21 Dec
2005
21 Dec
'05
1:29 p.m.
I believe the
primary reasons more musicians don't
use Linux have to do
with at least these conditions:
1. The perpetuation of outmoded perceptions re:
usability and interfaces.
2. The lack of wide hardware manufacturer
support.
3. The reticence of the major music journals to
cover the growing
Linux audio scene.
4. The lack of serious attention given Linux
audio from within the
larger Linux community itself.
5. No-one has released a hit created with Linux
audio tools. While I agree with points 1-4, I think there needs
to be a bit of
clarification added to point #5.
Mirror Image and Steep Rock demonstrate legitimacy for
Linux audio but give this crowd an inch and they want
a mile--number one hit on the pop charts. :) It's my
fantasy to produce a grammy winner because I need to
release my pre,postmortem grammy acceptance speech.
You know how it is when you have your legs crossed and
are jumping up and down 'cause ya gotta pee.
Hundreds (probably more like thousands) of
commercial releases involve
GNU/Linux audio tools. I know this because I have
contributed dozens myself
(national television and radio spots, theatrical
scores, commercial CD
releases etc.).
I've been resting on my laurels for the last year but
even at that things are picking up. I'll do three
substantial independent films this winter. And there's
some players involved in this years projects.
And in the back of my studio is an old storage room
that's been converted into "The Dungeon". It is
occupied by an electrical engineer, a software
engineer/business man and my dumb ass. We are
preparing to submit our second order PC boards. We are
not alone. And we probably are the smallest active
concern that I'm aware of.
ron
But how would anyone know which
tools I've used?
There also needs to be clarification regarding music
produced for commercial
purposes and music created for other reasons.
Generally speaking, the majority of commercially
available music software is
designed for the quick and easy production of
popular music. By definition
this means that the software is created in such a
way that important musical
decisions have been pre-made for the user. Most of
the time, the user isn't
even aware that this is happening - if the option is
never presented to you
how can you miss it?
Having said that, there is a definite advantage to
this approach. Commercially
produced software is usually optimized for a few
specific tasks, and it can
manage those tasks with relative ease. As with most
commercial enterprises,
time is money and there is great value to having
tools like this.
What can we do to promote the use of Linux audio
tools? We can take advantage
of the unique and "unusual" ways of producing music
that the GNU/Linux
environment provides. Don't come to FOSS looking
for a Cubase clone - Cubase
already exists - and works reasonably well.
Build a better musical product - and people will
want to know, "How'd you do
that?"
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Perhaps you should look into the latest
development in Csound5, Common
Music, and Pd ?
Amen. ;-)
Greg
www.steeprockmedia.com