Category: Blog

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Cloud Storage Options

Cloud Storage
iCloud, Dropbox, Google Drive, Skydrive
Cloud Storage
Apple iCloud, Dropbox,
Google Drive, Microsoft SkyDrive

Now that Outlook.com is open to the public, Microsoft SkyDrive is too, and it comes with 7GB of free storage.  I’m already using Apple iCloud (5GB), Dropbox (3.6GB) and Google Drive (5GB), and with the addition of SkyDrive, that makes over 20GB of cloud storage that is available to individual users free of charge… I am loving this.

SkyDrive has really beautiful web app versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote, and the overall interface is extremely nice.  If this is what Office 365 looks like, I may have to give that a try too.

Google Drive still has more web applications (formerly Google Docs) and also has, importantly, optional two-factor authentication. I’ve been using the Google Authenticator mobile app for multi-factor authentication with LastPass, and you can easily add Google Drive and other platforms right in the same app.

iCloud already handles a lot of the storage needs for iOS devices natively, including iTunes music; and Dropbox is still the easiest and most intuitve for basic file storage, syncing and sharing.

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ScoreCleaner iOS App Automates Notation

ScoreCleaner Notes iOS App
ScoreCleaner Notes iOS App
ScoreCleaner Notes iOS App

ScoreCleaner Notes is a new iOS app that can record singing or playing and transcribe musical notation on the fly. It works with melody only (no harmony), and is a scaled-down version of the full-featured desktop program, ScoreCleaner. The app version can interpret pitch, time signature, rhythm & meter, and tempo directly from the audio input.  I haven’t stepped into the studio yet to double-check whether or not Sibelius has any extensions for doing this, but I’m pretty sure I haven’t seen this before.  I gave it a quick try, singing a major scale, and it easily got the pitch, notation and even tempo right.  The app does require an internet connection, since the recording analysis is done in the cloud, similar to other apps such as Dragon Dictation.  The list of features is impressive, and if you also have the full desktop version, the ScoreCleaner Cloud will keep the iOS app and the full version in sync.

Download – iTunes App Store

Website – scorecleaner.com 
 

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CD Baby Drops Digital Sales Commission To 9%

CD Baby Digital Sales
CD Baby Digital Sales
CD Baby Digital Sales
CD Baby Digital Sales

CD Baby just lowered its commission on MP3 sales from 25% to 9%, making it the lowest of any of the digital retailers, including Bandcamp, which powers the store on this site.  And the new rate also applies to sales that come through any of their direct-to-fan sales modules, like the MusicStore for Facebook.  CD Baby has probably the most complete set of artist tools of any of the independent music distribution services, and they just keep getting better and better, even since founder Derek Sivers left in 2008.  It’s hard not to like this company…

Visit:  Mike Shupp “October Sun” on CDBaby.com 
 

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Rent Plug-Ins at Avid Store

Avid Store
Avid Store | Pro Tools Plug-Ins
Avid Store | Pro Tools Plug-Ins
Avid Store | Pro Tools Plug-Ins

I just noticed that you can rent some of the Pro Tools® plug-ins at the Avid Store, instead of purchasing them. Impact and SoundReplacer caught my eye (neither of which I own), each available to rent for either 7 days ($19) or 31 days ($49)… that’s not too bad.

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Diamond in the Rough: A Memoir by Shawn Colvin

Diamond in the Rough: A Memoir by Shawn Colvin
Diamond in the Rough: A Memoir by Shawn Colvin
Diamond in the Rough
A Memoir
By Shawn Colvin

I just finished Shawn Colvin’s new memoir “Diamond in the Rough” (thanks, Santa) and thoroughly enjoyed it. I had always been intrigued by her as an artist; I’d been a casual fan, and had two records (“Steady On” and “A Few Small Repairs”), but never quite understood her songwriting role on those records, which seemed largely co-written and produced by John Leventhal. Indeed, much of the book is about her long journey to find her own identity as an artist and songwriter, and even chronicles the making of each of her albums and how the songs were written… compelling stuff for fellow musicians. I think it’s a well-written book, too, at least insofar as her voice and personality certainly come through; and it’s astonishingly frank as well… a good read.

Shawn Colvin w/ Mary Chapin Carpenter at the Birchmere, 3/30/12
Birchmere
3/30/12
I saw her live for the first time last March at the Birchmere, and glad I did—Mary Chapin Carpenter made a surprise appearance, and they played the rest of the show together, their first time together on stage in many years, apparently… a great night.

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Hard Work of Sound Engineer

Hard Work of Sound Engineer

The good folks at Pro Tools Expert blog shared this… from where, I’ve no idea, but I couldn’t resist re-posting: 
 

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New SoundCloud Design

New SoundCloud Design
New SoundCloud Design
New SoundCloud Design

SoundCloud pages have been redesigned with a beautiful new layout and easier song navigation (primarily for desktop view)… give it a try here:

Mike Shupp on SoundCloud

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Download From iTunes Store

Gift Mike Shupp Music on iTunes
Gift Mike Shupp Music on iTunes
Gift Mike Shupp Music on iTunes
Gift Mike Shupp Music on iTunes

Need quick last minute gift ideas? iTunes Store lets you gift digital music by printing out a personalized gift certificate of your purchase right from your own computer, to give in person, as well as the option to immediately send the gift certificate by email… all Mike Shupp digital albums are available in the iTunes Store here.

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