Official Music Slice Blog

The Music Slice Playground

2007-04-23T14:27:00.000-04:00

While Kayode is King Coder for Music Slice, I thought it would be fun to play around with some smaller ideas while he gets the core features going. A while back we had a little custom search engine on Music Slice that was powered by Google, but flavored by us here at Music Slice. It was pretty great and came up with great results. I decided to not only bring it back, but take it to the next level.

So I'd like to introduce www.MyMusicSlice.net - my playground of simple odds and ends ideas that I can get up quickly and see what people think. My first toy I'd like to share with you is the brand new music search engine. It's truly awesome, and took almost no time to get up and going. Just search for any artist or song, in addition to typical web results you'd expect from something like Google, you'll find great videos, shows, lyrics, downloads, and even specific myspace results, if you're into that kinda thing. Go check it out at www.MyMusicSlice.net and then let us know what you think!

When All Seems Quiet

2007-04-17T14:20:00.000-04:00

For all you guys anticipating the release of Music Slice, we've pretty much left you in the dark for a while now. If you're anything like me, your begging and praying to see something go up, and more important hear some things coming out of MusicSlice.com.

We don't have a big team of people, which would be nice, but we do have a gem of a programmer, Mr. Kayode Dagbo to try and compensate. I took a test run on what he's been working on, I'm very impressed. We're all in for a treat, and we're getting closer and closer now.

Launch date? Not yet. We're still in the running for best vaporware on the market, but that'll come to an end soon enough.

I Want My Music Slice

2007-02-20T19:10:00.000-05:00

Music Slice and I have grown up together over the past year and a half, I've learned a lot, sacrificed a lot, and never once looked away. I'm driven by the idea of connecting fans with the music they'll like the most, fans with other fans, artists with other artists, and have this all be done freely and globally. It's also important to eliminate the need for all the "middle men" the music industry has created over the years, and create an environment where any artist can reach any fan, knowing nothing more than how to play his instrument.

OK, so a lot of you know that, and you're still saying... "wasn't this supposed to be Valentines Day? You're killing me!". Believe me, I want this Slice going up far more than anyone else does. We could have launched with a couple shortcuts, but then you'd get something with about the same reliability as myspace... not very good. I've put too much in to go down like that.

I locked myself away the past few days figuring things out and have received all kinds of emails, voicemails, text messages, comments, and everything else from people who want in, and want in now. We're going at it, and it's going to take a little longer. Certainly not months longer, but not hours longer either. I won't set an exact date now, but I will when one becomes very clear.

Thanks for hanging in there with us, it'll be well worth the wait.

Hot Date on Valentines Day

2007-01-02T07:33:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year to all, this one is already shaping out to be a great one. To kick it off, I'm psyched to tell everyone that Music Slice will officially launch on Valentines day of this year.

With just a month and a half away, there's a lot of work to be done. It's all so exciting though, it's hard to tell the difference between work and play. There's nothing quite like the feeling of thinking up ideas to improve something, and then actually doing it. What better to improve upon than the quality of music that surrounds us? Music has the power to alter moods, amplify feelings, connect people, and be the catalyst for major changes in our lives.

Valentines day is usually a time to be alone with your sweetheart, but I'm finally giving mine to the world. Enjoy.

Searching with Google

2006-11-14T10:39:00.000-05:00

We've just hooked up with Google to create a music flavored search engine. We figure this will keep you busy until our official launch. To try it out you can go straight to MusicSlice.com and search away. I've found it to it be great to find concerts or search specific sites, such as MySpace, for artists and songs.

It gets smarter every day, as we can fine tune it more, and you can help. I hope this holds you over for a little bit while we finish up everything else.

Not Lame

2006-10-04T12:18:00.000-04:00

So I haven't posted in a little while, mostly because I think it's lame to keep talking about something without anything to show yet.

As always, things are coming along. The design looks better everyday, code is being put to the test, and sleep sessions are still few and far between.

In the meantime you might want to check out songbird, it's not exactly what the world needs now but I like their attitude and the overall concept is cool. I just think desktop apps should be avoided at all costs, only used when needed. If guys like Google keeps pushing things like web based Google Spreadheets and Writely, it's only a matter of time before the desktop is nothing but a shell for the web and the toys we create, and Music Slice will be helping to make this push in the realm of media.

Until the next time, keep slicing.

New Shirts and No Sleep

2006-08-11T00:07:00.000-04:00

Crunch time without a deadline, that's the story right now. As everything comes together, the pressure is on to get the site up and running. Sleep doesn't come too often anymore, and it won't be missed; Music Slice comes first. And what's this? Fresh shirts at my door? Oh yes, Music Slice will make it's way into my wardrobe this Sunday. The little things...

Anyways, I've become particularly obsessed in the past couple weeks with perfecting the simplicity of design and speed in which you can access all features. One problem with "simple design" is that some features go undiscovered or forgotten, take any number of Google's "more" (now "even more") services for example. I'm working on a few different ways to keep everything pumping that should be without being a distraction, and it's turning out well.

So I had to give this quick little update to let you all know I haven't forgot about you, rather I've been glued to the project around the clock. Oh and I know some of you have been looking for some shirts too, but I don't believe I'll have enough this time, only a handful are coming in. I'll keep you up to date though. Happy slicing.

Beta than alpha, new blood gets the show on the road

2006-07-12T08:03:00.000-04:00

There's too much good stuff going on to settle for alpha. With that in mind, we'll take a little extra time and be going straight to beta. What's better about Beta, and why the change? There's a new programmer on board here at Music Slice, and life has become a bit easier.

Among the features to be initially released is the Shows & Events part of Music Slice, sure to make a big splash and have a huge impact on concert goers everywhere. Personally, I'm chomping at the bit. Not only is this going to be a perfect place to search for shows I may want to see, but will also give me a heads up when there's shows playing that I'd like to see based on our ever improving recommendation algorithms. The better Music Slice gets to know me, the better recommendations I'll get.

For example I might get a text message sent to my phone at 4pm on a Thursday letting me know that there's some great live music going on in Madison Square Park, which is a quick walk after work for good tunes and a stop by the Shake Shack for one of the best burgers in the city.

It's not just the algorithm and what it can do - there's your friends. Check out the master schedule of your friends to see what shows they're going to. See what people are saying about shows or leave a comment yourself - even during the show using your phone. Keep tabs on all your favorite artists and venues effortlessly. Even better, get tickets to major concerts that are "sold out" that you find through Music Slice.

Good times, better music. We'll see you soon!

Why must you label me?

2006-07-02T17:20:00.000-04:00

Getting that record contract, the goal of many a musician. Why do artists seek this? For a while it was the only way to really get out there. Well a while has come and gone, and somehow the goal of getting signed still remains for some.

What is a record label anyways, and how could an artist benefit?

A record label is a brand created by companies that specialize in manufacturing, distributing and promoting audio and video recordings, on various formats including compact discs, LPs, DVD-Audio, SACDs, and cassettes. The name derives from the paper label at the center of a gramophone record (what is also known as a "phonograph record" in American English). From Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Record_label

Let's look at the keys here: Manufacturing, Distributing, and Promoting.
By manufacturing, they're talking about getting music to tape (studio time) and getting it to a format for the consumer. Just to hit that point - CDs are over. Some may think it's cute to carry these around - pop them in your car, your Discman (smug chuckle), or your old school stereo system - but these belong in museums.

Back to manufacturing, labels provide assistance and financing which was a great idea back when the recording studio was a laboratory of complicated and expensive machines requiring a white lab coat for operation. Today anyone can create and record music in their apartment, spending something between nothing and a couple thousand dollars depending on what they want to do. If they can't afford that, there's thousands of people who have a set up in their own place more than willing to record music for free or a small fee.

Distribution? This one's pretty obvious. There's thousands of sites for the artist to upload there songs, where they can choose to sell them or give them out for free, like Music Slice. They can upload for free, or they can even create their own site and buy hosting to do it on their own terms. Where can't they get as easily? Brick and mortar CD retailers. So what's that mean? The last of the CD hauling public won't have their preferred access to your music. Anyways, you'd only be encouraging them.

Promotion is all about getting your music to as many people who enjoy it as possible, and it's a big one. Many labels have mistaken this for getting music to as many people as possible, regardless if they enjoy it or not. What's happened? They throw music at the major sources of promotion, and hope it sticks, wasting millions of dollars in the process. You wonder why channels like MTV play songs that all sound the same, it's because one channel can only cater to one taste in music and maintain steady viewers. Sure they can have different time slots for different styles of music, but music needs to be on demand.

What if your music was recommended to those prone to dig it, based on their prior listening habits, and a slew of other circumstances affecting music they may like? Not just an off hand "you should listen to this tune, check it out if you can remember", but actually having it mixed in with their daily listening, presented to them while they're online or on the go with instant access to not only listen to and download the song, but see who else is listening to it, what they have to say, see associated art work, lyrics, and all kinds of interesting information. That's something you don't need a label for, and far more valuable and effective. Could a label do this, and are they starting to? Of course! They're trying, bless their hearts, but do you need a record label to help you put your pants on, and then ask for 90% of the money you earn that day? After all, they did help you get dressed for work.

At Music Slice, our goal is to empower artists, making it even easier to get their music to their fans and their fans to their music, even fans they never knew they could have. The transitional state the music industry has been going through the past decade or so is rapidly coming to a close. Music Slice will be right here, marking the end of the old and solidifying the new. The future will bring many more changes to the dynamic; we'll adapt to and even instigate these changes to simplify and expand the musical lifestyle held by artists and fans everywhere. Good times.

Here Comes Alpha

2006-07-02T16:31:00.000-04:00

It's been a long time coming, and there's still a lot ahead of us, but this is pretty exciting. After over a year of thinking, planning, designing, and setting things up, Music Slice will give a preview of things to come.

Our "alpha" version will be put up in the next week, offering a list of user posted shows and major concerts throughout the country. All major concerts are linked to Stub Hub, where you can buy tickets to "sold out" shows everywhere.

This is the humble beginning of what's to come. What's in store? Listen to music with your friends in real time online, listen to your own music collection from anywhere you can access the internet, check out what you're friends music taste is like, let them see what you're into, get incredible music recommendations automatically, create and listen to podcasts easier than you ever thought you could, and if I kept on going I'd have my high school english teacher coming after me.

We have plenty of features for artists too, with everything from the ability to upload your music to an online studio. We hope you enjoy.