Everybody "Ponos" This is Nowhere

I’m going to apologize ahead of time, because this conversation revolves a little bit around math (‘maths’ if you’re English).  But, before we get into the thick of the conversation, we’ll need some constants that we should be able to agree on: 

-Neil Young has played and recorded rock & roll since the 1960s (over 50 math years!)

-Rock & roll is recorded, typically, by studio engineers, and then remixed to represent the artists true intention (insert Phil Spector argument here)

-Bands are known to record at studios, in front of audiences, or even away from their band members, where instruments are recorded individually and then mixed at a later date

-Editors and engineers responsible for remixing the tracks have their own creative input (hello Phil Spector), which may include additional pieces or musicians outside of the artist’s original vision

-The resulting recording makes its way to vinyl, CD, and in this age, to the digital market

MP3s, while convenient due to their relatively small digital size, is a known lossy compression format, where the compression algorithm removes some music information so that the file-size remains small

-Tracks are frequently re-mastered for playback in noisy (i.e. car) venues to even the volume out so that every note can be clearly heard over the roar of the engine.  This flattening of the volume kills the softer moments of the song and would do a number on any true recording of Ravel’s Bolero.

-Neil Young is a Rock & Roller who is having a problem with people eff-ing with his music either by flattening the sound or by dumbing it down so that you can walk around with it on your phone.

So, what’s his proposed solution?  He’s teamed up with a bunch of sound engineers to design a portable music player and clearinghouse (read: iTunes competitor) dedicated to digital music that isn’t degraded at all, and represents the true intention of the artist.  The device on Kickstarter is called the Pono, which means "righteousness" in Hawaiian.  He’s already got a bunch of musical celebs to sign on that support this vision and device (Beck, Metallica, Arcade Fire, Willie Nelson, My Morning Jacket, Tom Petty, and on and on), and it’s a really ambitious goal, because even Microsoft hasn’t been able to dethrone Apple in the portable music industry. 

Seemingly, that’s not Young’s goal.  Instead, he wants to make a marketplace for serious audiophiles to be able to listen to some serious music the way it was recorded at CD-quality or better.  And, here’s my take as to while it will fail:

1. Completely making up this statistic, I would say that 90% of digital music purchasers don’t much care that they’re getting a pared down version of the song they just bought.  As long as it works with (insert your phone/music player here) and the corresponding software, then who cares? (40% of all statistics are made up!)

2. Those who do care have options already: FLAC has existed for YEARS and it stands for Free Lossless Audio Codec.  It’s an algorithm that does exactly what Young wants to happen.  People can use free, open-source software to rip CDs to this format.  Unfortunately, FLAC isn’t compatible with iTunes.  No worry.  If you’re going to rip your stuff to FLAC, then you can find a converter to get it to WAV or, ALAC…Apple’s Lossless Audio Codec

3. In other news: Apple has its own lossless audio codec?  In iTunes, you can change your settings so that when you buy something from the iTunes store it will be saved to your computer in the ALAC format.  Similarly, you also have the option to rip CDs into ALAC.  Files are bigger than MP3s or Apple’s AAC files, but, so what…your desire to have crystal-clear music means you already know that.

4. To get the most out of your lossless file, or even notice the difference between it and an MP3, you need a serious stereo system, or a pair of expensive ear buds/headphones…with high impedance (over 30 Ohms, optimally closer to 50 Ohms) and a headphone amplifier.  See previous entry: Solid Walls of Sound.

5. Finally, even if you’re serious, this is yet another device you’ll need to port around.  The Kickstarter price for those who want to pre-order and support the mission of Pono is set at $400.  Add to that the need to re-purchase your music at the higher quality…or, sit at the computer and re-rip your CDs (which, according to my argument above, you can already do into iTunes).  Plus, calculate in your new headphones and amp, and you’re running into at least a $700 investment starting from scratch.  Pretty steep since you probably already own an iPhone or Android cell…and terrible (albeit popular) Beats headphones where the bass is so muddy your sense of hearing is already impaired too much to notice an increase in tonal quality afforded by your new rig.

Since the model for purchased music is shifting again, where before it went from physical (CD, vinyl) to digital, due the popularity of Pandora and Spotify I think it’ll be a bit of an uphill battle for those looking to jump into an already saturated market that's moving away from the bits you're trying to sell.  Also, there's already free solutions on the market for this perceived problem...where, with a little know-how, can get you to where Neil would like you to be.  Still, good luck, Mr. Young.  I would love to hear your music the way you’d like me to.  Tell me this, though, as you continue to demonize the bastardization of your artistic intent, when will you be announcing that, due to your disgust for the medium, you’ll be pulling your albums off iTunes/Amazon/etc?  What?  A buck-a-song still puts money in your pocket?  Makes this seem like less of a "stand" than a "sit-and-rest/wait."  But, at your age, that's probably best anyway.