Technology: Casting the net out into the digital domain

Take a look around the next time you board a peak-hour train and you’ll see that nearly every commuter is carrying a portable MP3 player. These digital devices have changed the musical world as we know it, but the next stage in their evolution is podcasts – allowing you to take your favourite radio broadcast on the road.

Without a doubt the biggest musical revolution witnessed over the past few years was the rise of the MP3 player, or more specifically, the complete dominance of Apple’s sleekly designed and hipper-than-thou iPod. These handheld devices, now capable of storing 60 gigs worth of digital files as standard, have changed the way we listen to music. When we’re capable of carrying around several thousand songs in our pocket, the bus trip to work or the casual stroll down to the corner store are suddenly transformed into an opportunity to soak up out the latest aural delights.

The biggest issue related to the popularity of MP3 players is the proliferation of music piracy and illegal file sharing. Record companies continue to claim the death of the industry is nigh, Metallica took out Napster in a high-profile court case and dance artists as diverse as Rennie Pilgrim, Sasha and John ‘OO’ Flemming have all bemoaned the loss of royalties to artists. All of this bad press would suggest that the rise of portable music players is far from a positive development for the music industry.

Podcasts offer a new way of looking at things. In the same way record labels now have outlets like iTunes and the dance-centric Traxsource to allow them to make money through digital downloads, the relatively recent phenomenon of the podcast offers another way that voices in the media can legitimately get their message out there, and make their presence felt among the new generation of tech-savvy MP3 listeners. This is ot to mention it’s potential as yet another avenue to generate advertising dollars.

A Podcast is essentially a radio program that can be accessed via the internet and downloaded to your home computer. The term was coined in 2004 when the use of RSS syndication became popular for distributing audio content over the net, but podcasts really hit the mainstream when Apple integrated them into their iTunes software. While podcasts were only added to the Apple portfolio last year, the numbers speak for themselves. iPod users can browse over 25,000 available Podcasts, and sync their selected subscriptions so they are downloaded every time they log onto the net.

National youth radio network Triple J is one such broadcaster that has already enjoyed success with its podcasting venture. Listeners can download broadcasts of all their favourite programs – breakfast presenters Jay & the Doctor, the station’s daily current affairs program Hack and science guru Dr Karl to name just a few. But as yet, the Podcasts from Triple J and every other broadcaster in Australia have been music free.

To redress this balance, Inthemix has leapt into the fray to deliver its own unique take on the Podcasting experience – Australia’s first music Podcast to feature full length, licensed music tracks.

ITM joins the Podcast revolution
To realise the dream of a local dance music Podcast that actually features full-length licensed tracks, In-The-Mix picked up a publishing license from AMCOS (Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners’ Society), the first of its kind granted in Australia. With this license, the ITMPodcast Sessions can include full tracks from any artist providing the necessary approval is given by the record label, and the first of the fortnightly podcasts is now available for download free of charge.

Frank Rodi, online licensing manger for AMCOS, says In-The-Mix were the first organisation to actively seek a license of this kind.

“Digital music has transformed the music industry over a very short period of time and it’s important that license agreements adapt to these changes so that music can keep up,” he says. “We have adapted our broadcasting licenses and royalties for publishers for In-The-Mix podcasts as a trial with a view to implementing a full license in the near future.”

Each ITMPodcast Session runs for around 40 minutes, and will feature five to six fresh dance music tracks, with the show presented Sydney DJ duo FunkTrust. The podcasts include new music, interviews with dance music personalities, as well as shedding light on new artists.

Of most interest to all the chin scratchers in the ITM community is the opportunity to learn a little more about all those faceless producers that populate the tracklistings of your favourite dance compilations. For example, did you know that electro producers Johnjon & Ludovic hail from Hamburg and France respectively, teaming up to release their latest single Polarkrash on “Minimal to maximal electro house” label Criminal Records?

For the first of the ITMPodcast Sessions we are also introduced to Stick Figures, a production team consisting of the DJ talent behind Sydney electro night BEEF. Under the They’re Gonna Be Huge segment we get to meet Sydney-based bedroom producer General Electrik, and listen to his tasty breaks track Ammonia.

On the other hand, the Hitchhikers Guide to Dance Music, described as the universal encyclopaedia of everything related to repetitive beats, gives the rundown on seminal Aussie dance label Thunk.

Broadcasting the Funk
There are many dangers associated with carrying a tried and tested formula over to a new medium. While previously the execution may have seemed easy as pie, something new like a podcast brings up a whole number of new challenges. In the case of Aaron Cornish aka Learned Hand, one half of the FunkTrust DJs along with Will Styles, presenting the ITMPodcast Sessions led to a twitchy sense of paranoia setting in.

Unlike their existing weekly slot on Sydney community station FBI, which is broadcast over the airwaves and then lost forever, the podcasts are going to be around for a very long time. “It’s made us completely paranoid, and we’re not sleeping much at the moment,” says Cornish. “We’ve had to apply a critical lense to our banter, which is definitely an unfortunate thing.”

Putting such nervous tension aside, it was the FunkTrust boys’ success as the presenters of their FBI radio show that got them the gig in the first place. “I’ve known the ITM guys for a long time, and they were looking for hosts who knew a little bit about dance music and would be willing to sound stupid on air – which we’ve already proved our ability to do. ”

Getting serious about the potential of podcasts, Cornish is certain the on-demand medium will flourish even further beyond its current popularity. But to get too excited about its potential would be to ignore the fact that, for the moment at least, it remains a very difficult medium to work with.

“Music wise, we face a pretty significant challenge,” says Cornish. “The lack of a blanket license means that under the current licensing agreement, we’re heavily restricted in what we’re allowed to play on the broadcast.”

This is in stark contrast to the FunkTrust radio show on FBI, where the boys are allowed to play every little obscure piece of tasty funk they can get their hands on. The ITMPodcast Sessions, on the other hand, present something of a logistical nightmare.

“Me and Will sit down and come up with a list of tracks we’d like to feature, send it out to the hardworking people at ITM who basically grind their fingers to the bone to try and get the tracks cleared. We’ve had the shackles on so far, but ITM are soldiering on because they believe in the medium.”

The crew responsible for the ITMPodcast Sessions want to see awareness of the medium expand to the point where those who control policy might consider offering blanket licenses. This is something Cornish considers vital to allowing music-based podcasting to take off. But for the moment, the use of licensed tracks under the current arrangement is a step in the right direction. “A lot of people are really enthusiastic about the idea, we’re trying to expose upcoming artists and there’s a wealth of unsigned music out there,” he says.

Just as the FunkTrust boys are known for their fantastically eclectic DJ sets, so too they refuse to let their Podcasts be restricted to any particular genre of dance music. This was reflected in the content of the duo’s first ITMPodcast Session – a bit of house, a little electro, a splash of hip-hop and even a touch of old-school electronica from the Thunk label.

FunkTrust also promise they will endeavour to broadcast the freshest dance music out there, going well beyond the familiar selections heard on the latest Ministry of Sound compilation. New music is the focus, and when it comes down to a choice between something that has been thrashed over the airwaves to something a little more obscure, Cornish says they’ll always go with the latter.

“If you look at a track like Mylo’s remix of No More Conversations, within seconds of it being released it was being played everywhere. Something like that would definitely rate for an inclusion because it’s a quality track, but we’re not really interested in broadcasting the latest anthems.”

While we may not be treated to any music from the world’s most loved (and most hated) name in electro house, the FunkTrust boys promise to deliver a wide assortment of tasty dance treats to your MP3 player every two weeks.

Inthemix Podcast Session02 featuring Carl Cox is now online. To check it out, go to http://www.inthemix.com.au/podcasts/

ITM is also on the hunt for unsigned music to feature in the podcasts, so if you’re a bedroom producer looking for a little exposure then send an email to podcasts@team.inthemix.com.au with a link the track can be downloaded, or send a copy to the following address:

inthemix Podcasts
PO Box 1964
Strawberry Hills NSW 2012