App Technology For Musicians

Okay, so it's 2013 and I have only recently dived head-first into the world of mobile apps. I did so for the same reason that I enlist myself on certain music sites.....a combination of fan reach and moving along with the times.

If, like myself, you are a musician or a recording artist or entertainer who has your own music or recordings in the apple iTunes store or available on-line then you should be thinking about having your own app or "application" as a useful tool to help promote your music. So what is an app you ask? It is simply a software programme that is designed to specifically operate on a particular device (e.g. smartphone, iPhone, template computer, iPod, iPad, etc). Each app is usually represented by an icon on the devices menu screen.

So how can an app help you find potential customers? Well currently there are 5.3 billion mobile subscribers in the world, in 2009 half a billion mobile subscribers accessed the internet worldwide. Android is expected to become the top operating system for new smartphones in 2011 and top the Apple iPhone. These stats can be seen at the "mobiThinking" website.

In February 2010 the 10 billionth song was downloaded from the iTunes store. So there is plenty of demand for those artists that make it into the iTunes store. An app can provide a vehicle to assist a musician gain exposure. While I am relatively new to the app building industry I can identify the big advantages for the musician in having their own app and the shortage of affordable app producers that can meet the rapidly expanding demand for good, basic affordable apps.

Advantages for a musician in having their own app: -

1. Presence in the market place where your customers go to find music, yet not many musicians so far have an app, (there are reports of 306K iPhone apps and between 150 - 250,000 Android apps),

2. Add credibility to your existing PR portfolio (blog, fan page, social network pages) as your fans want to be able to access your music, videos, etc, anywhere on their mobile phone that goes everywhere with them,

3. Increase sales of your music, promo products, etc, once you connect with more potential fans,

4. Build your fan base, have old fans reconnect with you as well as have new fans find you.

5. Update your fans of your new releases, new products, albums, singles, etc,

6. Have a free app so anyone can afford to have it to use and it can potentially have a viral spread amongst the music community.

7. Be one of the first musicians to have an app in the app market and take advantage of the leverage it can give you.

So as you can see from the above list of advantages there are some valid reasons why musicians and recording artists should have their own app promoting their music. After much research, I recommend utilising 'Apps To Order.' The cost of having an app is no longer an issue. Irrespective of the time taken or complexity of your desired app, the cost varies from $20.00 up to $60.00. Time is no issue. Getting your app exactly as you want it is the number 1 objective. They are well worth giving a look-in. I have heard nothing but compliments to 'Apps On Order' and to me for suggesting them.

Spy Gadgets Dilemmas. An Introduction

A Wi-Fi detector (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Every now and again I'll go off on a tangent with regards to researching or purely for my own entertainment. Earlier today I stumbled across a few sites and blogs dedicated to spy jammers. "Brilliant!" I yelled to myself. My minds eye had me as the new James Bond until reality kicked back in.

Quite a few folks would have imagined that the spy gadgets they see in film blockbusters and thrillers would become extraordinarily reasonable and available in the market that any person can order them from specialty gizmo shops or from online stores. These devices have exploded into popularity not only for law enforcement agents and private detectives but also for homeowners, business owners and any individuals needing security and surveillance tools.

The most common spy gadgets are disguised or concealed cameras and recording devices that are used to capture photographs, videos and sound during security monitoring and surveillance work. But that's not the sole use for spy gadgets. Devices such as signal jammers are also classified in the spy gizmo category though they have technical variations in function as you would find out in the following.

Jamming with Signal Jammers

Jamming devices are also regularly featured in spy and action pictures. Dependent on the scene, heroes or villains would simply flick a switch on a device or console to prevent their adversaries from making a call, activating another device or triggering a bomb. On other scenes, jammers are used to interrupt radio and other communication signals as well as rendering radar and other direction systems. People would be surprised to know that the spy gadgets they see in these flicks are available commercially at the moment.

Technically, jammers emit a specific 'noise' frequency that will meddle with a selected signal or frequency range. There are devices that will interrupt cellphone signals in the DMA, GSM, DCS and 3G bands inside a forty meter or more range without interrupting correct functioning of other electronic gadgets.

Other jammers are made for the 2.4 To 2.5 Ghz frequency range and would block all Wi-Fi signals with a good knock-out range of roughly ten meters. Others include devices that will scramble L1 and L2 GPS signals inside a 10 meter radius rendering all GPS trackers worthless.

Points to consider before buying Signal Jammers

These types are cool devices to have in your gadget armory but before hauling out to buy yourself a set, there are specific concerns you will need to make and understand before taking any action. Most importantly is that you need to appreciate and know the type that you'll use for a selected purpose. As discussed earlier, signal jammers are designed for a specific frequency range under consideration. So if your need is to dam Wi-Fi signals from your home or business multinational, then it might be dumb to get a GPS signal jammer and use it for this reason.

Before buying these types, you need to clearly understand that though these devices are generally legal to possess and use within your own homes and properties, use of signal jammers in public areas aren't lawful in most nations apart from the military, law enforcement agents and other Fed agencies. The US federal Communications Commission considers jamming frequencies by broadcasters for public use as public burglary. In other countries where there's a potential misuse by terrorists to interrupt military signals, the utilization of this type is precisely illegal. It is important therefore to understand the legal issues of their use before purchasing them.

Other items you need to consider before purchasing signal jammers is the power and working coverage area where the jamming frequencies are going to be used. Transportable and pocket-sized versions are enough to cover a room, but you'll need stronger devices if you need to cover a larger area or even an entire building.

Where and When Should You Use Signal Jammers

Signal Jammers can be used within your own houses, business corporations and other properties. The following describes certain locations and eventualities where it might be best to use signal jammers.

* Library libraries are places for study and research and not for talking with friends on your cell-phones. The noises generated by the ringtones, message tones as well as the chattering voices may cause interrupt folks present from their research. Stop these pesky folk from making disturbances by using them.

* Lecture Halls - A lecture hall is another place for learning and for the academe so it might be a giant bother and distraction for other scholars if folk keep texting, surfing and using their cell telephones while a lecture is continuing. Cut them off with it.

* Examination Halls - Technology has grown so classy that even cheaters find ingenious methods to cheat in examinations using their cell phones and other mobile devices. Prevent these cheaters from having their way by cutting off their mobile phone or Wi-Fi signals with jammers.

* Government Buildings - On certain public areas and Fed facilities, the utilising of mobiles and Internet access is prohibited due to certain security requirements. Make sure that this is followed by installing signal jammers in lobbies and other secured areas.

* Russia - The utilization of GPS signal jammers are welcomed in this country as most users prefer to use Russia's own version of the GPS.

* Offices - Research has shown that worker potency is seriously reduced due to their uncontrolled use of cellphones and other mobile devices. Hinder them from abusing their rights and focus on their work by jamming them.

* Automobile - If you suspect your auto has been bugged with a GPS tracker, or is probably going to be, a GPS jammer would be great to make certain that your movements aren't tracked.

* Wartime - Modern warfare uses the benefits of GPS, cellphone and Internet technologies. Militaries can gain an advantage over their enemies by employing numerous sorts of signal jammers.

Stop uncontrollable cellphone and net users by cutting off their source by employing signal jammers. Defend your privacy from bugs or GPS trackers by using the same. Nonetheless despite their coolness, users and potential buyers of them should first take one or two points to consider into account especially regarding the lawful use of these devices and enjoy full use of these wonderful contraptions.

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Instant Xmas Musical Message.

Image via Wikipedia

Back in my day, nine-year-olds were able to talk to their cousins merely by traipsing through a crossfire blizzard for half an hour to visit them at their house. This was in Scotland in the 1970s where telephones were as rare as the term 'suave' was common.

No sooner had I pressed 'publish' on my previous entry, which aired my perspective on gadgetry, when I was bombarded by technology at every turn, as if being laughed at, pointed at and kicked in the nether-regions by The Devils Hoof. Not being one to believe in coincidences I attempted and am still attempting to discover what all the fuss is about.....and why.

The first 'techno-oddity' that I encountered was that the date of publication of the first entry to this blog. It states December, 22nd. It was, infact, published very late on the 24th. Even allowing for global timelines there should be no such discrepancy. I haven't lost any sleep on that one. Two days later, as my kids were messing about with their Xmas presents, I was more than taken aback when I switched on the television to check on the cricket score. Typically, it was an ad break.

Down here in Australia we have become immune to  this, amongst other forms of advertising. What I couldn't swallow was the fact that every single advertisement was for toys! As if parents hadn't gone out of their way enough for their children and children weren't already enjoying the festivities, these bright, loud and slick advertisements bombard us in what can only be called 'inappropriate.' (Actually, I have a few other words to add but not here). The age-group targeted was to be from 6-10. No secret was made of this as each advertisement hurriedly mentioned it at the end. When it came to the fifth advertisement I gave up on the cricket score. Such a small luxury at a supposedly festive time was blasted from my mind. (Fortunately the game was a walkover and I was only seeking a score to satisfy some deep-seated tradition that I have developed since emigrating here in 1979).

Later on that day I was in for a real eye-opener.

My nine-year-old daughter was sitting next to me on the couch messing about with her mobile phone. The phone, which she acquired from her Mum, had the numbers of her Mum, myself and her nine-year-old cousin. There is enough credit on the phone to ring either her Mum or myself in an emergency or to text her cousin at 1c per text. My curiosity got the better of me and I asked her what the phone actually 'did.' As she flipped from one 'app' to the next I could myself increasing in age more rapidly than I was ten minutes earlier.

After the third or fourth app I started becoming light-headed as my interest wained until I saw something on the screen that I actually recognised. P.D.F! I'd seen that before.....but I wasn't 100% sure of what it was. This was enough to re-ignite my interest, however. Imagine my delight when my daughter reached the part of the phone where the ringtones were stored. I thought I'd died and gone to Vegas when I saw the first two were 'Smoke On The Water' and 'The Benny Hill Theme.' It got better. My daughter told me that these were two of her three favourite ringtones with the third being 'Advertising Space' by Robbie Williams. (I kid you not).

So there I was being over the moon that not only did my daughter have 'my' kind of music on her mobile phone but she did it without being brainwashed into it by ads or her parents. 'Smoke On The Water' is occasionally advertised on 'Best Of' albums, 'The Benny Hill Theme' doesn't need advertising, nor does the Robbie Williams track, both for totally different reasons.

So where does this leave the independent musician?

Fortunately, sites such as Nimbit, Audiolife, ReverbNation and MyMusicSite have made it possible for us to make our own ringtones available for download on a near-global scale. In internet terms it's still somewhat primitive, with editing

and costing being done by the site. Reading the blurb from each of the sites, they state that they are still attempting to improve the costing issue but due to the fact that it is dependent on a vast array of service providers globally, no adequate solution seems imminent....so we're told.

I find this unfortunate on every front that this is the case. First and foremost, service providers stand to be the first to gain from allowing independent musicians the flexibility to set their own price. As is the case with having a free account with Nimbit, as I do, a minimum price is set by the company. Surely with the potential supplementary cash flow that we're dealing with here, this could be achieved. Admittedly this wouldn't allow independent musicians the ability to offer free ringtones but it would be a vast improvement on the current situation where a 30-second ringtone costs can cost upwards of three times the entire track. This doesn't have to be the case.

There is one area of producing ringtones that baffles me. I have no idea why one is unable to create their own  30-second ringtone as opposed to either the first 30 seconds of a track or a randomly selected clip. I find editing song-clips as previews to my commercially available material on Nimbit not only immensely enjoyable, it has proven to me that it really does make a difference as to how it is received.

Although a baffling oversight on behalf of the major players who seem able to squeeze money from every quarter and at every turn, I suspect that this may well change.

In the meantime, I'll exercise my right to misplace my mobile phone for a few days only to have it turn-up floating in the bath or inside a CD cover.

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