Music Memos is Apple's new, simple recording app | Hacker News Reader

Music Memos is Apple's new, simple recording app

theverge.com

41 pointsantigizmo14 comments

It's interesting to see that Apple is still putting serious thought and effort into tools for musicians.

They have around 30 years of history in professional audio, why stop now? :)

They really shouldn't stop, because CoreAudio is a mess and their commitment to professional audio has plummeted since they switched over to x86-64 architecture.

I've tried using Voice Memos when inspiration strikes, but it's a tiny bit fiddly. I bought a little Tascam recorder which makes excellent recordings and is super easy to use, but getting files of it is not trivial and I don't always have it in the right room. For me it's all about minimizing friction, and this looks about as simple as it can get. iCloud sharing is going to be super useful too - I can get a sketch down and it'll be waiting on my computer in the studio.

Have you tried Take from Propellerhead?

https://www.propellerheads.se/take

No but I will now, thanks!

Sharing is a bit odd - it doesn't offer apps like Audioshare etc. on the initial pane. If you pick "Open in..." you get a "Share Song" sheet which wants you to pick the format you're sharing -then- you can send it to apps like Audioshare.

Also it's a bit loose in showing your old recordings if you're using iCloud - one I did half an hour ago didn't show up for a good 5 minutes which made me panic slightly.

> you can add some backing instruments to what you've already laid down. Adding drums or bass requires just a tap

Ok, I seriously have to try this.

I'm a church organist.

I wonder how many existing similar apps they are taking out of business with this app.

Edit: Also, it makes me wonder: does Apple look at its AppStore sales data to decide what kind of app to develop next?

Anecdata: It won't replace any of the sound recorders I use day-to-day (Dropvox, Audioshare, Fieldscaper) but that's largely because the musical aspects (chord guessing, overdubbing, tuning) are irrelevant to me.

I'd assume they are, but this type of app wouldn't be unexpected from Apple. I'd guess they talked with a lot of people who were using Voice Memos to record music ideas because it's easier to jot something down there than in Garageband. That likely drove the decision more than what else is in the AppStore.

This fills a hole in Apple's musicians' offerings. Garageband is a nice dropdown from Logic, but I definitely think there was room for something between Garageband and Voice Memos. This fills that hole.

Very cool app. Question: I assume that any content created belongs to the creator/user, correct? Apple can't mine the pool of content and use someone's idea for their next ad, right? I looked through the app's license agreement on the App Store but couldn't really conclude anything (IANAL). I'm also pretty certain that none of my noodling would ever warrant theft, just wondering if there was any legalese ensuring that this couldn't happen!

From a technical perspective: The app stores your recordings in iCloud by default, but this can be disabled. The app can function entirely offline, and will do so, if iCloud is turned off.

From a legal perspective:

On this issue, the 'music notes' license agreement just points you to the iCloud terms and conditions. And within the iCloud terms, you get this:

> Apple does not claim ownership of the materials and/or Content you submit or make available on the Service. However, by submitting or posting such Content on areas of the Service that are accessible by the public or other users with whom you consent to share such Content, you grant Apple a worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive license to use, distribute, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, publicly perform and publicly display such Content on the Service solely for the purpose for which such Content was submitted or made available, without any compensation or obligation to you.

As far as I can tell, you cannot make your recordings available to others within Music Notes itself, so the first sentence is the most relevant one.

However, if you 'push' the recording into iCloud Drive or Garageband & share it from there, the other part would apply. Even then, the rights Apple claims are only slightly more general that what they'd need -- and since its 'solely for the purpose for which [it] was submitted', they'd have no claim to use them in their ads.

This is great! I recorded 3 songs of my own using it and by adding a complex bass and drum line made one of my songs actually sound almost good(im not a good singer); tricked my g/friend into thinking I joined a band.

I was using Voice Memos to remember/record my songs previously. Back in the day I use to use a my first Sony.. lol.

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