunting and I found a company that could do it from start to finish. And to make things even cooler, the guy rendered my case into a 3rd model.

And gave me a much better quote than all the previous people, by a long shot. Then came more questions and in the process of talking about it, he had additional ideas to help improve the design of my foot controller from a builders/welders standpoint. To which my sister agreed. The next rendition was:

At this point I was ready to say – let’s do this.

Story of the foot controller will continue in the next block post.

2015-05-22

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