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Peter's Web-Based DAW Explorations

Plan

  • What's the SIMPLEST online production tool?
  • What needs are people using it for?
  • Do Reddit or Quora search on what people are struggling with in each of these
  • Make Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Observations

  • Collab seems to be a big draw for online. Makes sense
    • Audiotool, Ohm studio,
  • Emphasis on community
  • Vertically-integrated music production process, all the way to community
    • Creators and consumers are the same people
  • Audiotool user geographies: https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1Vpp-owbxA-od-sNsu5uVT9f6FSL9ZG1I&ll=45.920063190336315%2C-44.39951330762878&z=3
    • Sizing: Soundcloud popular tracks have 5-20mil plays, on Audiotool 30k

Audiotool

Summary

TLDR: Vertically-integrated music production & consumption platform https://www.audiotool.com/track/e899i8h5nf/

  • Community is on the margin, maybe 1% of Soundcloud
  • Sample stuff form others in the community, compare tracks
  • Built off modular tools, big skeuomorph off analog tools
    • This is actually pretty tough to understand
    • Eg. TR808 drum machine — it's a real thing
  • Tries to be as beginner-friendly as possible
    • Premade sample loops, way more advanced that what FL Studio has. Maybe Ableton?
    • Machiniste (drum loop) doesn't even go past 4 beats — have to toggle windows for that
  • Training wheels for analog.
    • Is this actually effective? People say you only need a DAW and headphones + midi keyboard — why all this other stuff?
    • Understanding how synths, drums —> mixers —> whatever
  • Resources are hard to find. These guys aren't large enough to google basic functionality.
  • My track: https://www.audiotool.com/app/#/bbos029v
    • A direct link
  • Playlist, piano roll, note volumes, are the same. Velocity controls, etc. it's all there
  • Doesn't appear to have changed much in 3 years. Outdated tutorials appear relevant still

Notes

  • Testimonials
    • https://www.reddit.com/r/WeAreTheMusicMakers/comments/2ntyer/heres_a_neat_simple_little_online_daw_controls/
  • The best tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvIu_R8bmdA&t=155s
  • The high notes, as seen on homepage:
    • "Audiotool is a collaborative online music production studio right in your browser."
    • Live collab — invite friends & make music in real time
    • Simple, beautiful visual representation
    • Upload samples (your own)
    • Connect w/ fans & other artists to get feedback on ur music
    • Extensive sample library
  • Just a suite of 10-12 tools: https://www.audiotool.com/product
    • It's done AS A PHYSICAL PRODUCTION STUDIO
      • Far as I can tell, these are tools that exist in
      • Why are they listed as hardware objects?
  • A "stepping stone" to more advanced software: https://www.reddit.com/r/edmproduction/comments/1v7xju/are_there_any_producers_here_that_use_almost/
  • Forums, board, etc.
    • Looks like decent traction. Is it all real users?
      • image
  • Crappy onboarding — first page has a 25min tutorial?
    • image
  • 4:00 video on first entry into studio
    • image
  • This actually feels even tougher than FL studio... different strokes, maybe.

Soundtrap

Summary

  • Collab & co-editing, but no social. Kinda reminds me of Dropbox web UI
    • How does it relate to Spotify though?
  • Used for school assignments — what?
    • Appears to be a big segment, "Personal use" vs. "Educational use". See comments section of Youtube tutorials
      • Audiotool has a segment of folks that do this, but prolly not many
    • https://www.soundtrap.com/edu/
  • Subreddit is 2x that of Audiotool
  • Bought by Spotify in Nov 2017. They're Swedish. Looks like an acquihire
    • https://techcrunch.com/2017/11/17/spotify-acquires-online-music-studio-soundtrap/
    • 2017: "Soundtrap's portable music studio had a turnover of about $120k last year, according to Di Digital, with schools as the primary customer group."
      • How did they sell for $30mil with $120k topline?
  • Paid pricing model. Not freemium (free trial w/ cc)
  • UI the BEST I've seen
    • Selection is limited, but generally solid. Grand piano sounds pretty great.
    • Super easy to record with an actual computer keyboard
    • Lots of option, but clean UI, not overwhelming, all seems pretty good
  • It's a little overdesigned, though
  • There's some crazy stuff "AI Generator" can generate a fill for you
  • No tutorial necessary! This is probably why they use it for class...
  • Two types of creation: Music vs. podcast
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