Ford has been making some waves at this year’s Consumer Electronic Show (CES), and though this is the first time I've written about a car company in the Sage’s online mastering blog, this is related to many of the topics covered here previously. There are actually two pieces of news from the car company that are related, and I’ll get right to it.
1. Ford is adding Rhapsody Streaming Service to 1 million Cars
More specifically, Ford is partnered with Rhapsody to make the streaming music service work with its existing SYNC AppLink system, which is already on 1 million cars, including 2013 models of the Mustang, Fiesta, Expedition, F-150 and Focus.
The integration means that Rhapsody will run on the driver’s smartphone, and will be able to be controlled by voice commands as well as through buttons on the steering wheel.
“Everybody loves to listen to music in the car, so making it as convenient as possible for people to enjoy Rhapsody while driving has been a high priority for us,” said Rhapsody president Jon Irwin in a statement. “We are pleased to work with Ford on this innovative integration. Now our customers have their favorite music within arm’s reach in their cars.”
GM and Chrysler also announced upgrades to their own integrated systems involving better music integration. I’m honestly a little surprised that the car companies are only now focusing on music app integration in new models, but adding hands free integration is a great step by Ford to stop people from messing with their phones while driving, yet still granting access to a huge music library.
2. Ford Launched Developers Program
This is related to the Rhapsody, in that the developers program involves the AppLink system. However, the developers program will allow anyone to develop apps for the system, and then those apps will be approved by Ford.
“The Ford Developer Program marks a dramatic shift in how we will innovate new features and add value to our vehicles throughout the ownership period,” said Hau Thai-Tang, vice president of Engineering at Ford Global Project Development in a statement. “Opening the car to developers gives consumers a direct voice and hand in the creation of apps that can help our products remain relevant, up to date and valuable to our customers.”
I think this is a great move by Ford, because allowing external developers will almost certainly begin a substantial expansion of the types of apps that are available for the system. Of course, all of this is dependent on how liberal Ford decides to be when handing out approvals. They have understandably used Angry Birds as an example of the type of apps they won’t allow, which I can get behind because I would not want to get behind a driver playing a game on their dashboard screen in traffic. Apps that find better ways for me to access music in my car, though - I’m for it.
All of this seems like great strides forward for Ford and the other car companies, and I welcome this kind of innovative. And though it may not involve the online mastering service specifically, it is an indirect factor as it continues to play a part in the evolution of the current music industry.
So, Why A Membership?
Let’s face it — trying to create professional mixes without the correct knowledge, tools, services, and network is like playing a concert with a broken instrument to an audience of no one.
That’s where the Sage Audio membership comes in — the membership gives you everything you need to create professional mixes consistently.
The membership is the secret to your success — it’s the difference between the 1,929,999,999 of poor-sounding mixes and the .00000002% of mixes that make people say 'WOW!"
There are 7 unique value-points included in your Sage Audio membership.
Let’s go over each one so you can decide if the membership is right for you.
1. Sage Audio University
- SAU Flagship Mixing Course: 23-video in-depth mixing course that reveals the little-known secrets of mixing and matches the needs of the new music industry.
- SAU Flagship Mastering Course: 19-video in-depth modern mastering course that dives into every nuance of making professional-sounding masters.
- SAU Pre-Mastering Course: Concise pre-mastering course that details the latest industry standards for preparing your mixes for mastering.
- SAU is designed for every experience level, ranging from budding mixing engineers to advanced engineers. The techniques and concepts taught can be applied to any DAW to create industry-leading mixes without expensive software or plugins - and free plugin alternatives are suggested throughout each course.
- Each SAU course includes Start-to-Finish session walkthrough lessons for multiple genres so you can follow along with your preferred genre.
- SAU Certification Document, which can be downloaded and showcased on your website and social channels.
Yes, I want to join the membership now >
2. Private 1-on-1 Mentorship
- The Sage Audio private 1-on-1 Mentorship gives you direct access to us for advanced mixing feedback, in-depth discussions, and customized guidance that's tailored to your specific needs.
- Unlimited private access to us for advanced mixing feedback, where we provide detailed suggestions for improvement.
- Unlimited private access to us for in-depth discussions to help you improve every aspect of your mixes and masters.
- Customized guidance that’s tailored specifically to your needs.
- Fast communication so you can improve your skills quickly.
Yes, I want to join the membership now >
3. Unlimited Mixing Feedback
- Unlimited professional mixing feedback directly from us so you can consistently improve your skills and create professional mixes.
- Mixing feedback is invaluable, and the Sage Audio membership gives you continual direct access to us for real-world feedback so you can improve every aspect of each of your mixes while you're in the process of mixing.
Yes, I want to join the membership now >
4. 50 Free Mastered Songs Per Year
- 50 free mastered songs per year with your own dedicated professional mastering engineer so you can get all your mixes sounding like professional songs.
- You get your own dedicated Sage Audio mastering engineer to create custom masters that are specific to you and sound exactly how you want.
- Unlimited revisions with your dedicated mastering engineer. As a standard of our service, we are not happy until you are happy with the sound of your masters.
- All masters are delivered as commercial, industry-standard high-resolution 24-bit HD WAV masters so they will sound clean and clear on every platform.
Yes, I want to join the membership now >
5. Community
- The Sage Audio community is a tight-knit community of passionate audio engineers who can provide you with additional real-world mixing feedback, meaningful discussions, networking, collaborations, and more.
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6. 70+ GB of Curated Sage Audio Downloadable Content
- 36 multitrack sessions spanning multiple genres for mixing practice.
- 57 un-mastered mixes spanning multiple genres for mastering practice.
- 62 Recommended Free Plugins List (vetted, tested, and approved, so you don’t have to).
- 39 Recommended Paid Plugins List (vetted, tested, and approved, so you don’t have to).
- 71 Sage Audio custom plugin presets to improve your mixes and masters.
- Sage Audio Membership Badge to showcase on your website, social channels, and portfolio.
Yes, I want to join the membership now >
7. 800+ Video Catalog
- Access 700+ in-depth Sage Audio mixing and mastering videos - curated and organized into categories so you can easily take a deep dive into all aspects of audio engineering with thousands of hours of concise, expertly crafted Sage Audio videos to continually improve your skills at your own pace.
Yes, I want to join the membership now >
