iLike: a review

Thanks to Erin and Thomas for inviting me to iLike. I had never heard of this site before.

As I've mentioned in a previous Blathering, I don't listen to the radio, and Jeff and I don't have cable tv. I discover new music almost entirely through recommendations from friends. I used to also find new music through Pandora, but unfortunately that service can no longer offer access to users outside of the U.S.

Things I like about iLike so far:

I feel lucky to have several friends whose musical tastes have overlapped enough with mine that I can leech off their superior music-surfing experience and find out about new bands. However, one of my problems is that I haven't yet developed an organized system to keep track of all these great bands and vocalists in one place.

iLike offers a system of tracking artists I like and songs I like that's easy to maintain. You just pull up that artist's listing or even a specific song, click on the "iLike" link, and it's automatically added to your list along with a link to iTunes, an option to add your own comment, videos, other iLike users who like the band, a link to the band's main iLike page where you can explore their other albums and songs as well finding out where they're touring.

iLike seems to be a good way of helping to promote lesser-known bands. I've already checked out some groups I hadn't heard about before because they were on iLike lists of listeners with similar tastes, or were on the "similar style/music" lists of bands and songs I liked.

I like the clean design. It's easy to navigate around and figure out how things work.

I like the fact that it is well-integrated with iTunes, iPods, Facebook and MySpace.

The downloadable iLike Sidebar plugin was easy to install and (I wanted to test this) de-install. My friend Reid is having problems, though, so perhaps I was just lucky. With the Sidebar installed, people on your Friends list can see what you're currently playing on iTunes, and you can see what they're listening to.

Things I don't like about iLike so far:

I would like to be able to turn off the timestamp which indicates when I last listened to a song on iTunes; I don't necessarily want people knowing when I'm home. Yes, you can restrict profile viewing to a Friends list, but I've never had much faith in so-called "locked" or password protected pages. I've written to iLike with a suggestion of more flexibility privacy options, ideally like the ones on Facebook (which I'm still enjoying, by the way, especially now that so many friends have joined).

The default for Library and Playlists should be "hidden", not "shown". I can easily imagine a scenario where an iLike user hasn't used the service in a while and forgets that his or her info is public, creates what they think is a private playlist but is actually being broadcast.

There should be an option of hiding or clearing "Most played" and "Recently played." Again, there needs to be more flexibility in privacy options.

Playlists should be updated more often. At present, they're only updated on iLike every two weeks.

"Recently played" lists don't include music played on iPods away from the computer. I listen to most of my music away from the computer; most of the music I currently play in the office is while I'm working, which is mainly music without words and background music. The FAQ says that the cumulative "most played" lists are eventually updated with synching.

You can't edit your song comments. You have to create a new song comment, then delete your old listing.

As a musician, adding your band to iLike is a hassle. I had to add Urban Tapestry to iLike by creating a Garageband.com page. So far I've only uploaded one clip (The Lady) and was going to add others.



But now I find that there are TWO Urban Tapestry pages on iLike. This one (the one I registered on Garageband) and this one (the one that is created when people play our songs on iTunes, which we can't modify). This majorly sucks. In this FAQ explanation, iLike explains they are in Beta format, so hopefully this problem should be solved soon, at which point I'm hoping that combining the stats and info from the two pages isn't going to be too much of a hassle.

But again, iLike is only in Beta. I'm hoping a lot of these glitches are ironed out in the next version. However, they also might start charging a fee, at which point I'll have to decide whether it's worth sticking around or not. Much of that decision will depend on how many of my "Don't Like" items still exist.

Discovering new music:

In filling out the form for Garageband, I had to specify what other groups we sound like, and what groups have influenced us. The latter question was easy, but the first was hard to do objectively.

Thanks to those in LJ for their suggestions! Groups/styles suggested included: Uncle Bonsai, The Roches, The Nields Sisters, Christine Lavin, DaVinci's Notebook, Moxy Fruvous. I haven't heard of some of these, and have already been checking them out in iLike. :-) Anyway, we now have a very fundamental page on iLike which automatically picks up info from Garageband.com.

As I type this Blathering, I started "listening" to all the Urban Tapestry CDs so that their tracks get registered on iLike, but quit when I discovered that the info was being sent to the wrong iLike Urban Tapestry page. :-(

One of my goals for this year: Figure out how to finally get Urban Tapestry on iTunes!

Summary:

I think I'm going to de-install the Sidebar plugin until iLike offers more privacy options; I can't help but get a bit of the "Big Brother" willies when it comes to people knowing what I'm listening to at any given moment, particularly if the timestamp lets people know when I'm home.

BUT iLike offers enough other useful features that I think I'm going to keep experimenting with it even without the Sidebar turned on.



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Internet radio: will it survive?

Last night, Pandora Internet Radio started blocking access to Pandora for listeners outside the U.S. because of international licensing constraints. An excerpt from a letter they sent to many Pandora listeners:

"It is difficult to convey just how disappointing this is for us. Our vision remains to eventually make Pandora a truly global service, but for the time being, we can no longer continue as we have been. As a small company, the best chance we have of realizing our dream of Pandora all around the world is to grow as the licensing landscape allows."

This likely won't stop listeners using proxy services, but will inevitably drastically reduce visitors.

Very disappointing. Since Jeff told me about Pandora a while ago, I've been enjoying the benefits, discovering new artists as well as being reminded of old favourites. I don't tend to listen to regular radio anymore, so have been relying on friends and Pandora to introduce me to new music. I've made purchases in music online and offline as a result.

From Techdirt, on the topic:

"It's really depressing to watch the recording industry so consistently shoot itself in the foot, focusing on capturing every immediate dollar, rather than recognizing the ability of using music as free promotion to build up the size of their market."

Catching up on Pandora's blog, I also discovered more about a recent ruling that requires Webcasters to pay a flat rate per song streamed, rather than the traditional percentage of their profits. The change would result in greatly-increased fees for many Internet radio stations.

From this MSN.com article: "The Copyright Royalty Board changed rates from a percentage of revenue to a per-song, per-listener fee - effectively hiking the rates between 300 and 1,200 percent, according to a lawyer representing a group of Webcasters." If the rate goes through, many Web radio stations will shut down, not able to afford the new fees.

On April 26th, the founder of Pandora posted an update. Apparently the outpouring of public support for Pandora and other Internet radio stations resulted in a bill being introduced by U.S. congressmen Jay Inslee and Donald Manzullo: the Internet Radio Equality Act, HR 2060. For more information about the act as well as what you can to help, see SaveNetRadio.

From Nate Anderson of Arstechnica:

"Inslee's bill, the Internet Radio Equality Act, would toss out the Board's decision and return the webcasting industry to a percentage of profits model. In this case, the percentage would be set at the same rate paid by satellite radio, which is 7.5 percent of revenue."

On the topic of increased fees... One question that comes immediately to mind, since those supporting the initial ruling claim that it's helping the artists: how much will artists actually benefit? So far, I've been having trouble finding an answer from a neutral party, so would appreciate feedback from any of you with additional information. Pandora founder, Tim Westergren, says in this article:

"It's disingenuous to say it's better for the artist. With our licensing deal now the royalties we pay go 50/50 to the artist and the label. If the fees increase, stations will enter into direct deals with labels at a discounted rate, but then the entire fee goes to the label and not the artist.""

SoundExchange.com (who supports the increased fees) says:

"Because the bill is so heavily favored to enrich the big webcasters, it raises questions as to who is really behind the SaveNetRadio Coalition. Although this coalition purports to be on the side of musicians, they have come out in support of this anti-artist bill."

In an MSN.com article, however, Ian Rogers of Yahoo! Music (Internet radio leader with 23% of the market's listeners) says:

"SoundExchange is just not dealing with the facts. Internet radio in its entirety is less than a $50 million industry. The amount of money I can make selling ads on my radio product is less than I will pay in royalties."

On May 8th, hundreds of radio stations plan to participate in a "Day of Silence" in support of the cause. It was also announced yesterday that Internet radio broadcasters are getting a two-month extension for paying their new fees.

I'm probably being naive, but I can't help but think that many are underestimating the importance of these Internet radio stations for introducing lesser-known artists and music to those who may be getting tired of mainstream music, or who are at least open to other possibilities. As technology has advanced, more and more people are becoming comfortable with the idea of podcasts and listening to radio via one's computer rather than traditional means. It's difficult to quantify how many of these listeners translate into actual sales, but that doesn't mean the potential benefit should be ignored.

SURVEY:

Do you listen to a Web radio station? If so, which one(s)?

Sources:

SaveNetRadio.org
SoundExchange.com
Radio's Tangled Web (Newsweek)
Internet Radio Equality Act would overturn decision on webcasting fees (Arstechnica)
New Webcasting fees may doom Internet radio (Associated Content)
Pay Per Play: A new royalty scheme for webcasters may shut most of them down. (Chicago Reader)
Paradise to poverty: the fight for I-radio (MediaChannel)
Killing Internet radio, not so softly (Miami New Times)
Net radio sites given more time on royalties
Slashdot discussion (Slashdot)
Internet Broadcasters Get Royalty Deadline Extension (Wired)
Music Industry Continues To Shoot Self In Foot; Forces Pandora To Block Non-US Listeners (Techdirt)




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Stars Fall Home

Above: Beckett Gladney's gorgeous cover for Seanan McGuire's new CD, Stars Fall Home. I played flute on one of the tracks, Dorothy, which focuses on the heroine of Wizard of Oz. Great song and gorgeous harmonies!

I was also tickled to discover that Seanan had drawn illustrations of all the musical guests; you can see mine to the right. In addition to myself, guest performers include: Paul Kwinn, Michelle Dockrey, Tony Fabris, Amy McNally, Kristoph Klover, Alisa Garcia, Luis Garcia, Margaret Davis, Deirdre McCarthy, Kris Yenney, Beckett Gladney, Arlene Hills, Mich Sampson, Mike Whitaker, Jeff Bohnhoff, Maya Bohnhoff, Erica Neely, and Merav Hoffman.

You can find out more about Seanan's new CD on this page, and you can pre-order your copy for $15 here! I am SO looking forward to getting my copy.



Will Write For Chocolate has been updated (click image above to see a bigger version). This week's topic: Why do YOU read blogs? Click here to read the post and answer the survey.




The new and improved Filk FAQ has been updated. I've been gradually moving the site over to a new server as well as converting it to Wordpress format. Current survey: Stage etiquette tips for performers. Respondents' answers will be integrated into the FAQ.



Photo by Allison.

Video O' The Day

And now I'm going to try embedding my first YouTube movie. I first met Acacia Sears in a filk circle years ago, and was blown away by her voice and the energy she put into her performances. Her first album with Sleepy Records recently debuted: Dialtones ($12). I bought my copy a while back before she signed with Sleepy Records; one of my favourites is "George's Tongue" (words by Neil Gaiman).

You can hear a few of her songs on her MySpace page (which includes a recording of George's Tongue, yay!). The song below is a video of one of Acacia's original songs, "Autumn."







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Guest blogger and more FKO highlights (Part 4)

I've been invited to be a guest blogger for Design Sessions: Notes On Design this week; you can see my first post here.

Back to some more FilKONtario highlights, told in photos...



Above: Douglas and Juliana ("Pondside").

At each convention, I always strive to take away at least one new, good musical experience. For some people, filk conventions are purely social; for others, the focus is on the music. For me, it has always been a blending of the two.

I enjoy hearing performers I've come across before and liked, but I also seek out new music; it's too easy to get into a rut otherwise, only going to the concerts of people I know, or only going to the open filk circles where I know everyone.

Douglas and Juliana (who also happened to win the Urban Tapestry Interfilk/n'MC package) definitely fit in my "yay, I'm so glad I was in that open filk that evening" category!




Above: Michael ("Beige_alert") plays a lovely flute instrumental in open filk. Michael also sang a German version of Aryana's "Still Beautiful." I think it's very VERY cool how music has been shared back and forth between different countries over the years. Hurray for Interfilk! And hurray for musical sharing of songs and ideas!

This is especially important, I find, when sharing songs written by filkers who don't often travel outside of their home territory. Within Urban Tapestry, Allison's been especially good at finding songs written by other people that we can share when we visit other conventions.

A survey for you filkers out there: What was the last song that you performed that was written by another filker?




Another highlight: The resounding success of Phil Mills and his very first concert, ever. :-) In the photo above, Phil is ably assisted by Tom (in his puffy shirt, yay!), Sue and Jane.



Allison, Jodi and I arrived early for the children's concert and were blown away by the gorgeous music wafting up from Ed Staff's vocal workshop.



Tom and Sue, newly engaged. They plan to have their wedding at next year's FilKONtario. Because of a loss in the family, Dave Clement was unable to participate in the Dandelion Wine concert. Tom gave a wonderful solo concert, however, and called up Sam Baardman to perform "Solar Flare" as the last song.

!

My, but those n'MC types "scrub up nicely." :-)



Sib's excitement about coming back to Montana's. At the beginning of the weekend, she vowed to work her way through every dessert on the menu.



Photo by Phil Mills.


Margaret Middleton had donated a gorgeous quilt to n'MC/Interfilk auction; Peggy Warner-Lalonde won it.


Photo by Phil Mills

Wonderful to hear/see Gwen Knighton again!

Photo by Phil Mills.

Tanya Huff gave her strongest performance ever in her one-shot. Perhaps she was extra-inspired by Henry, a doll custom-made by Teddy (in the UK), presented by Heather Borean (who won the raffle for the doll, had it made for Tanya). Henry is one of the characters in Tanya's Blood Books, a novel series which has been launched as a television series.

Below: Gary McGath and me.

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FKO (part 3): Children's concert

Photo by Phil Mills

Above: Performing the "Banana Slug Song" with Mary Ellen Wessels in the children's concert at FilKONtario. Allison and I are wearing fuzzy yellow slipper-socks that Sib gave me.

Photo by Phil Mills

I had a lovely birthday yesterday. Thanks for the birthday wishes, everyone! Ruth took me out for lunch and Jeff to took me to Senses Restaurant; it wasn't exactly what either of us had expected (Jeff had read about a 14-course tasting menu, but apparently the menu has changed since then), but had some wonderful food and friendly waitstaff.

For my birthday, Jeff gave me an upgrade to Corel Painter 10 (I currently have Corel Painter 9.5) as well as a Wacom tablet upgrade. I'm especially excited about the latter; after seeing Michelle Dockrey's tablet at GAfilk, it became clear to me that tablets have improved a great deal since I bought mine many years ago. Before ordering the Painter upgrade and the new tablet, I'm looking online for any special bundle deals; if any of you have heard of one, please do let me know.

But back to FKO highlights...

One highlight for me was the children's concert we did on Sunday with Mary Ellen Wessels and Heather Borean...and all because of the enthusiastic audience. Ironically, most of the audience were adults!

In the photo below: Erin, Dave and Mary help us do "Rattlin' Bog":



Photo by Phil Mills

(Erin, by the way, is currently offering custom-designed calligraphy services; she says orders received before April 15 will receive a 10% discount.)

We also debuted one of my new songs, Peanut Butter and Strawberry Jam, which was a songwriter's cliché in that I wrote it while taking a shower. No, I wasn't eating a sandwich at the time. :-)

Mike's and Rennie's son (*gasp!* an actual CHILD in our audience!!) was the definitely the star when we sang "The Hockey Monkey Song":


Photo by Phil Mills

Urban Tapestry also debuted a song I wrote for our friend Walter in revenge for various conspiracies in the past. I've posted the lyrics to the song at the end of this Blathering, if you're interested. When we ate at Montana's the following morning, Walter drew a comic strip in response. (Wow...Walter can draw AND sing! I had no idea...)

Thanks to Phil Mills for letting me use his photos in my con reports, by the way! You can also find other photos from the convention on the following pages:

Allison's photos
Erin's photos
Walter's photos
David W's photos
Hitch's photos
Beige_alert's photos
Gary M.'s photos
Phil Mill's photos

WALTER

By Debbie Ridpath Ohi, Mar/2007

Dedicated to Urban Tapestry's friend, Walter Korynkiewicz!


Allison:
I have a friend named Walter
He's in my class at school, he has a
dog that quacks...and that's a fact.

Jodi:
I have a friend named Walter too
He's my very best friend, he knows
how to fly...and that's no lie.

Debbie:
Excuse me, but Walter's MY friend
He even shared his lunch with me (A&J: so what?)
Spiders in a pot (A&J: great Scott!)
...I kid you not!

CHORUS:
Walter, he's still a mystery today, but on
Walter, you can depend, oh
Walter, 'til the planets fall away
we will be your friend.

A: I have a friend named Walter
He has blue skin (J&D: What a coincidence!
So does OUR friend!)...(All: Is this a trend?)

J: Hey, where are you going, Walter?
A: Is that a spaceship? (All: How COOL!)
J: Hey don't go! A: Can I come with you?
J: Me too! Me too! (D: Me too!)

CHORUS:

BRIDGE:
A: We had a friend named Walter
A&J: Can't believe he left without us
J: I packed him a lunch
A: Well so did I (D: peanut butter and marmite!)
A&J: GROSS! No wonder he went back to space!
D: That's not fair!
A: No wonder he has no hair! (D: HEY!)
A: Walter, will you say hello to Stitch and E.T. & Mork & Mr. Spock & ALF & Dr. Who & the Borg...
J: Allison why on earth would you want to say hello to Borg they were evil and wanted to assimilate everyone
D: Except for Hugh
A: Yeah except for Hugh
J: Hugh was a wimp I hate him the Borg were a really really cool villain until Hugh came along
A: Jodi this isn't the time to have this discussion we should get to the end this song we can talk about this later
J: Okay! D: Okay! A: Okay!

CHORUS:



Photo by Allison Durno



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