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Madonna in the mixer Novel file format from Hungary is promising a new music experience
The music industry is stuck in gloom. Worldwide sales of music CDs, records and cassettes fell for the third year in a row, hit largely by rising Internet piracy. The large recording companies are desperately looking for new ideas to revive their business and leave the valley of doom and gloom. Rescue could come from Hungary, the land of the Csárdás dance and a number of famous composers. A modern Csárdás prince from Budapest literally wants to mix up the way music is delivered and heard. The Hungarian musician Sándor Mester, stage name MS3, developed a novel music file format called Digital Improvisation or DI. It enables the users to listen to one song in endless number of versions. “Imagine Madonna’s new releases were recorded in DI format. Whenever you hit the ‘Play’ button, a different remix of the same song is played back,” Mr. Mester explained. Two years ago, he founded the start-up company Digimpro to exploit the DI technology after he had already patented the DI algorithm in 1998. Now the technology seems to be maturing, though the use of the DI format is still limited to some experimental music groups. Currently, there are just a few DI audio CDs by relatively unknown bands available.
Wants to mix up music – DI developer Sándor Mester Life isn’t static The underlying principle of DI is to enable a multitude of versions of the same piece of music due to the motto “Life isn't static, why should music be?” which is the title of a DI song by Hungarian underground rock group Korai Orom. Variation and improvisation as such are nothing new in music. Just think of Bach’s Goldberg Variations or Free Jazz, not to speak of the sound sampling by today’s rap artists. In fact, variation is one of the main elements of life. It drives evolution and prevents boredom. “Variatio delectat”, already the old Romans knew, which means: variation pleases. In music, variation is a form based on constant repetition of a simple theme, each new version being elaborated or treated in a different manner. If this happens without planning or preparation it is usually called improvisation.
Description of the DI player on the Digimpro website New music experience The new aspect of DI is that variation and improvisation of a music piece is no longer limited to the composer and the performer. Now the music consumer can do this as well. This is how it works: The sound samples are bundled within a wrapper file format. During the recording and production process, the artist can explore a whole range of musical possibilities without having to commit to one single cut. In the final mastering, several versions are included in the final mix. DI provides the ability to represent musical variations of the same song encapsulated within a computer format, which then yields a whole spectrum of possible musical renditions. “But improvisation is just the tip of the iceberg,” said Mr. Mester. “DI also provides an intuitive interactive interface to allow the user to choose and control the way the song is played-back.” For the first time, Digimpro claims, listeners can actually arrange the song to suit their taste or mood, while at the same time preserving the artistic integrity of the music. Business opportunities Sándor Mester and his partners see DI as a concept, which could be applied to all musical genres and styles. From traditional jazz to electronic dance music, from pop to classical music, they argue that there would always be a way for DI to enhance the artistic and qualitative value of the recorded music. In addition, Digimpro pointed out the business opportunities for the music industry: DI would allow a label to offer more musical content without extending the length of a song. The encryption mechanism of DI would guarantee the protection of intellectual property rights. So far, it seems the big recording companies have not showed interest in the DI format. Thus, it is rather questionable that DI will be offered the chance to become a widespread music standard beyond the circles of some experimental musicians. However, in the music business you never know who is going to be a star tomorrow. As long as the DI format has not risen to star level, Madonna will have to publish her variations in consecutive order instead of putting them into one song. Further information: www.digimpro.com Please send us your comments on this article. |
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