Richie Hawtin On The Future Of Cloud-Based Music-Making

In a new interview with AudioSilverLining, Richie Hawtin shares his thoughts on the future of cloud-based music-making:

I think there’s a lot of promise in cloud-based studios. Honestly, I believe that most of the music in the coming years will be made in some type of Cloud based situation.

Studio’s bring people together, to collaborate, share ideas, and create ‘things’ together. The world we live in today shows us that these collaborations and sharing of ideas do not have to happen in the physical world.

Look at Facebook, Google Docs, My Space, Twitter these are all places where people collaborate, communicate, share and so forth that bridge the physical distances between them. This is the way forward with Studios and Music production.

Forget having to fly people in to jam with – jam with them online!

Note: Hawtin is an official “ambassador” for Burn Studios Audiotool – a Flash-based virtual studio.

What do you think about the potential of cloud-based virtual studios – making music in your Web browser on servers thousands of miles away?

31 thoughts on “Richie Hawtin On The Future Of Cloud-Based Music-Making

  1. latency will be a problem – if the speed of light is 186,000 miles per second then every 186 miles the signal travels adds a millisecond of latency. Consider 10 mS as a limit most people don't like to exceed so then you have about a 1000 mile workable radius. Note that this is with a theoretically perfect signal path which doesn't account for the signal passing through various routers and other network elements which can add latency. . . .I can not see how a real-time jam with people beyond a certain distance can work. . . .FO

  2. latency will be a problem – if the speed of light is 186,000 miles per second then every 186 miles the signal travels adds a millisecond of latency. Consider 10 mS as a limit most people don't like to exceed so then you have about a 1000 mile workable radius. Note that this is with a theoretically perfect signal path which doesn't account for the signal passing through various routers and other network elements which can add latency. . . .I can not see how a real-time jam with people beyond a certain distance can work. . . .FO

  3. latency will be a problem – if the speed of light is 186,000 miles per second then every 186 miles the signal travels adds a millisecond of latency. Consider 10 mS as a limit most people don't like to exceed so then you have about a 1000 mile workable radius. Note that this is with a theoretically perfect signal path which doesn't account for the signal passing through various routers and other network elements which can add latency. . . .I can not see how a real-time jam with people beyond a certain distance can work. . . .FO

  4. latency will be a problem – if the speed of light is 186,000 miles per second then every 186 miles the signal travels adds a millisecond of latency. Consider 10 mS as a limit most people don't like to exceed so then you have about a 1000 mile workable radius. Note that this is with a theoretically perfect signal path which doesn't account for the signal passing through various routers and other network elements which can add latency. . . .I can not see how a real-time jam with people beyond a certain distance can work. . . .FO

  5. latency will be a problem – if the speed of light is 186,000 miles per second then every 186 miles the signal travels adds a millisecond of latency. Consider 10 mS as a limit most people don't like to exceed so then you have about a 1000 mile workable radius. Note that this is with a theoretically perfect signal path which doesn't account for the signal passing through various routers and other network elements which can add latency. . . .I can not see how a real-time jam with people beyond a certain distance can work. . . .FO

  6. latency will be a problem – if the speed of light is 186,000 miles per second then every 186 miles the signal travels adds a millisecond of latency. Consider 10 mS as a limit most people don't like to exceed so then you have about a 1000 mile workable radius. Note that this is with a theoretically perfect signal path which doesn't account for the signal passing through various routers and other network elements which can add latency. . . .I can not see how a real-time jam with people beyond a certain distance can work. . . .FO

  7. I've been working cloud based for the last 2 years on the Sigue Sigue Sputnik Electronic project. It's not a scenario where two people are collaborating realtime, but it's a case of uploading the latest changes to a track and getting an update 5 mins/10mins later and then being able to work on those changes really quickly. This ain't nothing new in my eyes. Hawtins, your behind the game…

  8. I've been working cloud based for the last 2 years on the Sigue Sigue Sputnik Electronic project. It's not a scenario where two people are collaborating realtime, but it's a case of uploading the latest changes to a track and getting an update 5 mins/10mins later and then being able to work on those changes really quickly. This ain't nothing new in my eyes. Hawtins, your behind the game…

  9. I've been working cloud based for the last 2 years on the Sigue Sigue Sputnik Electronic project. It's not a scenario where two people are collaborating realtime, but it's a case of uploading the latest changes to a track and getting an update 5 mins/10mins later and then being able to work on those changes really quickly. This ain't nothing new in my eyes. Hawtins, your behind the game…

  10. I've been working cloud based for the last 2 years on the Sigue Sigue Sputnik Electronic project. It's not a scenario where two people are collaborating realtime, but it's a case of uploading the latest changes to a track and getting an update 5 mins/10mins later and then being able to work on those changes really quickly. This ain't nothing new in my eyes. Hawtins, your behind the game…

  11. I've been working cloud based for the last 2 years on the Sigue Sigue Sputnik Electronic project. It's not a scenario where two people are collaborating realtime, but it's a case of uploading the latest changes to a track and getting an update 5 mins/10mins later and then being able to work on those changes really quickly. This ain't nothing new in my eyes. Hawtins, your behind the game…

  12. I've been working cloud based for the last 2 years on the Sigue Sigue Sputnik Electronic project. It's not a scenario where two people are collaborating realtime, but it's a case of uploading the latest changes to a track and getting an update 5 mins/10mins later and then being able to work on those changes really quickly. This ain't nothing new in my eyes. Hawtins, your behind the game…

  13. This might be obvious, but a little difficult for many musicians to accept: Cloud-based music-making could make music-making even less expensive and more powerful than it already is. There is no specialized hardware (a controller) and software is will live entirely in the cloud. The interesting thing will be the business models used; renting a DAW or plug-ins by the hour/day/session? At least everyone will have access to the same environment in a given project. Thoughts?

  14. I cloud… That being said it's not the toll that you use, it's the way it is applied. Change your thinking. Music makes you change by design. Proactive adjustments in a live environment makes for more spontaneous interaction. Train to read (Play) music well ahead of "Now". This is a basic musical requirement in orchestrated performances. Apply the now… before now. It's a different way of thinking for most, but leads to better performances and better music… I think. The cloud forces thought and planing, even in spontaneousness interaction just as plucking results in a wave form. I love this S@#T.

  15. I cloud… That being said it's not the toll that you use, it's the way it is applied. Change your thinking. Music makes you change by design. Proactive adjustments in a live environment makes for more spontaneous interaction. Train to read (Play) music well ahead of "Now". This is a basic musical requirement in orchestrated performances. Apply the now… before now. It's a different way of thinking for most, but leads to better performances and better music… I think. The cloud forces thought and planing, even in spontaneousness interaction just as plucking results in a wave form. I love this S@#T.

  16. I cloud… That being said it's not the toll that you use, it's the way it is applied. Change your thinking. Music makes you change by design. Proactive adjustments in a live environment makes for more spontaneous interaction. Train to read (Play) music well ahead of "Now". This is a basic musical requirement in orchestrated performances. Apply the now… before now. It's a different way of thinking for most, but leads to better performances and better music… I think. The cloud forces thought and planing, even in spontaneousness interaction just as plucking results in a wave form. I love this S@#T.

  17. I cloud… That being said it's not the toll that you use, it's the way it is applied. Change your thinking. Music makes you change by design. Proactive adjustments in a live environment makes for more spontaneous interaction. Train to read (Play) music well ahead of "Now". This is a basic musical requirement in orchestrated performances. Apply the now… before now. It's a different way of thinking for most, but leads to better performances and better music… I think. The cloud forces thought and planing, even in spontaneousness interaction just as plucking results in a wave form. I love this S@#T.

  18. I cloud… That being said it's not the toll that you use, it's the way it is applied. Change your thinking. Music makes you change by design. Proactive adjustments in a live environment makes for more spontaneous interaction. Train to read (Play) music well ahead of "Now". This is a basic musical requirement in orchestrated performances. Apply the now… before now. It's a different way of thinking for most, but leads to better performances and better music… I think. The cloud forces thought and planing, even in spontaneousness interaction just as plucking results in a wave form. I love this S@#T.

  19. I cloud… That being said it's not the toll that you use, it's the way it is applied. Change your thinking. Music makes you change by design. Proactive adjustments in a live environment makes for more spontaneous interaction. Train to read (Play) music well ahead of "Now". This is a basic musical requirement in orchestrated performances. Apply the now… before now. It's a different way of thinking for most, but leads to better performances and better music… I think. The cloud forces thought and planing, even in spontaneousness interaction just as plucking results in a wave form. I love this S@#T.

  20. Hey, thanks for posting this Synthopia!

    Good to see some some debate around it too, and some positive thoughts…

    Frank O – Indeed real time could well be an issue, I'm going to run an article next year on some of the existing tools for this, such as Ninjam and where the tech is heading on ASL next year.

    k-tronix – Indeed, and cloud based VST's are already being developed that could use this model too. Its likely that as subscription services such as Spotify get more popular this "renting" of services spreads to music tech too

    For those of you that are interested, here is a piece from The Next Web that I posted on Cloud based music tech earlier this year…
    http://thenextweb.com/socialmedia/2010/07/24/how-

    and of course there is always ASL too!

    Edward James Bass http://www.audiosilverlining.com
    @audiosilver

  21. Hey, thanks for posting this Synthopia!

    Good to see some some debate around it too, and some positive thoughts…

    Frank O – Indeed real time could well be an issue, I'm going to run an article next year on some of the existing tools for this, such as Ninjam and where the tech is heading on ASL next year.

    k-tronix – Indeed, and cloud based VST's are already being developed that could use this model too. Its likely that as subscription services such as Spotify get more popular this "renting" of services spreads to music tech too

    For those of you that are interested, here is a piece from The Next Web that I posted on Cloud based music tech earlier this year…
    http://thenextweb.com/socialmedia/2010/07/24/how-

    and of course there is always ASL too!

    Edward James Bass http://www.audiosilverlining.com
    @audiosilver

  22. Hey, thanks for posting this Synthopia!

    Good to see some some debate around it too, and some positive thoughts…

    Frank O – Indeed real time could well be an issue, I'm going to run an article next year on some of the existing tools for this, such as Ninjam and where the tech is heading on ASL next year.

    k-tronix – Indeed, and cloud based VST's are already being developed that could use this model too. Its likely that as subscription services such as Spotify get more popular this "renting" of services spreads to music tech too

    For those of you that are interested, here is a piece from The Next Web that I posted on Cloud based music tech earlier this year…
    http://thenextweb.com/socialmedia/2010/07/24/how-

    and of course there is always ASL too!

    Edward James Bass http://www.audiosilverlining.com
    @audiosilver

  23. Hey, thanks for posting this Synthopia!

    Good to see some some debate around it too, and some positive thoughts…

    Frank O – Indeed real time could well be an issue, I'm going to run an article next year on some of the existing tools for this, such as Ninjam and where the tech is heading on ASL next year.

    k-tronix – Indeed, and cloud based VST's are already being developed that could use this model too. Its likely that as subscription services such as Spotify get more popular this "renting" of services spreads to music tech too

    For those of you that are interested, here is a piece from The Next Web that I posted on Cloud based music tech earlier this year…
    http://thenextweb.com/socialmedia/2010/07/24/how-

    and of course there is always ASL too!

    Edward James Bass http://www.audiosilverlining.com
    @audiosilver

  24. Hey, thanks for posting this Synthopia!

    Good to see some some debate around it too, and some positive thoughts…

    Frank O – Indeed real time could well be an issue, I'm going to run an article next year on some of the existing tools for this, such as Ninjam and where the tech is heading on ASL next year.

    k-tronix – Indeed, and cloud based VST's are already being developed that could use this model too. Its likely that as subscription services such as Spotify get more popular this "renting" of services spreads to music tech too

    For those of you that are interested, here is a piece from The Next Web that I posted on Cloud based music tech earlier this year…
    http://thenextweb.com/socialmedia/2010/07/24/how-

    and of course there is always ASL too!

    Edward James Bass http://www.audiosilverlining.com
    @audiosilver

  25. Hey, thanks for posting this Synthopia!

    Good to see some some debate around it too, and some positive thoughts…

    Frank O – Indeed real time could well be an issue, I'm going to run an article next year on some of the existing tools for this, such as Ninjam and where the tech is heading on ASL next year.

    k-tronix – Indeed, and cloud based VST's are already being developed that could use this model too. Its likely that as subscription services such as Spotify get more popular this "renting" of services spreads to music tech too

    For those of you that are interested, here is a piece from The Next Web that I posted on Cloud based music tech earlier this year…
    http://thenextweb.com/socialmedia/2010/07/24/how-

    and of course there is always ASL too!

    Edward James Bass http://www.audiosilverlining.com
    @audiosilver

  26. Hopefully it will end up like goggle Docs, where two people can edit the same text file at the same time and see each other's changes in real time.
    Combined with a tracker, so everybody in the project can share files quickly.

    This can be very effective workspace sharing in some situations. Also avoids problems remembering and sorting all those memory sticks…
    Maybe not like an online band rehearsal room, but simpler than any other distance collab tech.

  27. Hopefully it will end up like goggle Docs, where two people can edit the same text file at the same time and see each other's changes in real time.
    Combined with a tracker, so everybody in the project can share files quickly.

    This can be very effective workspace sharing in some situations. Also avoids problems remembering and sorting all those memory sticks…
    Maybe not like an online band rehearsal room, but simpler than any other distance collab tech.

  28. Hopefully it will end up like goggle Docs, where two people can edit the same text file at the same time and see each other's changes in real time.
    Combined with a tracker, so everybody in the project can share files quickly.

    This can be very effective workspace sharing in some situations. Also avoids problems remembering and sorting all those memory sticks…
    Maybe not like an online band rehearsal room, but simpler than any other distance collab tech.

  29. Hopefully it will end up like goggle Docs, where two people can edit the same text file at the same time and see each other's changes in real time.
    Combined with a tracker, so everybody in the project can share files quickly.

    This can be very effective workspace sharing in some situations. Also avoids problems remembering and sorting all those memory sticks…
    Maybe not like an online band rehearsal room, but simpler than any other distance collab tech.

  30. Hopefully it will end up like goggle Docs, where two people can edit the same text file at the same time and see each other's changes in real time.
    Combined with a tracker, so everybody in the project can share files quickly.

    This can be very effective workspace sharing in some situations. Also avoids problems remembering and sorting all those memory sticks…
    Maybe not like an online band rehearsal room, but simpler than any other distance collab tech.

  31. Hopefully it will end up like goggle Docs, where two people can edit the same text file at the same time and see each other's changes in real time.
    Combined with a tracker, so everybody in the project can share files quickly.

    This can be very effective workspace sharing in some situations. Also avoids problems remembering and sorting all those memory sticks…
    Maybe not like an online band rehearsal room, but simpler than any other distance collab tech.

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