Hello 
I’m relatively new to all these lovely resources having only returned to music a year ago after half a lifetime doing other things, (people will do all this work for free??!! Creative folk are just amazing, thank you thank you!), but as a newbie, and only speaking for myself, I’d love a crow hill composer challenge where we were randomly assigned an interesting pianobook library(s) alongside the “professional experience” interesting and outside your comfort zone brief? I’m too stingy just yet to buy a full version of kontakt, I’m afraid 
, but there are other really generous free formats to get on and download and learn to use (in the spirit of the challenges?) I hope I’m understanding it right there.
I know this doesn’t solve the problem of engaging demo creators longer term and making that worthwhile, as you are sensibly and importantly discussing, but while I do my YouTube trawling to catch up with things I notice that everso many creators are after re-hashing their sound, freshening up, looking to “stop relying on muscle memory” as I think mr Henson put it recently. Another creator said “I don’t like using libraries out of the box because I won’t sound original, people can tell” (at a tenebra launch do I think)…
Perhaps this is one of the directions piano book might be leaning?
As I say, just a newbie, you’ve probably already thought about it, and not a solution to the demo issue long term, but I can’t help noticing a vibe
I hope I’ve understood you right Pat, but I kinda feel this way - it seems right to give something back for the huge investment of time. I think several of the developers said in their videos I’ve seen how much they would love to hear what’s been made from their sounds. Seems part of the unspoken “barter” somehow? Transparency in that kind of ‘transaction’ is really important I think
Yes, Ros, this is exactly what I was trying to express.
Thanks for your insight. Sounds like the monthly playlist was a good incentive for posting demos on the site. Receiving Originals (Spitfire plugin) also seems like a great prize for your efforts.
I’ll talk to the team about bringing back the monthly playlist. Don’t know why they removed it in the first place, but I’m sure they’ll fill me in on how we can bring that back.
Of course we no longer have the large catalog of Spitfire products to use as prizes. I could speak with Crow Hill about providing prizes. Their catalog is pretty sparce right now, but I see a lot of “Coming Soon” products on their “Tools” page. Those additional packs would likely make it easier to give away prizes.
I’m not sure what I can promise, but I want to have open communication with the community. Thank you to everyone that has welcomed me into this role. I want to make sure your voice is heard and your input is considered while adapting the website to suit your needs.
Congrats! Now do something insane so we can all judge you, lol. (Good Luck!)
I actually said this on the comments of the yt video and I’ll say it here too:
Congrats Owen on becoming creative director! I think you’ll do great.
I do have a question tho, if you can’t answer thats okay:
Will Pianobook still be going on with the rebrand to Audio Incubator? Sorry if this sounds like a dumb question but I’m curious.
@Isaac You should see the video I just pitched to the team. So unhinged that they might fire me already.
@mark.nowa.taylor Christian made a post recently where he made remarks on this topic. He said,
In addition to this announcement today I have spoken of changing the name of Pianobook to Audio-Inc. In what will be a frustrating volt-face for many of you I am now (for legal reasons I won’t bore you with) am under strict restrictions not to change it’s name. So pianobook, derived from every piano having a story will remain our name for the foreseeable future.
Ohhh i see. Thanks, yeah I didn’t see that post. Wishing you all the best ^^
I felt very similar a good few years ago about the ‘attempts being worth it’ thing (and I’m still not sure now). I found the guys who deal with the demos are really nice. Write something, upload it to Soundcloud and drop them a line. Just go for it and see how it goes. If they do reintroduce the monthly playlist, I found that provided a good challenge to keep trying and hopefully revel in some personal success further down the line. The biggest reward it gave me was the gift of confidence to write and upload music.
Ironically I found myself feeling I was at the other side of the ‘barter’ process using everyone’s free sounds which encouraged me to write a few sample packs as well to ‘balance the books’. You may find that becomes a thing too. In a similar way to demos, having someone mention something you have created is a great thrill.
Owen, great to have you carrying the baton for Christian. I’m looking forward to seeing what you bring to Pianobook. You mentioned how feedback to the creators is very important. I shall do my best to give feedback from now on. I think that Pianobook is an amazing resource.
Hey Owen,
Thanks for taking the time to chat and listen to my thoughts. I really appreciate it. I do feel like this could be the right direction when it comes to placing real value on all Pianobook users moving forward.
It’s great to hear that you’re actively thinking through incentives for each type of contributor. I agree it’ll take creativity to motivate library and demo creators, but the fact that you’re drawing from your own experience and reaching out to people like me for perspective is a strong start.
I’m looking forward to seeing how things evolve and happy to stay in the loop as ideas develop.
The monthly playlists really gave the process a sense of purpose and momentum. They helped make it feel like there was a wider audience and some kind of structure to grow within.
I had a similar experience: Creating the demos was creatively fulfilling. After a while, though, it felt like there wasn’t much of an outlet beyond the initial upload.
And yes, I completely agree: If Pianobook ever launched a proper production music library tied to the demos, that would be a game changer. Especially for those of us focused on sync (guilty! LOL).
There’s already so much great music sitting there that could be curated, elevated, and even monetized in a meaningful way, it feels like such a natural evolution for the platform.
Would love to see that idea go somewhere, but starting a sync or production library is no joke. Perhaps leveraging existing relationships (Hans Zimmer has a sync library. LOL).
Great idea!
Owen! Welcome!
I can’t wait to wait to watch you direct creatively ^^
I watched your chat with Christian and immediately felt inspired to come back to pianobook, write demos, check new sounds out, etc. I think you bring such an awesome energy into it, and that’s probably why.
I saw in your first post what you wrote about how you found your way into pianobook, and it sounds really inspiring. Even the cooling a laptop with frozen veggies bit! XD
Hearth & Hollow is great btw. And I think what it proves is even greater.
Anyhow, I’m clearly waffleing… just wanted to send you a super warm welcome and wish you all the best!
~Merlin
Huge congratulations, Owen! I’ve been a big fan of Pianobook from the very beginning. It was actually the source of inspiration for my FREE Sample of the Week series that helped kickstart my YouTube career. I’m a huge supporter of the developers and creators on the platform — there are so many amazing hidden gems.
Wishing you the best of luck in your new role, and I’m really excited to see what the next chapter of Pianobook brings!
Samuel P. Davies
A Joe Blog Composer
Can somebody please help me activate my accounts, any one of them. I have 2 accounts that say they are waiting for activation. I have never received an email from them. Therefore, I contacted them and they never returned my request. I used 2 different emails, but they are obviously not responding to me.
I first started my journey to get an account while Christian was a Spitfire, which I was an avid purchaser. I also purchase from CrowHIll. Nothing. Please help.
Welcome, Owen!
Demos are very important to give people a ‘picture’ of the sound, without downloading anything substantial.
Demo composers also have something of a responsibility, to show off the ‘product’ as best they can. It can be frustrating to hear a demo with lots of other sounds, especially if we have little idea what the other sounds are. I know that sometimes hearing a sound in context is worthwhile, but for me, not nearly as important as clearly hearing the sound.
Anyway, onwards and upwards!
Welcome, Owen. PB is an incredible resource and deserves to thrive - which I believe it will do!
Welcome Owen, looking forward to the future..