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Touch DJ Turns Your iPhone Into A Pro DJ

J.R. Bookwalter — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 10:33:51 -0600

Samantha Ronson, step aside — there’s a new DJ in town, courtesy of your iPhone and a new app called Touch DJ.

Landing in the App Store from developer Amidio, Touch DJ stakes the claim of being the first full-featured DJ application on the iPhone, according to Macworld. It joins Amidio’s stable of other music apps such as Noise.io™ Pro Synth, JR Hexatone™ Pro and Hot Dancer.

Touch DJ — billed as turning your iPhone “into a futuristic DJ MP3 mixer” — allows loading of two MP3/M4A files with real-time, independent manipulation, including effects, pitching, equalization, positioning, scratching and looping.

A unique, user-friendly interface, coupled with a highly advanced, zero-latency sound engine boasts “fantastic” results comparable to what can be done with pro hardware worth at least $1,000.

Touch DJ introduces “visual mixing,” which shows the audio waveforms next to each other on the iPhone screen. Because the device only has one stereo audio output, the visual mixing enables the user to see which tracks mix well together, adjusting them by sight. For instance, lower bass parts are rendered in a different color than other higher frequencies.

Other features include LP filter FX for each track, vinyl Spin and Break effects, an onboard, 3-slot sampler which accepts .WAV files and the ability to record your own samples using the iPhone microphone. 25 dance tracks from DanceMusicHub.com are included to get you going, and you can import your own MP3 files easily (Touch DJ can’t access your iPod library, however).

Touch DJ is available now in the App Store for $19.99 and requires OS 3.0 or later.

Apple Offers Concert Downloads via iTunes

Cory Bohon — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 19:02:33 -0600

Live Nation and Apple have teamed up to offer exclusive downloads of concerts via iTunes.

Live Nation is one of the largest live convert recording companies around and their recordings are now available on iTunes for download.

According to the press release [PDF link], "Live Nation Studios will now offer exclusive recorded and filmed concerts from its network of “wired” venues for purchase and download only on iTunes. Exclusive live recordings from OK Go, Jesse McCartney, Saving Abel, A Fine Frenzy, Duffy, Plain White T's and Ziggy Marley, to name a few, have been released this week, with many more to follow."

Apple has added a new area in iTunes called Live Music that allows you to search for and purchase your favorite concerts. You can view the area by clicking here.

Apple has been involved in the music and movie distribution business for a few years now, so live music seems to be a logical step in the right direction for the Cupertino-based company.

via MacRumors

Music Movies on iTunes

Liam Widman — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:50:24 -0600

In a bid to increase movie sales, Apple is featuring more alternative content in the iTunes store. Today, they've introduced the "Music Movies" library and added a landing page to promote releases. Music movies are music themed movies, concerts, and documentaries showing a lot of behind-the-scenes footage.

While at the moment the collection is limited, Apple does offer a few movies that are only available on the iTunes store, like the Kings of Leon concert DVD and U2's 'Rattle and Hum' and 'John Lennon Imagine'.

Apple also plans to negotiate early release of some music-themed movies for the iTunes store so people can buy them there long before they come out in stores.

Apple Corps Releases A Beatles Apple

Liam Widman — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:29:53 -0600

The Beatles' songs may have not come to the Apple iTunes store, but they will arrive in a small green apple USB device.

The new Beatles apple is selling for $279.99, and will be released on December 8, almost 3 months after the September 9 (9/9/09 because of the song "Revolution 9") release of the remastered set of Beatles albums, along with the, oh so amazing, Beatles Rock Band video game. The apple shape is a reference to Apple Corps, which was the Beatles' music publisher, who also sued Apple Computers for because of a trademark dispute in the past.

In addition to all the Beatles songs in MP3 and FLAC format, the 16 gigabyte USB drive will have "all of the remastered CDs' visual elements, including 13 mini-documentary films about the studio albums, replicated original UK album art, rare photos and expanded liner notes."

iTunes LP: A Pricey Business

Cory Bohon — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 16:55:53 -0500

At the latest Apple event, the company touted iTunes LP as being a really cool way to experience your music, but that cool experience is costing music labels.

According to a recent Gizmodo post, Apple is said to be charging $10,000 for the production of an iTunes LP. Not only that, but they are currently not offering this nice feature to indie labels, even if they could afford this hefty price tag.

In the end, the LPs generally cost iTunes users between $10 and $15 to get an interactive interface with photos, music, and videos of their favorite artist. It looks like we won't be seeing any lesser-known artists for a while though, thanks to Apple's production fee.

Via Engadget

RockBand Heads to iPhone/iPod touch

Cory Bohon — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 16:37:19 -0500

A mobile version of the popular music rhythm game franchise, RockBand, will be heading to an iPhone or iPod touch near you soon enough. TechCrunch is reporting that the game should be due out in mid-October with 20 songs (15 playable up front, 5 unlockable).

There's no announced price, but we do have some additional info about the game. It will feature Bluetooth gameplay, allowing 4 people to rock out together in regular Rockband fashion (vocals, drums, bass and guitar).

The gameplay is the same as what you might find in TapTap Revenge in that you tap on the notes to play them. The vocals are done the same way -- sorry, you won't be able to belt out your favorite tune while you wait for your bus. See the video above for a demonstration of each instrument.

Here's the full track listing:
“Attack” – 30 Seconds To Mars
“Girls Not Grey” – AFI
“Move Along” – All American Rejects
“Sabotage” – Beastie Boys
“All The Small Things” – Blink-182
“Hanging on the Telephone” – Blondie
“Learn To Fly” – Foo Fighters
“Everlong” – Foo Fighters
“Bad to The Bone” – George Thorogood & the Destroyers
“Hymn 43″ – Jethro Tull
“Bad Reputation” – Joan Jett
“Simple Man” – Lynard Skynard
“Ace of Spades ‘08″ – Motorhead
“Debaser” – Pixies
“Ladybug” – Presidents of The United States of America
“Give It All” – Rise Against
“Lazy Eye” – Silversun Pick Ups
“Cherub Rock” – Smashing Pumpkins
“Take The Money and Run” – Steve Miller Band
“We Got The Beat” – The Go Go’s

Video via MacRumors.

djay 3

Roberto Baldwin — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 16:27:06 -0500

Spin the Beats on the Cheap (click to embiggen)

There are two camps in the world of DJing--analog purists and the cutting edge digital folks. While the purists will hold on to their vinyl like a child clutching its favorite toy, the digital folks are out there looking for the best way to rock the house while attempting to stay out of the poor house. With all the software and hardware aimed at digital DJs, it's easy to get fooled into thinking you need a few thousand dollars in equipment to bring the noise. The latest update to djay by Algoriddim will give you the power to rock the beats without breaking the bank.

For the beginner, djay is a painless entry into the world of DJing. For veterans, it's a wonderful addition to your arsenal that doesn't skimp on features. For $50, you're given a surprisingly powerful piece of software. Djay interacts with your existing iTunes library, offering instant access to any DRM-free music you have on your machine. The interface looks like a typical DJ setup with two turntables and a mixer. Drag songs from the music library in the app onto the turntables and they become virtual records complete with album art (if available) while the track name appears above the album with the time elapsed and time left. Helpful if you're in a dark room trying to figure out what song is on each virtual deck.

Fans of multi-touch will appreciate the quick gestures to fade between songs and the digital scratching. While virtual scratching has a ways to go before it replaces the feel and control of scratching a vinyl record, djay does a commendable job recreating the feeling via multi-touch on the track pad. As tracks are added to the mix, the app quickly displays the BPM to help you determine whether the song will work in the mix, or if you need to speed up, or slow down the track for a seamless mix. The Sync button will help match the BPMs of the two songs, or you can adjust it manually.

The new audio engine handles scratches, variable speed, and reverse admirably even going so far as to replicate the braking sound of a turntable that has been stopped while the needle is still in a groove. The smooth slow-down of the song will spark memories in those of us old enough to remember vinyl. The software ships with audio effects and an EQ to get the sound just right.

If you're tired of mixing and need a break, you can use the Automix feature, build a playlist and let the application take care of the mixes while you cruise the party.

Djay 3 will be available from algoriddim on September 29.

Change iTunes 9's Appearance

Cory Bohon — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 19:18:29 -0500

Many iTunes users bemoaned the passing of the old iTunes theme for the new look in iTunes 9.0. With a quick hack, you can have that old theme back. Buttons and all. There's a MacThemes forum topic where a user has come up with a way to get the old iTunes 8 theme back.

The process is rather involved, requiring you to replace an RSRC file with one that you can download from the MacThemes forum thread. While the forum post doesn't mention this, we would like to add that you should duplicate and back up the RSRC file that you're overwriting. By doing this, you can change the theme back if something gets messed up.

Good luck!