Pono Music - high-quality music initiative from Neil Young

Find deals on ebay
Advertise with us
Amazon
QuadraphonicQuad

Help Support QuadraphonicQuad:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
From Drifting Back in Neil's new album:

Don't want my mp3
Don't want my mp3
I'm driftin' back
I'm driftin' back
I'm driftin' back
I'm driftin' back
I'm driftin' back

When you hear my song now
You only get five percent
You used to get it all
You used to get it all
 
There's a huge thread about Pono over at the SH Forums and while I've not read it all there are some interesting thoughts as you'd expect.

I guess I put myself in with the sceptics to a certain extent. I mean, I really like a lot of Neil's stuff but he's just teased with this kind of thing so many times - "oh dvd-audio is great, I can finally get my music out there the way it was meant to sound" followed with a few releases then nothing. Then "oh this blu-ray format is the best, I can get my music out there the way it was meant to sound..." followed by a few releases. Now it's Pono.
 
I googled pono and came up with a wealth of info. It looks very interesnting.
a quote from RS :
During an interview with David Letterman in September, Young acknowledged he was "negotiating with Sony" and working on transferring albums including The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan and Highway 61 Revisited for Pono. A Sony Music representative tells Rolling Stone the label has no comment, and those with Universal Music have not responded to requests. Warner Music Group converted its library of albums to 192kHz/24-bit resolution prior to teaming with Pono last year.



Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/n...pe-with-new-trademarks-20121219#ixzz2NjYZRGB3
Follow us: @rollingstone on Twitter | RollingStone on Facebook
 
So, in a world where you can pretty much make digital do whatever highres you want it to do, with standards that already exist, from wav to aiff to flac..., with flexibilities on bitrates, samplerates, and channels.....what can pono do that required someone to make a completely different format with hardware requirements that requires everyone to sign on to another standard? Sounds like a money grab from Neil Young to sell equipment that people don't need. The technology is already there, the equipment for the most part is already capable of doing it, and if the companies would just fucking MAKE DEVICES PLAYBACK GAPLESS AND FUCKING USE IT, we'd be all set for hi-res. Creating newer formats for the labels to release a few token things on and ignore isn't helping things any.....Neil should make better use of his time, it's not like he doesn't have a million other fucking things he can move around his focus to to make use of his time.
 
I'm with Jonathan on this one. No one is a bigger NY fan than me, love the guy and his music, but he's left us high and dry before, with his Decade II release, the Archives, his DVD-A support, Blu-Ray support, and now this. The only viable method for distribution of music these days is downloading, and that's that. We may not like it, we might like it, but that's the way of the future. The labels, the record stores, the million selling albums are gone. It's time the entire music spectrum accepted and adjusted.

No one is going to purchase a new device to hear music better. Once we're all dead, no one will care but a hand full.
 
Can I shake my head? For nearly 15 years our hi-res community has been crying that the music industry does not care about audio quality. Finally we have a big-name artist who is trying to change that and change the public's perception of what recorded music can be. I'm really hoping he succeeds.
 
ArmyOfQuad said:
So, in a world where you can pretty much make digital do whatever highres you want it to do, with standards that already exist, from wav to aiff to flac..., with flexibilities on bitrates, samplerates, and channels.....what can pono do that required someone to make a completely different format with hardware requirements that requires everyone to sign on to another standard? Sounds like a money grab from Neil Young to sell equipment that people don't need. The technology is already there, the equipment for the most part is already capable of doing it, and if the companies would just fucking MAKE DEVICES PLAYBACK GAPLESS AND FUCKING USE IT, we'd be all set for hi-res. Creating newer formats for the labels to release a few token things on and ignore isn't helping things any.....Neil should make better use of his time, it's not like he doesn't have a million other fucking things he can move around his focus to to make use of his time.
Click to expand...

I have to agree with Army of Quad. The hi-res formats are here; we really don't need another.

It reminds me of when I started my current job, 2 and 1/2 years ago. The owner of the company told me to "review our accounting software and let us know if we should try something else". It didn't take me long to realize they weren't utilizing what they had, so my standard answer was, "I think we should try the one we have."

I hope Neil Young will remember... I hi-res man don't need him around anyhow.
 
wavelength said:
Can I shake my head? For nearly 15 years our hi-res community has been crying that the music industry does not care about audio quality. Finally we have a big-name artist who is trying to change that and change the public's perception of what recorded music can be. I'm really hoping he succeeds.
Click to expand...

Hey, I wanna see efforts for increasing the availability and distribution of hi-res as much as the rest of us here. I just think Neil is reinventing the wheel, and setting himself up for failure. If he wants to work towards changing the public's perception of what recorded music can be, here's what he can do, right now.

Release his entire catalog as hi-res flac.

He could start his own music store on a website offering his catalog, or he could see if he could work some deal with hdtracks, which is already doing it.

No need for new hardware, new brand names, convincing the public to buy new equipment, convincing the labels to adopt a new technology and format.....no re-inventing the wheel.
 
The high-res formats have not succeeded. We all know that. If NY is willing to spend his time and money trying to make a success out of high-res well that's no skin off my back. If it flops it flops. If it succeeds that would be a game-changer.
 
Yes, there have been hi-res formats for a long time. No one except a few of us give a shit. A20-something in one of my groups scoffed at my hi-fi gear and software. "I listen through my MP3 player and if I want to hear hi-fi, I hear the band live." No one gives a shit, not the consumer and not the record companies. Most of them wouldn't know high fidelity if it bit them in the ass. And the morons at Best Buy certainly aren't going to teach anyone. Most of them don't know their ass from a hole in the ground either.

If a new hi-res format would make inroads, I'd be the first to adopt and applaud it.

Sorry to be a cynical bitch, but it is what it is, or should I say isn't.
 
If there's any chance at all to succeed they need several other really big names to get on board along with a company or two - Neil alone won't sell it. it could be the best thing in the universe but when you're prime seller has a reputation of flirting with several formats and not sticking with any of them you're not going to find many who will follow (yet again).
 
doppelbock said:
If there's any chance at all to succeed they need several other really big names to get on board along with a company or two - Neil alone won't sell it. it could be the best thing in the universe but when you're prime seller has a reputation of flirting with several formats and not sticking with any of them you're not going to find many who will follow (yet again).
Click to expand...
Not sure why the notion that Neil is looking for an outlet for HIS music is being suggested. Everything I've read about it suggests that this is a download service that would offer content from the major record companies.
 
ArmyOfQuad said:
So, in a world where you can pretty much make digital do whatever highres you want it to do, with standards that already exist, from wav to aiff to flac..., with flexibilities on bitrates, samplerates, and channels.....what can pono do that required someone to make a completely different format with hardware requirements that requires everyone to sign on to another standard? Sounds like a money grab from Neil Young to sell equipment that people don't need. The technology is already there, the equipment for the most part is already capable of doing it, and if the companies would just fucking MAKE DEVICES PLAYBACK GAPLESS AND FUCKING USE IT, we'd be all set for hi-res. Creating newer formats for the labels to release a few token things on and ignore isn't helping things any.....Neil should make better use of his time, it's not like he doesn't have a million other fucking things he can move around his focus to to make use of his time.
Click to expand...

AOQ:

Well stated and crystal clear!

Justin
 
I wonder how many GEN X and GEN Y folks know who Neil Young is and care about what he is promoting? Other than medical and pharmaceutical companies no one is marketing to Boomers - the money is in the GEN X/Y generation who seem to like to listen to their MP 3 music through ear buds. I hope there is a market for Neil's project but I just don't see it.

Justin
 
wavelength said:
Not sure why the notion that Neil is looking for an outlet for HIS music is being suggested. Everything I've read about it suggests that this is a download service that would offer content from the major record companies.
Click to expand...

I'm not suggesting that it's just for his music and didn't mean to imply that, sorry if you read it that way. I'm just saying that he seems to be the driving force behind it and has flirted around with several other hi-res formats already.
 
IMO, for a new Hi-res lossless download codec to be successful, it would have to be seamlessly easy to use. Players that are user friendly, provide additional content, have gap less playback and have cloud back up for the inevitable crash.

Neil's heart has been in the right place over the years. It's just probably not as easy as it sounds though, to get all of the big boys (record companies and hardware manufacturers) to agree on something. Heck we can't even agree here in our little community, but that is another topic....

I would love to see this succeed, but I'm not holding my breath. BTW, no mention of Hi-res multi-channel.



Olive makes some great players that don't require using your PC for music storage, compatible with most existing formats. A little pricey though!
http://www.olive.us/store/?storepage=usa
 
Quad Linda said:
Yes, there have been hi-res formats for a long time. No one except a few of us give a shit. A20-something in one of my groups scoffed at my hi-fi gear and software. "I listen through my MP3 player and if I want to hear hi-fi, I hear the band live." No one gives a shit, not the consumer and not the record companies. Most of them wouldn't know high fidelity if it bit them in the ass. And the morons at Best Buy certainly aren't going to teach anyone. Most of them don't know their ass from a hole in the ground either.

If a new hi-res format would make inroads, I'd be the first to adopt and applaud it.

Sorry to be a cynical bitch, but it is what it is, or should I saw isn't.
Click to expand...

This is the reason I respect you. My kid thinks I'm an asshole for speaking my mind.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Mistee
Atmos novice questions
2
Replies
22
Views
1K
cbmmm3
cbmmm3
RustyStatic
Moving Sale: LOTS of Titles—Round Two w/ More Added, Last Call
2 3
Replies
42
Views
3K
RustyStatic
RustyStatic
steelydave
Arthur Stoppe on mixing the O'Jays, Spinners and Sigma Sound's quad output
Replies
12
Views
1K
staygroovy
staygroovy
Quad Linda
Jim Peterik (Ides & Survivor) Collapses on Stage at Des Plaines Theater
Replies
4
Views
1K
Quad Linda
Quad Linda
J
My journey from pentaphonic to dodecaphonic sound! (ie. Atmos)
2
Replies
24
Views
3K
MidiMagic
MidiMagic

Latest posts

Back
Top