blog.maestro.fm

Music recommendations. They’re all the rage. They are the future of how we discover new music and expand our musical horizons. In fact, last year alone, 46% of music consumers cited free online streaming sites as their sources to learn about new music. But it should be noted, there is a significant difference between the two main types of recommendations that are being featured on social music portals now.  As the two sides part, companies can choose to go one way or another: human vs. technology-based music recommendations.

At Maestro, we have clearly sided with recommendations based on human listening habits, which we believe leads to more exposure to personalized discovery than algorithmic scenarios and calculations.  It’s just that with the current state of technology, human being are better at distinguishing subtle nuances of why you might like one song over another.  In addition, humans immediately consider cultural factors when making recommendations, which is not only very difficult for an algorithm to identify, but also nearly impossible to keep updated. Yes, there are lots of things that computers, and computer programs, can do better and faster then people.  C’mon, we’re a music technology company, of course we know that. However, sometimes there are scenarios which, when left to the whims of a machine-based result, lose something in the process.

Many sites out there are leaning towards the digital brain of recommendations. I don’t want to list off a bunch of names, but there was a recent posting on coolfer.com that called out muffin.com as a prime example of this.  If you want to see a more mainstreamed example though, go give Pandora a try, plug in a song, and see how your results turn out.  Now, find one of your playlists on Maestro, and check out related playlists which are connected to what your peers are listening to.  I bet that the personal touch of an individual is going to lead you to much better results nearly every time.

Maybe a more specific example would help.  I like Michael Jackson’s hit song Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough.  Yea, that’s right, I like the song.  Why? I don’t know why, maybe because it makes me laugh, maybe because it reminds me of a middle school dance, maybe just because I grew up in the 80’s and I’m naturally biased towards it.  Regardless, if we plug that into an automated recommendation engine, I get time-period matches like Holiday, by Madonna (um, no thank you) and similar artists like Lionel Richie and his plethora of greatest hits (absolutely not, buster).  However, if I check into Maestro, I’ll find this song leads me to playlists with songs like When Doves Cry by Prince, and We Will Rock You by Queen.  Now that’s more like it!

While recommendation technology can result in a greater number of songs referred to you, the quality of songs recommended by like-minded peers is much higher.  Think about it this way: if you were going to get to listen to just one song, what would result in music you’re more likely to enjoy…a friend of yours assigned to the task, or randomly tuning into your favorite radio station?  Sure, inevitably, the radio station will eventually stumble onto songs here and there that you enjoy, but if you want a result that hits your tastes right on the head, a person who shares your musical orientation is going to be far more successful.

When it comes to music recommendations, following the products of other listeners is hands down going to yield better results then an algorithmic technology designed to spit out results by the boatload. The difference between the two is paramount to the quality of recommendations you receive…people understand what other people might like far better than any complicated and calculated matching scenario can.

Meanwhile, hop onto Maestro.fm, and find a few people who share some similar music tastes to your own, and check out what they’re putting into playlists.  You might just find yourself stumbling onto tons of great new music you didn’t even know about!

On the final day of the Macworld trade show, the news that so many of us have been waiting for was finally broken. By the end of Q1 2009, Apple plans on making every track in its 10 million song library available without DRM, and will even be lowering the cost of some mp3s. So Apple…you mean you’ve finally come to the conclusion that DRM protection is not the solution to your troubles, and just pushes the average music consumer away from legal downloads!? Congrats, and welcome to the party!

With companies like Amazon already utilizing DRM-free music sales, it was long overdue that the leader in digital music downloads would jump on board the boat to digital music flexibility. Better still, this could very well spell the beginning of the end of DRM completely. Woo! Oh, DRM, the music anti-solution, I have no plans to attend your impending funeral. I suppose the most concise response to all of this is: it took them long enough!

Don’t forget if you need to remove the DRM from any previous songs you purchased through iTunes doubleTwist does this the best. Then you can use your music on Maestro!

It was, in all honestly, probably too good to be true. Just last week, Appleinsider published an article stating that “Apple is believed to be on the verge of an end-of-year push that would start by finally offering unprotected iTunes Store music from all major labels.”  Hooray! If iTunes is able to take that step forward and broker a deal with the labels, then DRM as a whole would likely crumble away.

Unfortunately, it was only 24 hours later that Cnet broke the bad news that these rumors were bogus, and while negotiations were being undertaken, there was no deal remotely eminent.  We music fans are left wondering when will the rest of the industry catch on: DRM does nothing but handcuff loyal music consumers, and provides little hindrance to the illegal pirating of music.

The fact is, DRM is widely accepted by the masses as a lackluster and inane attempt to stop music piracy that borders on irresponsibility. It would be little more then regurgitation to explain out all the arguments for this view, but a few can be read here.  DRM, as a single invention, reminds me of a quip that Rip Torn spat out in Dodgeball, “that’s about as useful as a poopy-flavored lollipop.”  Not very poetic, but certainly rather pithy. That’s how most feel about DRM.

There are signs all around us that industry insiders have got the same theory running around in their heads.  Amazon, among many others, sells their digital music DRM-free, and for a single-song price tag that never breaks $1. Even iTunes provides the ability to remove DRM from their digital music, insinuating that they are more then well aware of the inconvenience it poses to their customers, but they charge a per-song removal fee. Cute huh?  I recommend using doubleTwist software to free any DRM-protected music you might have, which is free for all.

The big question therefore remains: when will we finally be rid of DRM for good?  A protective technology that negatively affects consumers, while doing little to actually protect the product in question doesn’t seem like a very useful invention to me. It belongs in a textbook, filed away under “good idea, bad execution.”  One place it certainly does not belong is in today’s digital music marketplace.

All music sold on Maestro is DRM-free and supplied by Amazon’s MP3 store.

Random user:

“Yo, Maestro guys, seriously, you need to make this easier to use. And give me some more recommendations.”

Another random user:

“Yea, agreed! Oh, and make it a little prettier too if you could, I like pretty websites.”

Yet another random:

“I can’t figure out how to use searching on this site either. I bet there’s sooo much stuff I don’t even know about, if only I knew how to look for it! Make fix-y.”

Ok ok ok, alright, you spoke and we listened.  Well, at first we tried to ignore you, there’s a lot going on that we have been hard at work at!  Maybe ‘ignored’ is a bad word, let’s say ‘postponed official recognition of.’ That sounds better. But your feedback kept coming, and somewhere along the line in the past we promised that we would listen to all your feedback and base what we build on what you want. Behold the result…the new Maestro.fm 2.0!!

So, you say, what’s new?  Oh man, there’s so much new stuff, you’re going to love it, I just know it in my tiny little heart. Let’s see…

• Recommended playlists as you listen
• Find playlists for your favorite artists
• Easier to filter through your collection
• See what other people are listening to
• Watch your playlists rankings
• Buy MP3s from other playlists
• Upload individual songs
• Upgraded message center

Wow, a cute little list of some of the new features and enhancements, how quaint! Well, apparently you loyal readers of ours don’t like to read immense blabbering blog entries, so you get what you wish for.

Random user:

“Yay! Look at all that new stuff, this is gonna’ take a bit of time to get into, but I can’t wait.  What does this all mean for ME anyway?”

I am just so glad you asked that Mr. Random User that we did not make up in any way, shape or form.  The goal of all these changes is to make Maestro easier for you to use for listening to your own music, and easier to use for finding and listening to new music.  Simple huh.  Well, there’s other stuff too, but spelling it all out would ruin some of the fun.  Because now, we want you telling your friends and sharing more playlists elsewhere.  That’s right, it’s only fair, don’t you agree?  Invite everyone you know to join Maestro! Or, simply send out playlists and music to your friends and they can listen away to their heart’s content. But you really want them to join, because when they put music on Maestro.fm, that means more music for you to listen to.

Hopefully, you’ll find Maestro.fm simpler to use, more aesthetically appeasing, and are pushed to navigate around the site, learning about all the crazy and wonderful little abilities that we have enabled. For instance, did you know that your playlists are ranked on the network, so you know how your work is stacking up?  Or how about that [insert unknown thing here], or that you can search simply by song lyrics (which we have for most songs on the network) and find music you’re looking for!  Uh huh, I bet you did.  Better jump into this thing quick and get into it, because there’s only more heading your way in the weeks to come.

After a blistering 2 weeks of gameplay, we have our first league champion.  Of course, while there will be many more to come, but I say, the first is the best.  Mostly I say this because:

Aaron – 46 wins – Current Leader!
Greg – 43 wins
Clarkson – 33 wins
Daniel – 12 wins (evidently racquetball doesn’t translate well to ping-pong)

Excuses have run rampant through the player ranks.  For instance, Clarkson missed several days in the office due to a NYC trip.  But if baseball players have to play through injuries and rain, no business trip shall stand as an excuse in the MOPPL. Nonetheless, schedule modifications were made in an attempt to rebalance the total matches played by the competitors.  Daniel…well, what to say about Daniel.  Considering his history of sensational racket sports, we expected more from him.  It seems he just wasn’t prepared for the smaller table size.  Good natured ribbing and jokes likely worsened the scenario.

Several sensational matches played out between Greg and Aaron in the MOPPL Arena, as the proverbial cream rose to the top.  Emotions ran high during the half dozen matches that went deep into overtime periods.  Thank heavens no children were around to hear some of the foul, raucous language spit forth from demoralized losers of many a hard-fought match. No serious injuries were suffered; however, one cell phone screen was unfortunately lost due to a run-in with a table edge, and 1 ping pong ball was lost to a hungry and rather sizeable Bull Mastiff.

Given our endless need for new outlets to release the Maestro team’s overflowing energy into, along with the instinctive and, well, mostly good-natured competitive spirit that burns in the Maestro team members, a new addition has been made to the home office: Ping Pong.  Let the games begin!

Now, with our current operational budget leaning just a tad towards the conservative side, our “ping pong arena” is…well, what most of you would refer to as a conference room.  It consists of a small metal clamp and green net found at a dollar store attached to the middle of the table in our main conference area.  Of course, sides were measured down to the last inch to ensure fair play for all regardless of side choice (although some people…Daniel…still insist on only playing from their particular “favorite” side).  A couple of paddles and ping pong balls later, and we’ve got ourselves a game!

Standings will be kept based on overall win totals, partly because winning is what matters most, partly because we’re too lazy to track total matches played, and partly because our measly scoreboard just can’t fit that much data.  Expert league analysis has predictions of Clarkson, who grew up with a ping pong table, as the early favorite.  Eyes will also be on Daniel, who spent his earlier years as a sponsored pro racquetball player. However, all will be handicapped by the…lackluster size…of the ping pong table.  Power will often need to be sacrificed for finesse in the matches to come.  It’s an open field…who shall reign victorious!?

On a more personal note…we have also just now learned that the heat emanating from two semi-competitive ping pong players during a 3 game match of 11 point, win by 2, games is enough to heat up a small conference room several degrees!  Much to our chagrin, we have little way to combat the atmospheric changes, as our air conditioning system appears to care little for our new hobby.  Evening matches will likely take precedence over day games when the sun shines brightly through our windowed court.

After Day 1, the standings are:
Aaron – 4 wins
Clarkson – 5 wins
Daniel – 2 wins
Greg – 4 wins

And so begins the Maestro Official Ping Pong League (MOPPL).

Aaron accepts defeat.

“I’m going to crush you” - Greg

Considering how disorganized and chaotic the digital music industry has become, and the fact that our vision at Maestro is to change that (create one simple place for you to enjoy and discover music freely, without annoyances), we wanted to share a recent article with you. In the July 7th edition of the Wall Street Journal was an article titled: Digital Music Still Has a Ways To Go , by Jason Fry. In short, the author couldn’t be more right. Forget subscription models, forget DRM protection, forget 30 second clips. Social music sites are the future of the industry. Our solution for this is the creation and propagation of a social music portal, www.maestro.fm.

For years now, it has been you, the consumer, the music fan, that has been losing out the most in the multi-billion dollar scuffle that has ensued once digital music became the future of the music industry. With constant inter-industry bickering, dozens of different solutions and methods have been brought to the marketplace, with none of them answering the full body of needs and desires of the music listener…you. As Jason wrote: “Yes, more choices are better, but buying digital music is still a needlessly complicated, haphazard process. And why are subscription services like Rhapsody’s core product so stubbornly stillborn?” Subscription models, DRM-protected music, etc. just push me farther away from buying the music I listen to. Besides, I want to hear the music, in full (no 30-sec clips please), before I buy it, as well as know what my peers think.

What we believe is that social music sites allow a person to feel comfortable with a song before purchasing it, and let them learn not only about the song, the artist, the album, and more, but they also let them know if my peers enjoy this music as well. As Mr. Fry put it, “the more likely it is that consumers can find songs they want and listen to them easily, the more likely they are to buy them instead of swiping them.” It is at this point, I personally find myself crossing the point where I will purchase the music instead of attempting to obtain it illegally. Not to mention finding a lot more relevant music to listen to when I’m in the mood to expand my library.

Maestro, as a social music site, lets the user become comfortable with a song, and when I get the urge, use that handy-dandy “buy mp3″ button next to any song, which takes you directly to Amazon. There, you can purchase the mp3, with NO DRM attached, for less than $1. That’s right, they do exist…DRM-free songs for under a buck. Forget the dollar menu, let’s use that couch change on some music!

In it’s execution, it’s kind of like if you hear a song on the Radio then you want to buy it. But with our site, you get thousands of DJs and lots of choices to change channels, and you can actually buy the music right then and there.

This is the reason we have sought to create Maestro. We are trying to create a place where everything, from the music you want to hear to the information or lyrics you want to find to the discovery of new music you want to obtain, is found in the same place that you can purchase and control music for your collection. Maestro is about more then just access to your own music, it’s about socially expanding your music horizons. And if, or when, you do stumble upon some new artist or song you really start to dig, then be sure to support that artist as well. In the end, let’s work to create a place where everyone gets what they want, from all sides of the equation. It’s not as impossible as the events of the last few years have made it seem.

Daniel: (4:27am - in a message left for Aaron) “Hola, you can check it out on the development site please. I put up share playlists with our logo amigo, its bueno. Let me know thoughts. I walk dogs ahora, adios. Gracias.”

…later that day, during semi-normal work hours…

Aaron: “Hey, yea, um, Greg…have you seen Daniel’s new visual for promoting that we share playlists on playlist profile pages?”
Greg: “What do you want? Not yet…why?”
Aaron: “Yea, so…you should take a look since Daniel went ahead and put it on the live site…it’s our logo, and you can’t tell it’s a link.”
Greg: “Oh God…I’ll go look…”
Greg: “What the HELL is that atrocity…”
Aaron: “That was my reaction too. I tried everything I could to get it taken down…but you know Daniel when he decides he’s in love with something.”
Greg: [long pause] “………”
Greg: “Screw it, it’s already there. At least the words are in English and spelled correctly.”
Aaron: “Way to look on the bright side Greg. Fine, I’m not putting up this fight alone, it’ll stay as it is. It really is terrible looking you know.”
Greg: “Yea, and it makes no sense, and no one is going to know its purpose is to show you how to share playlists.”
Aaron: “Yea…I noticed. So be it.”

…2 days later…

Clarkson: “Guys…I think we need to show people that they can share playlists.”

Greg: [sighs...shaking his head slowly]
Aaron: “I quit.”

Readers -
So, if you’re reading this, be sure to share playlists with others, we simplified the process a lot since the last setup! It’s a great way to use email, social networks, blogs, even IMs to send your music creations to your friends. And apologies in advance for the hideous Maestro logo-esque button for shortcutting you to the share playlists area. Enjoy!