May 13, 2008 9:52 PM

Developers Say Adobe Is Delaying Online Music Apps

Some developers of audio applications see online music mixers, studios and instruments as the next wave of music creation. The two biggest trends in music are online distribution and social networking… why not combine them further upstream? For developers working on online music creation applications, Adobe’s Flash is the natural option, in part because it’s […]

For developers working on online music creation applications, Adobe's Flash is the natural option, in part because it's installed on over 97 percent of internet-enabled PCs according to Adobe. However, the audio application developers behind Adobe, Make Some Noise say the company needs to get with the program, so to speak, if it wants Flash to be the go-to platform for online music creation.

Update: An Adobe engineer has announced that Flash 10 will include dynamic audio support.

"We see software moving into the internet daily," wrote Joe Ebert, a contributor to the site. "Only audio is missing at the moment." Case in point: when Hobnox developed AudioTool, it had to use Java for some of the audio features, requiring users who don't have it to go through another install process.

Like so many of other ideas that were called crazy because they existedin the first dotcom bubble, running applications from servers ratherthan computers can make sense for users. Online alternatives tendto be free or, at the very least, cheaper than buying a program ona disc or as a download. To boot, they allow collaboration in ways that areimpossible or unwieldy with user-hosted and/or pirated software.

So why is Adobe allowing audio to lag behind video in the Flash format? The conspiracy theorist take on the situation would be that Adobe, which is in cahoots with lots of other big software companies through various trade organizations, is intentionally withholding Flash features to give its allies a break.

Scott Gilbertson of Compiler deals with Adobe more than we do here on Listening Post, so we asked him what he thought:

Anything is possible, and Adobe certainly has someapplications in that area, but I would say it's more likely that audiosupport is just technically quite difficult. For instance, with videothere's the FLV format, which is a native Adobe-created format thatFlash can understand because it was specifically designed to beunderstood by Flash (try loading a QT movie in Flash). On the audioside, though, there's nothing of the kind. The MP3 spec doesn't haveall the built-in hooks tailored to Flash's needs that FLV offers,
neither does AAC. And that means it takes far more Adobe resources toadd better music support...
Adobe knows that HD video is coming to the web and they want to make sure that Flash stays on top of that. However on the audio side there isn't as much pressure for them to stay relevant.

Gilbertson added that Adobe would likely welcome the chance to claim marketsharefrom Apple's Garageband application and other starter audio suites,
since those would be the first threatened by free onlinealternatives.

We're scheduled to catch up with Adobe later this week to find out more about its plans for interactive audio features in Flash.

In the meantime, vote here if you want Adobe to help Flash help music (registration required).

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