|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
MUSIC ROCKS
We do have good reason for being gung-ho about OPM on the WWW. Musicians as diverse as RiverMaya and John Lesaca, Pops Fernandez and Put3Ska, understand the potential of the Internet in promoting their work. It's reflected in the way their home pages are designed and in how they actively participate in online music circles. Web designers have taken cudgels in bringing original content and most of the audio and video samples to the cyber-masses. The rest of the industry, including record companies and radio stations, unfortunately are less progressive in their thinking,, or at least slower to jump into unfamiliar territory. Sure, most of them have their own Web sites, but except for a few creative ones, the rest content themselves with a humdrum Internet presence.
Take, for instance, radio stations. DJ profiles and program schedules are fine. But we want more. We want to be able to listen to audio samples, say of the top ten most requested songs. We want to e-mail our requests and promptly get an answer. We want to chat with DJs, that is, if we like them. When a singer or band drops by the station to do some promos, we wish we can chat with them online. And if it's not a big bother, we like live audio broadcast so we can listen to a portion, if not the entire, program while we surf (so far, only Radio Romance is doing RealAudio broadcasts). Are we asking too much? Of course. Most Web sites of radio stations are designed and updated in such a way that they must have intended visitors to drop by once and vow never to return. 103.5 K-Lite at least puts in enough effort to make its site worth coming back to. They update their daily news, including traffic and weather reports. You can e-mail some DJs and online chat is in the works, which is just perfect as the station is touted as "talk radio". City Lite 88.3 has a nice-looking site, which pretty much hasn't changed since its inception. It's hyped-up promise of live broadcast (the last date for the so-called launch was October 9) hasn't materialized. Another unfulfilled promise is online purchase of their jazz collections. Indeed, there are discographies but no order info yet. In the meantime, check the site every couple of weeks for any progress. NU 107 recently enjoyed media mileage with its highly successful NU Rock Awards. After reading a press release that their Web site will release up-to-the-minute news of who just won which award, it's an understatement to say it was a letdown to find the same old site. Ironically, other Web sites like PhilMusic.com and Sky Cable's i-site featured their own section where fans can nominate artists for the rock awards. K-Lite, City Lite, and NU are three of the more creative stations we have. We would have expected much more from their Web sites. Unfortunately, we did not get any reply from City Lite and NU to our e-mail messages and we ran out of time to contact them by phone. We can only surmise that the reason for the big promises and slow delivery is that complex and creative Web sites as a general rule expend more money than they can generate. If you have tried streaming audio and video before, the experience can be quite frustrating. It's like listening to someone stutter and take long pauses. Videos are worse-it's like the eighties' "Metallic Gigolo" all over again. Ronnie Miranda assures us though that "the software encoders and audio plug-ins for the Internet audio have improved a lot over the years that surfers can even listen to near-CD voice quality at 28.8 kpbs. The video screens are much larger. Furthermore, good audio really depends more on the quality of the source material and the digitizing and encoding process more than bandwidth and bad phone lines." He concedes though that "ISPs are constantly trying to catch up with the needs and demands of their users. These same demands are creating more stress on the servers and the infrastructure. The Net will not be able to handle the requirements of quality music as compared to TV and radio stations. However, when the Net uses cable TV signals, e.g. WebTV to transmit information, then we could hopefully get some improvement in the quality and transmission speed." Again, the cynic in us would ask: What's in it for the artist? Replies Miranda, "The Net is a marketing tool and when used properly, the emphasis should always be in its worldwide or global applications and not just its local application. For example, a Pinoy abroad wanting to keep in touch with the happenings in the Philippines or any foreigner who may be curious to find out who these Pinoy artists are would find it totally impractical to go to the Philippines with the sole purpose of watching a concert. Although not as exciting as a "being there" in a live concert, the Net would allow them to "be in touch" in a cost-effective way and give them some idea or information about the artist and the event. The artist therefore would now have a wider market base to promote themselves." Miranda welcomes musicians to submit their materials. He says several entertainers have expressed interest. On a final note, he says, " I hope it becomes the premiere venue on the net in which Pinoy artists can promote themselves, their work, their shows and all-in-all, the Philippine music industry." |