My purpose for attending SF MusicTech Summit was to explore a different part of the technology business. My background and experience is mostly in the plumbing of the Internet, in the switches and valves which connect the bit streams, both to make them go faster, and in filtering out the evil bits. The music business, like many other application areas, assumes that all of that infrastructure exists, so that their customers can get any bits they can explain that they want. To them the network really is like electricity and water - available for a small fee, and they need pay no attention to how it is constructed, since their bottlenecks are not the network nor anything in the computing infrastructure. Their challenges are finding people who want to find them - competing for attention, which is a scarce commodity.

Hardware Demos :
Yobble showed a device which connected a movement sensor in a guitar pick to an iPhone - making it possible to get an 'air guitar' effect, either modifications to existing music or freeform new music - using 'buttons' on the iPhone for note selection. Target market is people who have iPhones and enjoy Rockband.

HRT played another device - this one connects to an iPhone on one side and a good quality entertainment system on the other. The embedded Digital to Audio converter bypasses the DAC in the iPhone and produces audiophile quality sound from a box about 6" x 2 1/2" x 1" ; there's a USB version too, prices about $199.

The Developer Platform panel discussed what it takes to get your app noticed - attend Music Hack Days, and/or engage with Appbistro - Ryan Merket, formerly of developer relations at Facebook, was articulate and passionate about the potential for music apps on Facebook.

Most interesting was the last panel, What Music Companies need from Startups, chaired by Ian Rogers. Ethan Kaplan (Warner) and Aaron Foreman (Universal) were there from the big labels - they were quite specific. They want an app, app keys, some Python or PHP - and a clear demonstration of the technology behind the proposed solution, along with a demonstration of how it adds value to what the label is doing, and a way to measure that it is really doing what it claims. Don't expect to get a hearing unless you have a test plan ! Ian Hogarth (Songkick) and Rachel Masters (Red Magnet) were all singing the same story - it's all about the musicians and the fans. It all sounded a little forced - the music is a product, like many other results of creative talent.

There was remarkably little live music actually played. There was a grand piano with a cover on pushed under the stairs beside the downstairs toilets in the hotel - after the sessions finished two people had opened it, and were playing, prompted by chord progressions on a iPhone propped on the music stand.

Other people who know much more about the music business blogged about the conference too.

References
Conference schedule
HRT iStreamer
Appbistro
Ian Rogers' notes
SFWeekly blog
Corey Denis's notes