Image Line (fl studio) Interview
FL Studio is definitely one of the biggest music production systems in the world with over 30,000 demo downloads per day, running for a span of over 10 years with cutting edge products like FL Studio Mobile and DECKADANCE ! . After having used FL Studio since 2004, I was greatly honoured to speak to Scott Fisher, The Communications & Marketing Manager of Image Line, (the brain company behind FL Studio). We spoke extensively about the new features bundled with FL Studio 10, their mobile products, The Image Line affiliate program and everything music production. Check out the interview below hope you like it. (Bruce Dube, Youth Village)
What is Image Line and what brought along the idea to create FL?
We started out making games software, Gol (Didier Dambrin) was being drawn into the music scene by applications like Hammerhead and Rebirth 338. He had the idea of merging both into a stepsequencer with rows and steps, so he started developing FruityLoops. When he dropped it on our machines it was a simple, midi-only Step Sequencer that we really couldn’t place our existing product range leaving us scratching our heads how to market it. This turned out not to be a problem as people went WILD about it and sucked our servers dry (downloading the demo) days after launch. It was also around this time we came up with the idea of Lifetime Free Updates for the program, that existing customers should get the latest version of the software for free.
Most people have come to know your product as FruityLoops what brought the change to FL?
Actually it’s now over 10 years since we used the name Fruity Loops. Kelloggs decided to challenge us when we applied for the FruityLoops trademark in the US. We had a very strong case AND we received the trademark in Europe as the two markets are obviously separated. But later they claimed to have released CDs and games in their cereal boxes, and as we didn’t want to waste money fighting them in court for 5 years.
The ‘loops’ part of the name implied that music was made from pre-canned loops and no ‘musician’ wants to be associated with that. Program development was in the opposite direction to Acid/Ejay, so people buying ‘FruityLoops’ thinking it was a similar app didn’t have a clue what to do when they were confronted with a Step Sequencer and Piano Roll.
Anyway, since we changed the name FL Studio seems to have received a lot more credibility. The FL Studio demo is now downloaded over 30,000 times PER DAY and is used by some of the biggest names in the industry. We have definitely come a long way thanks to our customers support.
What is the state of digital music production world over? Is the growth translating to quality productions?
Music production has been democratised. Now someone with a computer, some software and (possibly) several hundred dollars worth of microphones can do at home what was only possible in a multi-million dollar studio only 15 years ago. What this means is the number of people producing music for distribution has gone from 10,000’s to 100,000,000’s. Along with that many more talented people have access to getting their ideas down in an audio track but so have many more people dabbling who may not have the same skills. There’s just so much more music being produced today, but the many aggregating and social media sites mean that the good stuff isn’t hard to find.
I know you can tie live instruments to your FL Studio but In contrast what makes digital music production a far better or rather convenient experience in comparison to live production sets?
The fact you can save and recall entire ‘studio’ setups at the click of a button. There really is no comparison.
FL is probably one of the best digital music production systems in the world. What do you attribute this success to?
Thanks for the kind words. We are certainly one of the most popular with over 30,000 demo downloads a day. It’s a combination of factors really, first FL Studio is really easy to start making some sort of ‘organized sound’ within minutes of opening it up. Second we have Lifetime Free Updates, that means our user base has just continued to grow at an accelerating pace. And, finally, we were in the right place at the right time. We had a great value and fun music production program on the market at a time when the area was exploding, we just rode the internet wave.
I would like to think that the youth contributes largely to your consumer base, how does Imagine Line streamline products to cater specifically to the youth market?
We don’t really think about demographics. It’s certainly true our user base is in the 15 to 30 age bracket. We focus on making tools musicians want to use and keep our eye on developments and musical trends to make sure FL Studio and plugins can do what our users demand.
FL Studio 11 what can we expect?
Registered customers can download the beta right now on our Looptalk forum. The big new feature is performance mode that which allows users to trigger audio, automation and pattern clips from a MIDI controller. There’s new plugins, more Playlist tracks and some stuff that will have to wait until we announce it.
Let’s talk about the numerous editions you have.. How do they differ?
The best place to check that out is here…
http://www.image-line.com/documents/editions.html
In a nutshell…
Signature – A bundle of Producer Edition + a limited collection of our ‘Signature’ plugins.
Producer – Full music, audio recording and post-production capability.
Fruity – Music composing and arranging, but no audio tracks.
Express – Loop creation.
Assuming there are young people who have cultivated interest in using your products with very limited budgets, How far can they go with your Demo products?
The The demo includes all of the program’s features and most plugins (instruments & effects) fully working and ready for testing on your PC. Users can save projects from the demo and reopen them after you purchase FL Studio and any additional-purchase plugins the project uses. Render project audio to WAV, MIDI, MP3 & OGG so you can produce an unlimited number of songs, loops & beats with it, free.
Let’s talk about one of the most exciting Image Line products in this extremely digitalized world, FL Studio Mobile, Why Mobile? , What is the functionality for this product?
Again we would encourage people to check out the site. http://www.image-line.com/documents/flstudiomobile.html The mobile platform is limited by processing power, but it includes Piano roll & Step-sequencing, the ability to download or create your own instruments. Upload compatibility with FL Studio for Windows, so you can open your mobile projects in the desktop program, automation and audio recording (from version 2 onward). All similar basic functionality of it’s big brother FL Studio, but customized to the limitations of mobile hardware.
South Africa has a rapidly growing youth DJ Community; please tell us, What is the DECKADANCE system? What ground breaking features does it bring to the world of DJ-ing ?
Deckadance is about to undergo a major new release (Deckadance 2), that will really up the game. Improvements will include ‘Smart knobs’ that allow any number of parameters to be linked to a single knob, each with a unique envelope control. Gross Beat is now integrated into the program which enables unlimited stuttering, time and volume effects based on re-mapping the streaming audio from any of the 4 decks. Up from 2. However in general Deckadance is about open support for standard and compatibility with the widest range of DJ hardware and standards and enabling DJs to perform without creative limits.
http://www.image-line.com/documents/deckadance.html
Who are some of the most notable music producers using your music production systems?
Check out our Power Users page, we are adding new customers there all the time – http://www.image-line.com/documents/powerusers.html
What can we expect from Image Line? Any new products in the pipeline?
We always have new products on the go J
We try to use the Youth Village portal as a platform to advocate youth entrepreneurship as much as we can. Please share more on the Image Line affiliate program. What opportunities does this initiative present to the youth?
The details are here – http://www.image-line.com/documents/affiliateprogram.html
In essence, after you have been a customer for more than 6 months, your Affiliate link is unlocked. Any time someone buys something from our online shop with this link you get a 20% cut. It’s up to the user how they build their business around the affiliate link, but it’s not hard to make hundreds of USD, or $1,000 if you put some effort into it.
How can the youth buy your products? Any local distributors in South Africa? Online store?
Online is probably the best way to purchase.
https://support.image-line.com/jshop/shop.php
However if you don’t have access to Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Diners Club, JCB, PayPal or Bank Wire, then indeed you can purchase physical boxes, contact:
Rua D. Maria César, 170
Sala 203A
Bairro do Recife, Recife
PE 50030-140 – Brazil
Tel: +55 81 3224 5022
Fax: +55 81 3224 5022
E-mail: [email protected]
Software piracy is a concern world over and most of the pirated softwares come with limited functionality. What are the benefits of using the legit Image Line products?
Lifetime Free Updates. You only pay for FL Studio once, then you get all future updates free, we think that’s a fair deal worth paying for. Also you get immediate support on our forums, freedom from viruses and worry, and not to be forgotten, a clean conscience. A useful commodity.
What are the Official FL facebook and twitter accounts?
http://www.facebook.com/ILFLStudio
https://twitter.com/Image_Line
