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Sun Microsystems & Magnatune Partner to Search Inside the Music
Guest Blogger: Teresa Malango, Magnatune (teresa@magnatune.com)
Last year Paul Lamere a Principal Investigator at Sun Microsystems Research and Development, contacted us about using Magnatune music and artwork for a special music search project they were working on. It was all very much on the QT at the time, but in June "Search Inside the Music" was unveiled.
I was invited to Sun’s recent open house and saw the Search
Inside the Music demo first-hand. It’s
an amazing search engine filled with exciting tools that are quite robust and
useful. The user interface is uniquely dimensional
and dynamic, with playlist scatterplots and flying cover art. On the practical side users easily discover, sort,
and program the music.
Paul and his team completely succeeded in putting the fun into working with a large music collection. Its like playing a video game and organizing all your albums at the same time. They are really onto something!
More about Sun Microsystems Search Inside the Music project
http://research.sun.com/projects/dashboard.php?id=153
artwork from Pizzle http://www.magnatune.com/artists/pizzle
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eHome Upgrade Interviews John Buckman
John was interviewed this week by Alexander Grundner, Editor
and Publisher of online news resource and community forum eHome Upgrade. The publication is an excellent site for industry
buzz about the latest technology developments and products.
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Posted by Teresa Malango 7/19/2006
Posted by John Buckman on July 19, 2006 at 11:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Music Licensing (…and more) at Magnatune
Guest Blogger: Teresa Malango
Teresa handles all the commercial and non-commercial licensing at Magnatune, as well as speaking at various trade shows and conferences. I've ask her to write up her activities, which I'll be posting here on this blog. She can be emailed at https://magnatune.com/info/email_us?to=teresa
-john
If you have licensed Magnatune music for your film, podcast, or classroom it’s likely you’ve talked or emailed with me! A remarkable variety of people license Magnatune music -- filmmakers, web developers, teachers, photographers, podcasters, and business entrepreneurs -- to name only a few. I love this part of my work with Magnatune and the creativity & ingenuity of the projects never fails to impress. Here is what I mean-- a few highlights:
Canadian Documentary Richard Austin and Judy Redpath of Blackburn Road Films http://www.blackburnroad.com/ recently contacted us about using music from Magnatune artists Shira Kammen http://www.magnatune.com/artists/shira_kammen, Heavy Mellow http://www.magnatune.com/artists/heavy_mellow and Susan Teng http://www.magnatune.com/artists/teng for their documentary "Heather Crowe Legacy: An Ordinary Canadian's Extraordinary Gift."
This compelling film is about Heather Crowe, a Canadian waitress for over 40 years in smoke-filled restaurants and a lifelong non-smoker diagnosed with terminal lung cancer.
The documentary will premiere at the World Conference on Tobacco or Health in Washington, DC in mid-July.
Richard gave us a great endorsement "We selected Magnatune music because of the excellent variety and it beautifully compliments the storytelling and visual imagery of our film." We are thrilled to work with this kind of project and think it’s a great fit.
More about the documentary and Heather Crowe Campaign can be found at
http://www.smoke-free.ca/heathercrowe.
Podcasters Need Music!Late last year John started offering access to the Magnatune catalog at no charge for non-commercial podcasting and video blogging. The response was tremendous with over 500 podcasters & vbloggers using Magnatune music and more signing up everyday.
The podcasting phenomenon has really exploded over the last year. If the requests we get are any indication, there is a strong grassroots component. Podcasters from all walks- teachers, doctors, hobbyists, music lovers, and more—are creating their own shows and need good music. We are here to help!
Check out these podcasters who are up & running using Magnatune music:
http://www.indielaunchpad.com
http://podbop.org (Podbop matches events with mp3s so you can listen to bands and go see a concert in your town- very cool service!)
http://www.lendingavoice.com
http://www.roadhousepodcast.com
http://www.thefutureandyou.com
http://www.gavezdois.com
Of special note, our friends at Red Hat Magazine are planning to launch a new podcast called "Red Hat Latin America" featuring Magnatune artists Anamar, Mutandina and Antonio Menses.
Worthy Causes
To support non-commercial licensing Magnatune provides a complimentary album to schools and certain non-profit enterprises.
A wonderful example, the Global Nomads Group http://www.gng.org/ has used selections from the "World Compilation" http://magnatune.com/artists/albums/magnacomp-world/ album in their "webumentaries."
Watch their amazing mini-doc about rats used to sniff out landmines in Mozambique, Africa at
http://www.gng.org/ml/openmovie.php?movieid=49
In addition performing a remarkable service, the critters are actually cute!
Early Music America Conference
I recently represented Magnatune on a panel at the bi-annual Early Music Entrepreneur Conference and Exhibition presented by Early Music America. http://www.earlymusic.org/content/programs/nationalconference.htm
Held in Berkeley, the conference attracts classical musicians, organizations, & supporters from all over the world, who come to network, share information, and exhibit exquisitely-made instruments.
Kevin Arnold, CEO of IODA http://www.ioda.com/ was also on the panel and Ben Dunham, Editor of Early Music America Magazine moderated.
After the presentation, I talked with a number of musicians who are truly passionate about the music and concerned for its (and their own) survival in the digital age. I was quite impressed by the level of commitment and it was clear that Magnatune has a significant role to play in reaching audiences.
In a special appearance, Magnatune band, Asteria performance during the conference. Surprise guest Shira Kammen came up the stage to help with a lively encore. The audience was mesmerized by Asteria’s exquisite vocals & lute. It was a delight.
More information on music licensing with Magnatune can be found at http://magnatune.com/info/licensing
Magnatune’s podcast info page is at http://magnatune.com/info/podcast
Written by Teresa Malango 7/10/2006
Posted by John Buckman on July 11, 2006 at 09:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
