Subject: [linux-audio-user] Doing the soundcard manufacturer tango (long)
From: Dave Phillips (dlphilp_AT_bright.net)
Date: Thu Dec 02 2004 - 16:42:46 EET
Greetings:
As I skim over the various messages regarding Marek's tribulations,
first with RME, then with apparently the entire LA* community, I started
thinking that there was some basic flaw in the whole thing. After some
reflection, a few thoughts on the matter:
Frankly, who gives a a flying fsck what gear you're using ? I'm
*far* more interested in what you're doing with it than who makes it,
whether it's "pro" audio gear, if it's the latest trend, or even if it's
"The Future" (TM Disney Corp., I'm sure) of audio technology throughout
the known universe. There seems to be this prevailing fear motif that
somehow if we don't have firewire or whatever that we will somehow
become disabled as musicians and kept forever from creating and
recording good music. What a lot of horse hockey. Over and over again we
see/hear artists who do their work on whatever's available, making it
work because for them it has to work, they have no choice. Early rappers
single-handedly revived a slew of vintage drum machines and synths, the
Seattle punkers said "No thanks!" to the technical indulgences of the
big-hair guitarists of the 80s, returning to the *song* as the logical
focus of a rock band, and if I had to make the point further I'd bring
up Conlon Nancarrow and Harry Partch. Geez, people, stop talking and
start singing ! Where's "Marek's Blues" or "The RME Fight Song" ?? Come
on, the talent's here, we know it is. And I've never heard a single
"normal" listener say anything like "Wow, they really knew how to use
[Pro Tools, Cubase, Ardour] on that song!".
I think we're barking up the wrong tree. Maybe letters to
manufacturers make a difference, but I'll bet one successful song will
do more to attract manufacturers and users to Linux. Even touting
numbers isn't nearly so effective an attention-getter as would be a
single successful recording. And by "successful" I mean that it reaches
tens or hundreds of thousands of people.
Then during the interviews you can say "Ja, I used Linux, ya know,
it's da bomb"...
We're also still missing the potential in the academic scene.
Professors and researchers also have pull, and if they can be convinced
to use Linux in their audio labs, they can also bring pressure on
manufacturers to provide them with drivers et cetera. Plus, a great deal
of hardware work could probably be done at university level, they have
the resources. The home recording market is another potentially powerful
force. In other words, no change will come from the high end, because
there's simply no incentive. Large studios have money for
state-of-the-art equipment and software, they're all scrambling to stay
ahead of the competition (because there isn't really very much of it) by
having what the other guys don't, and there's just no reason for them to
even take an interest in anything other than what they know or are told
to know via Mix magazine. So, no market for Linux there, sorry, not at
this moment in time. But the home studios and smaller scale pro studios
are more budget-minded, ditto for academic studios. Lots of possibility
there, lots of people, lots of potential pressure on manufacturers to
stand up and notice the movement around them. But we won't reach them by
writing messages on mail-lists, we'll reach them by showing them what
can be done.
It's often overlooked how incredibly conservative the whole industry
really is. Innovative trends like Linux may be perceived more as
disruptive than smoothly continuing "things as we've always known and
liked them to be", especially to the higher-level professional studios.
Mark, I'll buy you a case of Iron City Light if Digi ever decides to
support Linux in any way. It's just not in their best interest to do so.
They have created a locked-in market as completely as M$ has done, even
moreso because of the narrow market base. They'll continue to eke out
their innovations to keep them ahead of their competitors and they'll
continue their so-far successful policy of keeping everything closed. I
think it's important to note that such companies are not necessarily
hostile to their user-base, they simply have the power to define that
base and they'll do everything in their power to maintain the lock-in.
It's how they're making their money now, it's been working for them for
many years, and there seems to be no pressing reason for them to change.
So, what to do ? Well, AudioScience has a developer who could perhaps
persuade his company that there's a growing market for high-end
pro-audio cards for Linux, and his company could literally corner the
market for a while simply by providing either their own open-source
drivers or by giving the specs to the community and letting the ALSA and
OSS guys do the driver dance. There's already been some exchange, but
perhaps a little more concerted community effort in that direction can
help ?
Ivica has been working on new ways to promote Linux audio software in
academia, perhaps more people could work with him in a more directed
fashion ? Like a mass-mailing of live Linux audio CDs to the heads of
music tech departments around the world ? I'm sure there are a lot of
ways to create inroads to academic studios.
And we need to make more music with the gear we have. Y'know, I'm sure
that all that virtual hot air blown over on the RME lists could be
utterly dispelled by someone writing, recording, and posting a "Marek's
Lament". I'll bet the cats at RME would be far more interested in
hearing that one song than reading yet another dozen or so screeds.
So get it on, folks. I'm tired of finding my LA* message boxes filled
with diatribe and pointless blame, I want to hear some more *music*.
Isn't that really why we're all here ?
Best regards,
dp
PS: Much of this message should be read with a healthy dose of good
humor, followed by a refreshing walk in the crisp morning air. Which is
where I'm headed now...
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b28 : Thu Dec 02 2004 - 16:43:47 EET