Audiobus: Use your music apps together.
What is Audiobus? — Audiobus is an award-winning music app for iPhone and iPad which lets you use your other music apps together. Chain effects on your favourite synth, run the output of apps or Audio Units into an app like GarageBand or Loopy, or select a different audio interface output for each app. Route MIDI between apps — drive a synth from a MIDI sequencer, or add an arpeggiator to your MIDI keyboard — or sync with your external MIDI gear. And control your entire setup from a MIDI controller.
Download on the App StoreAudiobus is the app that makes the rest of your setup better.
Funding for Devs
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Do Devs seek outside funding (crowd, equity or impact) for the amazing work they do?
It astonishes me to read that the creators of some of the best UI/UX in the world (iOS music production app devs are fucking Jedis) are still working full time jobs and some are still barely being compensated for some of the most revered apps.
Is it that they don’t want partners, investors, sponsors aka The Man...influencing their creativity?
What is the distance between these Jedi being funded well enough to focus, enjoy, expand and promote their Force?
Is it a conscious decision to avoid Investors or Corp Bucks?
Inability to network, find and cultivate those type of business dev relationships?
Over assumption on my part and these dudes are really rolling in fetti (cash)?
Comments
It's a hobby for most of them.
With 500k purchases of FL mobile (according to Imageline)... are developers really ‘struggling’?
They have a well-established brand known by millions of users from desktop. If you think indie devs get even near 1% of such numbers you're overestimating the market.
Perhaps Audiokit gets somewhere close because it's free and gets promoted by Apple a lot.
I guess with bigger super-hit apps, devs don’t need partners - they keep all the profits.
With smaller apps, there is not much dough to share with other partners - considering the low cost of iOS apps.
Personal fulfillment and Altruism certainly run high with these Jedi no doubt! Thanks for the comment.
I have some thoughts in response but I’ll wait a bit. Hoping some devs chime in with intimate perspectives from the front line.
500k purchases for FL Mobile?!👀🤔
So this is hovering closer to my point that being sponsored or funded by larger brands/shops, investors, etc would mean bigger success right? It’s obviously not all about having the dopest software as much as a budget to afford letting everyone know about. 😉
Ah! Our first Jedi speaks!!! And...echos some of what I’m getting at. So @brambos what say you?
Is it like the medical field where brilliant doctors don’t make brilliant businessmen? One can only have but so much focus. My brother is a great doc but can’t netWork for shit and failed both attempts at a private practice because of funding and miss management.
His focus is on the latest and best care practices...not how to make money so his biz suffered for it. Add to it he can get a well paying job at any local hospital so he isn’t as driven to bridge the entrepreneurial gap.
Is it like that for iOS Music Devs? All focus on making the cool shit, skills provide safe money elsewhere, with no time or room for how to really expand, sell or even how to get trustworthy help?
My thinking also however, from what I’ve read around here...even “super-hit” indie apps aren’t really netting huge or sustainable income.
For that, one needs marketing budget, staff for quick fixes, updates...evangelists finding schools and studios to teach and use their tools...and other biz dev initiatives.
@Michael mentioned how Jimmy Fallon’s plug gave him a turbo shot! He was even checking into mortgages.lol. How is that dude not filthy stinking rich for his contributions?! Bram, Intua, Blip to name a few. There are so many that should have no money concerns at all while working on new groovy shit.
In my mind, I see them crowded around the latest Apple machines whistling while they work with cash falling from the ceiling.lmao
And it´s one of the worst iOS DAWs (for me at least).
As someone whose last company was fully investor funded (& nothing to do with music) & who is starting a new music software business via a more 'organic' route perhaps I can give you a little insight here.
First off - investors want returns! Lots of returns so your company needs to make a LOT of money (to give you a clue - most of our investors were 'promised' 10x returns from what they put in (and all being well some of them will see much more than that as it happens)) and fast growth. Investors are an interesting collection of people and organisations, some of them you definitely don't want involved in creative projects, others are actually fine - they understand what they've invested in. But in all cases they are looking for a return - IPO or to sell the company. This is where Roli and Native Instruments will be - I'm guessing both are aiming for IPOs longer term since it is harder to imagine who they'd sell too.
Crowdfunding is likely a better fit BUT that seems more relevant for when you have development costs - ie hardware and the like AND you are in a position where you have to do the marketing up front with nothing to show. A lot of hardware crowd funds you will notice that they've built the thing, can show it but just need help manufacturing. When you've built software - you can sell it!
However - this is a business like any other. There is money to be made - look at the likes of Spitfire audio, a recent success story - they employ 50 odd people (and I know exactly what that kind of wage bill looks like :-) ) - is that money in iOS? - I don't think so just yet but it feels like we are very early days on iOS and it has a huge amount of potential (Which is why I'm involved in it - Pagefall won't be seeking investment because I intend to grow it organically and keep at it for a while rather than seeking an exit - been there and done that - it was fun, stressful and hardwork but now I'm after something to let me explore different aspects.) but it certainly won't be the only area Pagefall works in...
Not sure if that would be so easy. If you grow you need more support and maybe need to hire people. If things go too fast too big you might go down the drain.
This happens in both worlds on mobile and desktop OS where famous names mostly do well with whatever they release while some one man or very small companies struggle to not fly under the radar with better tools (this is of course relative).
It´s also of course up to the developer to decide (more or less) if he/she want to try to make a living from it.
I think there are a few iOD developers who does it for the living and while they don´t get rich they seems to do fine.
In the desktop worlds it´s the same. There are a lot of independent developers which do it as hobby and said it´s not worth to try it to take it more serious. Some do it for a living and doing very fine and they often are also just one or very few people. So here are maybe some blurred lines. Who should get more honor. The ones which does it as their hobby and stay save with their real time jobs or the ones which really put all their energy and money on it.
I would say both
Great insight! I have similar entrepreneurial experience (including not limited to music/tech) thus this thread. Hoping this convo expands and provides some helpful PoVs for consumers and Devs.
I feel in order to sustain the astonishing rate of growth we all love and benefit from in our iOS music community...these type of convos must increase in frequency privately and publicly.
Experienced entrepreneurs, devs, musicians, investors need to chop it up more imo.
As a general piece of business advice. If you think you need investment - wait some more. The first thing any investor will do anyway (and it took me bloody ages to figure this out) is string you along to see if you can survive without any money - even the very best investors do this most of the time.
Also your equity seems worthless in early days and it either is - and you will be looking for a new job at some point anyway OR it is basically worth a lot - assume the latter ;-)
well written
iOS pro audio software developers are for sure extremely nice people -- essentially, it's one of the technologically most challenging tasks to do in the world, with only a handful of people out of 7 billion (!) really knowing what they're doing, and while normal market laws would tell you that such a skill that is essentially unheard of would make you a billionaire in a week, it's at the same time a market with negligible income
Great insight. Thank´s. So i wonder than why companies like N.I. don´t spread their market.....is there even a market for them on iOS? Spitfire really went big. I think they started 10 years ago with 2 people(?). But i also think it´s hard to do the same kind of customer service to iOS due to the iOS eco system and Apple´s rules. They also are delivering for a niche market in a niche where mainly professionals paying 100-1000s for a sample library and need these tools to make a living for themselves.
There might also be a danger especially for iOS only developers to focus on one company (which seems to do very fine but especially in the creative market i see many people getting a bit tired of them in terms of music).
Agree. Certainly tons of blurred lines @Cib
To you and @Turntablist points, many devs are content, even overwhelmed at just being acknowledged here on our forum for their hobby work.
Someone mentioned a tip jar button on ABF to send guys like those gifts of appreciation which seems like a dope idea also.
Just imagine if some of our fav iOS developers teamed up and started a company or label for iOS synths and effects! It would be huge and easier to market... Kind of like a record label, you get a bunch of great individual artists collected under one name and anyone can introduce you to that one label where you can find many great artists and know what to expect...
Like most things indie it's more about the quality and talent and always seems more underground and under rated compared to the big names..
I don't know, but it would be sweet to have one place to push and promote these guys so that more people can get in on this greatness!
Some developers have used crowd funding. Most of the iOS based funding is for hardware based solutions rather than apps.
The following is the tale of Scratch Vox an app that was last updated 3 years ago yet still can sort of work in Audiobus 3. The developer wanted to do an update and wanted to raise $5,500 on their indiegogo campaign to fund the update with increased functionality. They only received $1800 from 37 backers. If you look at the indiegogo site, you can see a significant amount of work went into creating the beta version of the app, the videos, and their website. That’s a lot of work they could have invested in something much more profitable. Clearly iOS music creation is niche and yet there are still a lot of music apps.
Here are two other apps with similar finger drawing of notes and pitch:
1. fluXpad by MoMinstruments GbR
2. UPISketch by Rodolphe Bourotte
Here’s the Audiobus forum discussion of their Indiegogo campaign. Their campaign was also mentioned on other sites like Discchord and @thesoundtestroom did a video demo.
I think many people on the forum over estimate the significance of their musical interests and fail to appreciate how niche and uncommitted others are to supporting or purchasing iOS music creation apps. Breaking into the mainstream is a tough nut to crack and as @Michael pointed out in his recent interview with @analog_matt , his loopy app has done much better than Audiobus because it appeals more to the general public whereas Audiobus is much more difficult to understand what it’s for or how to use it.
So unless you’re connected to a well established music brand (e.g. Korg, Moog) then you have difficulty gaining any economic traction in iOS as @brambos has pointed out. Even then there are no guarantees. Allihoopa, a spin off from Propellerheads, is closing shop next month.
Would be nice. But there are also some great tools i know off which were closed to be released for iOS but never did it because more famous brands already covered the ground (and not as good for me).
But this sound like a great (but sadly utopic) idea. I think we have some good trusted but small brands already on iOS. However it might be better they get even a more "set in stone" brand before the market really grows and the famous bigger brands step up big into the game.
We often hear here (and in other forums) how great it would be to get Logic Pro on iOS. I would love that too but at the same time it would be hard to value other DAWs then if they gave us the full package for some bucks which other developers never could do.
Maybe the iOS market is healthy as it is and if it would grow to much to fast, the independent small developer will loose the market even more. Also iOS tends in general (not always of course) for delivering for the casual consumers rather than delivering the best tools available for a niche market.
Games might be the best market on iOS but mainly there are these fremium plus IAP trap thingies i will not see for music apps. So we might see more crappy consumer music apps rather than more and maybe even better of the pro line music creation apps we already have right now.
The iOS economy seems also totally different than with the desktop world. Normally you would think niche tools selling for higher prices in lower numbers to deliver to a niche cliente. That might not work at all in the iOS world.
Just look what´s on top in the iOS music apps category most of the time and now compare that to the mac store. I bet even if it is damn cheap for what they give and the mac store is much smaller, Apple make a load of money with Logic (but still peanuts compared to the general market).
Some good points. But it´s also interesting that Moog actually is a very small company and i think their software team is even smaller. But their name is famous of course. Korg is Godzilla against it.
But i remember Moog struggles also and you never now if new generations care about even the most famous brands which relies very much on their old times (beside things like Animoog and the some of the new hardware).
This might work if there was an upfront commitment by users to support such an effort with 💰. Subscriptions might be one option to do this yet there is strong opposition to the point of open hostility to any subscription app model.
I think attempts like AudioKit by the group @analog_matt is working with might be the best option as it reduces the barrier to entry for developers and makes creating music apps much less of an upfront investment. If Apple ever gets worried about developers abandoning iOS, they might start to invest more into supporting and documenting the iOS infrastructure too.
It would be of course very interesting to hear from developers which offers the same tools for iOS and mac/windows how the sales compare.
I remember AudioDamage to mention that they got more sales for iOS (maybe i´m wrong, so correct me). But since you need 10X more sales on iOS it might be all relative.
I also remember an interview from Beepstreet before Sunrizer for desktop came out and he mention that there isn´t much money to get on iOS (not the exact words but reading between the lines) and so a VST/mac port for Sunrizer was a way to trying to get into the desktop world. But it seems it failed hard and Dagger was the last mac/windows tool from Beepstreet maybe (which would be a shame since the DSP is on U-he and N.I. level) and he seems to make much better on iOS again.
He mentioned much piracy and even if Dagger was mentioned in honors in a magazine and some forums it never gets a big amount of sales. This doesn´t seem to influence other developers that much.
Maybe the market also were to big and competition already made their names.
Piracy seems not so a big problem also on iOS which could also change if the market would get much bigger.
So i hope it all grows but slowly and controlled to build on it but not loose what we have now.
Great thoughts and comments so far!
@SevenSystems is also a Jedi in my book for his work (Xequence). Big big up to him.
I have many thoughts on this but don’t wanna hog the mic.
I see many parallels to iOS Music Scene and early days of hip hop when rappers weren’t compensated enough.
Their hustle and mentality had to change. Consumers always want free/cheap shit. Remember mixtapes?
Synergies like @reasOne came along (Bad Boy, Murder Inc, Rocafella, Cash Money, etc)....and things changed exponentially. Rappers still release free work and albums are a thing of the past but not many capable of making hits are complaining about compensation.
A simplistic view and comparison I know...leaving out many existential happenings that’s influence sea change but sea change being needed i guess is the overall opinion.
Also, to the investment points offered earlier in the thread much of which is sound but I will submit that all investors aren’t after equity, lopsided ROi or creative control. Some Investors (Angel/Impact) don’t GAF about the money at all.
Some just want to help deserving and amazing people accomplish amazing things. Others just want to be involved in cool projects.
Piracy. Haven’t heard that factor much. Is Jailbreaking really still a thing effecting app profits?
For those that think investors are insightful angels that will give creative programmers money to do what they've demonstrated they can do brilliantly: guess again.
By and large, these investors-- even when they love what you have done -- almost never leave you to the process that allowed you to create the masterpiece that made them love you in the first place.
I know a couple of devs whose apps (in graphics/music) were revolutionary and successful (and whose work shaped what everyone that came after did ) and took outside money in order to take their vision to the next level. They continued coming up with great stuff but the money people thought they knew better and pressured them into new directions they thought were financially rich. Long story short, the money guys killed the spark and also drove the software in the wrong direction.
One of those devs, fortunately was savvy business-wise and got out while his stock was worth a lot.
In neither case did outside funding help the world to get more of what they so brilliantly could do.
There are cases where it turns out well, but for creatives it is more rare than you might think.
This is certainly the case for the majority of creatives who recieve outside funding no doubt. I’ve had some terrible experiences myself....same could be said for going it alone. Many try, most fail.
There are many great ideas that never see light for lack of funding or help.
I will say, the internet and global commerce obviously allow for more options to funding/synergy than ever before.
Getting screwed over unfortunately often comes with being ambitious but can be greatly mitigated by having people smarter than you handle certain aspects of your business.
Take communication for example. I can think of one really amazing iOS app whose income must have been greatly handicapped by its devs being terrible at communicating. Would have been cheaper and exponentially more profitable to retain a publicist which is pretty cheap if you know where to look.
So many factors. Such a complex issue with no simple solutions.
very true
So absurd!
Are there any world wide audio app sales numbers? Would be nice to have have some transprancy by Apple on this. The only thing you can find on the net is national appstore lists. Anyone who has a link?
FL Studio (Fruity Loops) started out as a little drum program some 20 years ago..
I was astonished when Scott said they had that many FL Modile customers.. I believe that the future is bright for great developers like yourself with those figures.. Marketing may be the answer... Henny and other iPad producers are doing a great job with their videos..
It’s way behind... no doubt..