Open source + MOG: A Q&A with MOG’s Director of Engineering

We recently submitted two pieces of software to open source, a pretty great milestone for our young company!  MOG’s social media mistress sat down with Sylvain Rebaud, MOG’s Director of Engineering, to explore MOG’s relationship with open source.  Before we dive in to the good stuff (including a look behind MOG’s velvet curtains and some advice from Sylvain to young engineers), let’s take a look at what open source means.

(from opensource.org)
Open source is a development method for software that harnesses the power of distributed peer review and transparency of process. The promise of open source is better quality, higher reliability, more flexibility, lower cost, and an end to predatory vendor lock-in.

What does that have to do with MOG?  Essentially, embracing open source means practicing certain standards in production and development that promote public access to our end product’s source materials.  And though MOG don’t have a public API quite yet, it is on our roadmap.

Zoë: How does submitting MOG software to open source relate to MOG’s primary mission to create the most incredible music-listening experience possible?

Sylvain: What we published so far may not help MOG directly. But it’s a way to give back to the community for all the other open source tools we’re using to make this service. In the long run, when we start opening up the API to a wider audience, we will have more sample code and tools we will open source to let people embrace our service with less friction.

Z:  What’s your history with open source?

S: I have a long history with open source projects. I was a main contributor to the original XBMC project (XBox Media Center) to which I provided my own code (UPnP SDK Library). The XBMC project is what powers the Boxee box and software. It has a HUGE following. I am also familiar with Open Source Licenses. I sell my software under a Dual License. GPL for Open source projects and Commercial for Closed source projects. I can do that because I wrote the software entirely myself.

Z: What software did MOG submit and why?  Why is it exciting? 

S: On my side, I submitted AirLogger: http://github.com/c0diq/airlogger
It came out of a need to access the MOG app log while connected to a USB accessory (such as BMW headunit or other partners hardware we’re integrating with or TVs). In this situation, we can’t rely on the USB connection to the PC to see what’s going on. So I wrote this tool to read the log and broadcast it over the network where you can look at it while staying connected to the USB accessory. It’s just easier to debug that way. (I also wanted to learn a bit about node.js) This is exciting because I am sure a LOT of people are having the same issues when developing for USB Accessories. The market is growing and that includes TVs as the iPhone can output video now (a mirror of the iPhone screen or an entirely separate UI).  This is an upcoming MOG feature, by the way.

Z: How do you see open source of benefit to the future of MOG and the future of streaming music?

S: As I described earlier, there may be more things we want to give back to the community (like backend node.js tools). In return, open source community contributes back to MOG, fixes bugs, add new features. It’s a win-win situation. And yes, your competition can see your code, but as long as the secret sauce is not exposed, it’s all good.

And one more thing – a piece of advice to young engineers out there – being active in an open source project is critical to getting hired. It means you’re passionate about what you do.  Some companies won’t hire you if you don’t have that on your resume.

Pimp your MOG with exclusive holiday offers from our partners!

We joined forces with some of our awesome partners to offer MOG fans and listeners some great deals on neat devices that help you enjoy MOG’s hi-fidelity streaming audio everywhere you go.  Check ‘em out:

TARGET: Wrap us up and give the gift of MOG.
We’ve teamed up with Target to offer 2 month MOG gift cards for our primo tier of subscription (which includes unlimited downloads from our 13 million song catalog via our award-winning mobile apps!). Access your music on the web, TV, and everywhere you go with your smartphone. Nab yours right here.

SONOS: Get your bundle on.
MOG & Sonos have teamed up to offer a SONOS PLAY:5, BRIDGE & 1-year MOG subscription for just $448 (regularly $568). Get this all-in-one wireless hifi system, plug it in anywhere, and start streaming all the music on earth. Control it from anywhere with free Sonos apps for your Android®, iPhone® or iPad®! Take advantage of this offer here.

PHILIPS: Android awesomeness.
Get 10% off of the slick, brand-new Philips GoGear Connect MP3 player with Android (choose 8 or 16GB). And explore more 10% off deals on Philips’ awesome series of Android-compatible docking speakers! Just visit the Philips website and use promo code PHILMOG. (*models SA3CNT08K/37, SA3CNT16K/37, AS111/37, AS140/37, AS351/37, AS851/37)

LOGITECH: Bravo, bluetooth boombox.
Logitech is offering free shipping on their Mini Boombox! Wirelessly blast MOG from your smartphone or tablet everywhere you go — the rechargeable battery offers up to 10 hours of listening fun. This makes a great gift (and portable DJ station, too!) Unleash the music here.

LOGITECH: Want a hug? Give a Squeezebox.
Get $30 off Logitech’s Red Squeezebox Internet Radio. Delight in MOG’s comprehensive library of music from any room you’d like, while supplies last, from this innovative wifi music player. You can get it here, and don’t delay, this offer expires 12/19/11.

Congratulations to MOG’s own Teja Vishwanadha – Mashery prize winner at Hollywood Hack Day!

We’re very proud of one of our youngest engineers, Teja Vishwanadha, who won the Mashery prize at this year’s Hollywood Hack Day!

For the uninitiated, a hack day is essentially a bunch of developers and designers in a room attempting to do hacks.  What are hacks?  They’re small engineering projects that an individual or a small team will attempt to complete/solve/make major progress on – in a short period of time.

[A note about hack day ethics:  it’s generally understood that hacks should be new projects.  Coming in too prepared is a violation of the spirit of a hack day.]

MOG’s social media mistress sat down with Teja to discuss his win and get an insight into how participating in hack days can not only benefit cutting-edge companies like ours, but champion innovation and cooperation in the tech world.

Zoë:  Tell me a little bit about your impetus for participating in this event.

Teja:  This was my first hack day, and I was interested in doing a music-related hack because I work for MOG and because HHD is a music/video tech-focused event.

The genesis for my hack came from feeling intimidated by how many tracks we have [over 13 million].  I was interested in tackling a hack that sliced and served up our catalog in a meaningful way – adding a new facet of music discovery.

Zoë:  Tell me more about your hacks.

Teja:  First I used a location-based playlist idea.  The concept is, you determine where a listener is geographically, and make a playlist of artists that are playing upcoming events or concerts.

Zoë: Cool!  So if someone was interested in seeing a show but was perhaps unfamiliar with the upcoming options, they could get a preview and that could help them find a concert they’d enjoy.

Teja:  Exactly.  The other idea I explored was a mood-based playlist.  A listener can input a feeling, and a playlist is generated.

Zoë: So essentially, your hacks could almost be defined as automation of meaningful aggregation.

Teja: Yes.  What I’d love to develop more with the mood-based playlist is a differentiation between empathy and sympathy playlists.  So you could choose an empathy playlist if you entered “sad” and wanted to hear sad songs.  But if you chose a sympathy playlist, you’d enter “sad” and get cheerful songs to make you feel better.

Zoë:  I love this idea.  Can you tell me more about the way your hacks worked?

Teja:  Well, all in all, I used about 4-5 of Mashery’s APIs and 8-9 APIs total.  For the location-based playlist, I used APIs from Yahoo, Quova (IP-location), Jambase, and last.fm to create the playlist.  For the mood-based playlist, I used an API from Rovi, basically their mood data.  I resolved using APIs from various music services, and MOG’s search tools.

Zoë: Could you put the term “API” in layman’s terms?

Teja:  API stands for Application Programming Interface.  It’s basically an interface into something.  For example, MOG’s API is how our web player makes calls into our music servers.

Zoë:  Tell me a little about your background, and what was your first hack?

Teja:  I got my BA in computer science and engineering from MIT.  I worked at hulu right out of school and then came to MOG.  I’ve been around computers since the age of 4 and interested in programming since I was 9.  My first hack – well, that was probably setting up my own website.  I wrote my blog myself, which wasn’t that smart in retrospect.  I used WordPress before it was even called WordPress!

Zoë:  Tell us a little bit about Mashery, the company that awarded you a prize at Hollywood Hack Day.

Teja:  Mashery is a company that focuses on making APIs easier for other companies to use, and handles restrictions on those APIs.  Often there are limitations for how many calls you can make on an API per day, or non-commercial restrictions.

Zoë:  What are you currently working on at MOG?

Teja:  Integrating Allmusic data into our new web player.

Zoë:  Awesome, that’s a project close to my heart.  Any final words?

Teja:  I had a ton of fun at Hollywood Hack Day.  And I hope we can get our own API out there and public soon!

Keep your data in the friend-zone [MOG tip]

It’s no secret: streaming music from your mobile device over a 3G connection requires data usage.  That’s why MOG’s mobile apps have the following built-in tools to help reduce the impact of our award-winning streaming music on your data plan:

1.  Unlimited downloads to your device – listening to your downloads incurs no data fees, as they are stored on your device and thus accessed locally.

2.  Downloading via wifi for no data impact – downloading music while your device is connected to wifi also incurs no data fees.  And because we are dedicated to offering our music at a high-quality bitrate whenever possible, we’ve built in the option to download at 320 kbps high-quality audio.

2.  Default bitrate of 64 kbps AAC+ - an efficient but high-quality codec for mobile listening, which uses 5x less data than 320 kbps.  Of course, we also give our listeners the option to switch to 320 kbps high-quality streams.

Don’t worry, Data. We may see less of each other, but we can still be friends:

USA Today’s Jefferson Graham: “My favorite of the four services is by far, MOG.”

Jefferson Graham, 9/27/11 on USA Today Online music subscription services offer free options

F to the R to the E to the E

We’ve had an exhilarating week launching and playing around with the new free version of MOG.  It’s an amazing new way to enjoy our celestial jukebox of over 12 million songs (yes! we passed the 12 million mark!), but don’t take our word for it.  Check out all the buzz from around the nation:

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“If you’re going to go the 100-percent free route, then MOG seems to be the better option, as it doesn’t simply limit your listening time to a set monthly allotment, as is the case with Spotify…Another major selling point for free MOG is the radio play option, which isn’t available to Spotify customers who don’t cough up some cash.”

Andrew Couts, 9/16/11 on Digital Trends Spotify vs MOG: Free music streaming showdown

“Music, it seems, wants to be free…[MOG] offers a “gas tank” of free access that expands based on a user’s social activity on the site, like sending playlists to friends or bringing in new users.”

Ben Sisario, 9/14/11 on The New York Times: Media Decoder Mog, the Music Streaming Service, Will Offer a Free Version

“All that tweeting and sharing of photos on Facebook could finally have a tangible reward: free music.  MOG, a subscription music service based in Berkeley, Calif., says it is introducing a free music service that will supplement its $5-a-month unlimited streaming plan and $10-a-month unlimited mobile music offering.  Starting immediately, MOG is giving new users a kind of digital gas tank they can use to listen to tracks from its library of 11 million songs.”

Associated Press, 9/15/11 on NPR, Forbes, USA Today, & 70 others MOG Adds Free Music Gas Tank to Subscription Plans

“MOG, the unlimited music service, has reinvented itself as a social game where the goal is to listen to, make playlists out of, and share music. If you do those things enough, you’ll never have to pay to use it, and the system will soon integrate with Facebook in unprecedented ways.”

Eliot Van Buskirk, 9/15/11 on Evolver & Wired MOG Turns Free Social Music into a Game

(more…)

Real MOG users on why MOG rocks.

Some of our biggest fans told us why they love MOG.  We’re thrilled to share this with the world.  A special thanks to Eugene Hutz from Gogol Bordello and Rye Rye for giving the artist’s perspective.  Check it out:

When should I get permission?: an artist rendering

MOG’s own mobile product lead Anu Kirk moderated a compelling panel at yesterday’s SF MusicTech about licensing and distribution, with participants Michael Robertson of MP3tunes, Darryl Ballantyne of LyricFind, and Dave Porter of 8tracks.  We liked Stefan Aronsen’s artist rendering of the panel discussion (called “When should I get permission?”) so much we wanted to share it with the world:

Another smackdown finds MOG victorious

“MOG has nailed it with simplicity, a relevant song selection, and better sound quality. The MOG desktop interface and mobile application are incredibly intuitive and without distracting features. MOG’s catalog is not only more relevant it’s streamed and stored in higher quality. MOG has made the deliberation over what service to keep and what service to cancel very easy. It’s really no contest. I’ve sacked Spotify and selected MOG my single subscription streaming service.”

8/24/11 on Computer Audiophile MOG v. Spotify Part II

Help us get our awesome panels chosen for SXSW 2012

We’ve put together two compelling panel submissions for SXSW Music/Interactive 2012, and we’re calling on our community to help us get our panels chosen by the SXSW advisory board.  Community votes account for 30% of the decision-making process for SXSW programming, so we’re hoping our listeners and fans can contribute to our grassroots efforts to promote our panel.

To vote, first make sure you have a SXSW account.  Then, once you’re logged in, visit both of these submissions (below) and click the thumbs-up button for each.  Dig our panels?  Feel free to leave comments with your support!  All of us here at MOG appreciate your help.

Text links here:
http://panelpicker.sxsw.com/ideas/view/8762
http://panelpicker.sxsw.com/ideas/view/10793