There are tech companies and then there are music technology companies. Find out what it takes to get involved in music technology.
Superstar DJ, rockstar or rapper are not the only three career options in the music industry. Most pop music is produced using digital technology. Then it is streamed using software as a service (SAAS) websites. And fans share their favorite songs via social media and other channels. That is a lot of different choices available in the music technology industry.
In fact music and math are inherently connected in the same way science and math are. Music pieces are composed using mathematical symbols, and each measure amounts to a unit in time that can be divided into beats. And instruments are built using the Pythagorean theory to determine the correct frequency and pitch of each note.¹
There are four kinds of music technology discussed in this blog post.
Playing Music
No one can hear music if it is not played. Music players are the most frequently used music technology. DJ’s use them to play music for us to enjoy. We also use them at home. Common types of music players include stereos, smart speakers, record players, turntables and CD-J’s. The industry standard for DJing software (to play music with) is Serato.
A music streaming service is a website or app that uses a music player. The top music streaming services include YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music, SoundCloud, Amazon and Pandora. They have knowledge of programming, web and app development, as well as music engineering.
Electronic Instruments
There is no electronic music to play without electronic instruments, or synthesizers. Synthesizers may be modular or all-in-one, analog or digital, and monophonic or polyphonic.² Legendary companies who engineer synthesizers are Moog Music, Roland and Yamaha.
Music Production
Music production software is another type of synthesizer. Examples of music production software are GarageBand, Audacity, ProTools, Ableton Live and PremierPro.
Audio is imported from synthesizers, or as a sample. There are a lot of music companies that specialize in just audio samples. Top music producers will often sell their audio samples.
Music (audio) engineering equipment is used to record, balance and adjust sound sources, such as in a recording studio or at a live music venue. The people that do this are called audio (music) engineers, or sound technicians. Headphones are considered to be hardware.
Mobile Applications
A mobile application, or app, is like a website, but on a smartphone or mobile device. The top music apps are music players. But there are also apps for recording and producing music, DJing, music-related games, instrument tuners, event and ticketing apps, and music news.
Obviously these types of companies need musicians, programmers and engineers. They have marketing and customer service departments as well. There are so many music tech companies.
References:
- “Music, Math, and Patterns” by Natasha Glydon, Math Central, University of Regina, http://mathcentral.uregina.ca/beyond/articles/Music/music1.html.
- “Types of Synthesizers” by Scott Rise, Synthesizer Academy, http://synthesizeracademy.com/types-of-synthesizers/.