Startups and technology from the world of audio: Four curious news

# 1 Startup Clyp h4> Meet Clyp - an application that has positioned itself as Imgur for audio files.

Founded by two students of the University of Texas, Clyp blew people's minds, and since the launch in 2013 purchased 825,000 unique users.

Two founder William Tyler Ferguson (William Tyson Ferguson) and Patapoff Jordan (Jordan Patapoff) met in uShip Austin (uShip - online marketpleys engaged in cargo transportation).

Clyp - this is not the first attempt to create a business entrepreneurs. Patapoff started his business career working on a project called Unjailme - an application that allows friends to warn that someone was arrested, and his need to rescue from prison.

None of the founders did not expect to make money when they run Auditour - the first incarnation Clyp. At the moment, developers have seen how the web version of the service has reached 2 million page views, and users have downloaded in the Clyp 220000 «clips».

"We are working and trying to get uShip initial funding to deal with Clyp full time", - says Ferguson.

"We limit the size of the file users, not its duration, - continues Patapoff. - You can upload files up to 100 megabits. " If the MP3-file is compressed strongly enough, users can download the files for up to one and a half hours.

The most avid users of the service have come from the sphere of electronic music. Patapoff said that instead of downloading songs or entire sets on service SoundCloud, DJs upload their bits Clyp. Anyone can upload a Clyp, which became known as the site where you can share everything: music, lectures, sermons, poems, and even audio recordings.

Service is incredibly easy to use - just drag and drop the audio file into the frame, and it will load the site. Clyp sort audio files by popularity and date added, and also has a tab with recordings of famous performers.

Although the project is still in its early stages of development, it has managed to attract several well-known artists. You can not learn a riff, but this song played by Eric Clapton.

"We are working on the next generation of our native applications - says Patapoff. - We want to experiment ... for example, to connect the embedded content, and add the ability to upload a picture with audio ».

The boys also plan to introduce premium content and improve search capabilities, which so far is limited to the amount of the hashtag.

Clyp - is one of the нескольких start-ups, trying to regain the popularity of voice communication. Such as the messengers Cord , Voxer , or even giants like Apple introduce new voice services market. In addition, there Sobo, a portfolio company of Giant Pixel , which is Clyp, wants to create a social sound platform for sharing music.

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# 2 Draft Envelop h4> We're stuck in the era of stereo too long. The future ambiofoniey: the technique of creating a sound that can go from absolutely any direction three-dimensional space. That's just the fact that it is difficult to find a place where you can listen to similar music, and generate its musicians - even more difficult.

Therefore, a team of highly kraudfandingovuyu engineers launched the company on Kickstarter to create Envelop - open music ambiofonicheskoy platforms and systems for nightclubs, where the music was coming from 24 speakers and 4 subwoofers.



Envelop already created the hardware and software for the project, which could become a place of reproducing the sound of the highest quality in the world. Now they are trying to "raise" the amount of $ 27,000 to establish a sound system and begin to carry out the San Francisco music concerts and parties, as well as create ambiofonicheskie composition. Here промо-видео Envelop on Kickstarter.

Envelop The company presented its sound system the evening of 9 April party in a nightclub Public Works in San Francisco, accompanied by the presentation of performance Blackbird Blackbird . Those who contributed to the fundraising for the Kickstarter, can get an invitation to the private concert featuring the giants of electronic music: Tycho and Rob Garza - participants duo Thievery Corporation.

Virtual audiorealnost h5> The original version of the installation Envelop a room for 75 people, located in the new leisure complex The Midway near Dogpatch San Francisco. The complex opened in the summer of 2015, and there will be a dance floor for 3,000 people, a show kitchen with seating for culinary classes and Envelop, which will be a kind of "audioubezhischem" or relaxation room during major events.

With the software Envelop musicians can create a virtual audiorealnost. They will be able to transmit the feeling of a live concert, to write music that fully envelops the listener from all sides, or to create a hypnotic musical environment, confusing feelings and uplifting.



Co-founder Christopher Willits Envelop (Christopher Willits) told me that their public infrastructure actor can learn to use the software in just 15 minutes, even if he had never heard of such a technology. This means that if you are unable to experience the possibilities Envelop in San Francisco, you still win their sound innovation, adds a leading specialist in data processing and analysis Facebook Roddy Lindsay (Roddy Lindsay).

"If you - an artist and working in Ableton Live with multichannel tracks, you can select any track and put it in any point of space, adding the necessary effects - Lindsay told me. - The idea is that musicians began to create their own audio effects, adding them to a common bank, which over time will all grow and grow ».



"Democratize" the expensive sound industry, Envelop can stimulate not only art, but also to develop audionauku in general. The company's plans is the creation of sound effects with a full immersion for the study of brain function and health-care needs.

Scientific institutions such as Stanford Center for Computing Research in Music and Acoustics are almost monopoly in the market ambiofonicheskih rooms. If Envelop gather sufficient funds in Kickstarter, it will be able to "rescue" the audio technology from captivity to as many ears were able to enjoy it.

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More about a curious project changes our perception of sound, we wrote here .

# 3 "Touch" with sound h4> Ironically, the key to the sense of touch to virtual reality may be sound. The team working at the University of Bristol in the UK (according to New Scientist ) has developed an improved version of haptic technology, which uses high-frequency speakers to follow the effect of touching a physical object, without requiring the presence of real objects.



Researcher Ben Long (Ben Long) with his university team designed a system in which sound can create a feeling as if you touch a physical object. The speakers produce sound waves that affect the user's skin with enough force to cause a feeling of pressure.

To system work with virtual reality, the team used the controller gestures Leap Motion, released in 2013, the money for the establishment of which were collected during the startup kraudfandingovoy 2010 campaign. The controller may help determine the position of the user's hands with respect to a virtual object, for example, created by using a head-mounted display Oculus Rift, and provide adequate tactile response when interacting with it.

The object reproduced with this technology, there are problems similar to those that occur when printing digital images - for example, it seems that the virtual objects vibrate a little, so to achieve high detail is impossible. It is planned to use arrays of speakers, including small and independent sections, which, working in concert, should provide a higher resolution - like trying to fit as much as possible the number of pixels on a small area.

For total immersion in virtual reality will require any tactile interaction of such a plan - that's why we can say that the technology is impressive. The Oculus believe that controllers remain missing ingredient in virtual reality, and has recently suggested that the development of an acceptable input methods may be the last obstacle to its entry into a consumer market.

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About what is still interested in audio technology Oculus, can be read in this our material.

# 4 Contract SoundCloud h4> SoundCloud is desperate to become a legal and pays royalties to labels does not respond to stream music service. The contract with the independent music publishers, shows how much the move will cost the Berlin startup. Although getting a copy of the contract is not signed, the National Association of Music Publishers and SoundCloud last month [ the original article was published in June 2015. i>] сообщили, that the transaction is concluded.

Under the contract SoundCloud will pay 10, 5% of its revenue (including revenue from ads), or about 22% of the earnings of the licensed music - depending on how much money will be more. The document proposes a deal several independent labels and implies that such a deal could be struck with each of the three major labels: Warner Brothers, Sony and Universal. In accordance with MFN Compensation music publishers within the national associations can make the same amount, which SoundCloud pay any of the major labels, taking into account their relative market shares.



One of the first campaigns SoundCloud: a song from "Jaguar» i>

The contract also covers plans for the launch of the two possible types of premium subscriptions, which will dilute the number of free accounts with advertising blocks.

One type of subscription is codenamed "Additional services" and will allow users to pay for audio and design, free of advertising, and to download a limited amount of music - the possibilities are reminiscent option services such as Spotify. Labels can take $ 0, 18 per month per user, connect additional services if this would amount to more than the sum of income to pay music rights for this type of subscription.

However, access will remain open for a limited number of music. "The full subscription SoundCloud» offers paid access to much more music content. Labels can get $ 0, 80 per month per user, subscriptions if this amount is greater than the other compensation.

To seal the deal, SoundCloud pay in advance a group of independent music publishers $ 350,000 in compensation described above, and divide it according to the proportion of independent music of a particular artist, listen to the service. Under the contract, SoundCloud will continue to support free accounts with advertising and will not pay additional amounts for them, but to encourage users to purchase premium, will provide an opportunity to test it in a free trial period.

The first contract appeared in Digital Music News , but the source did not give virtually no context or analysis of the contents of 19-page contract. When I asked the representatives SoundCloud about the contract and negotiate with publishers, I replied: "No comment." Music startup late involving advertising on its platform 10 months ago. After attracting $ 123 million he showed disappointing $14, 1 million in revenue in 2013, after suffering $ 29, 2 million loss.

Labels began to look askance at the evil Broadcasting Service, which represented a wide range of author's music without paying compensation to artists properly. Last month, Sony recalled the music of one of its most popular artists from the site. Billboard He said that according to executive director, it was done because of "lack of monetization opportunities." SoundCloud began working with Zefr - service that can identify unauthorized downloads Music protected by copyright, which is planned to be used to properly pay royalties and detect fraud.

Unfortunately, путешествие a legal business could harm relations with students SoundCloud. I asked some вопросов Technical Director Eric SoundCloud Valforsu (Eric Wahlforss) on the situation in the TechCrunch Disrupt 2014 in London.

SoundCloud made himself "home" for illegal music. Many DJs placed on its website hours of remixes and records that contain copyrighted material. The sudden removal of such content disappointed some of the most loyal users of SoundCloud, including those DJs who have paid a subscription SoundCloud Pro for composers allowing them to place larger amounts of music online and serve a greater number of listeners.

Transactions with major and independent labels to help expand SoundClound catalog of songs without fear of removal of content. Last month, The Verge published the "fusion" contract between Sony and Spotify , concluded in 2011, which featured similar statements regarding royalties and MFN. This helped convince Spotify labels "legalize" the music from this service, making the company the leader of on-line broadcasting.



SoundCloud have much to do to succeed in this major stories of the Financing. The company needs to conclude the transaction and pay the labels that they do not withdraw the service from their music. We need to find the balance between monetizing remixes and DJ sets - content missing from Spotify and other competitors not to lose the music which is the core value of service. You also need to run ad-free subscription plan, so that you can earn more at the most loyal users.

There is a huge potential for user-generated content - it is «YouTube for audio." While Spotify and iTunes are working on strimingovogo center, which will be based pop music, the long tail of amateur audio, which "came» SoundCloud, «squeezed out" of the market. SoundCloud need to find a way to get listeners, composers, publishers, advertisers work together as part of their conception of development.

Source: geektimes.ru/company/audiomania/blog/252826/