What Did I Learn?

Last week Open Labs launched two products. Music OS 3.0, a music creation and live performance software optimized for a touch screen, and an Open Labs laptop solution powered by Dell were the end results of quite a bit of hard work over the past four months. As I look back on it this weekend, I was reflecting on the items that I learned.

- Small motivated teams are fun and can achieve huge endeavors. I have been involved in business for over 25 years. During that time, I have led organizations with two people and organizations with 900 people. The nice thing about a small team is that you can have a personal connection with each person and they can identify their contribution at a visceral level. The Open Labs team performed above and beyond all reasonable expectation on this project. It is fun to work with great people.

- Everything takes longer than you think and costs more. When I was in a venture capital firm the rule of thumb was divide by two on the revenue projections and multiple by two on the time to first ship and money needed. I am happy to say that we were only off by a couple weeks on the launch. Hopefully, we will be off even less on the revenue.

- Focus wins. Open Labs has an unbelievable number of opportunities and a limited set of resources. We spent as much time deciding what we were NOT going to do, as what we were going to do and that focus paid off with quality products that were able to ship within a week of announcement. However, it was, and remains one of the biggest challenges for us.

- We worked too much during the last four months. One of my friends said that sometimes I go into stealth mode when I get involved in a project; he does not hear from me and certainly does not see me. Undoubtedly, friends and family of all of the individuals involved in the launching of the two projects would probably say the same. It is challenging for me to find that work family balance in the middle of a compelling project. Apologies to all impacted parties. Next time we will have more people and less work.

- Software Is Ready to Ship……… When? This is a real dilemma that many others have faced. It is easy to define when a feature set is complete. It is also easy to say that we are not shipping when there are meaningful bugs that crash the system. Auto updating has made it easy (maybe too easy) to say that we will fix the small bugs in our next update. There is a dynamic tension between shipping something that is great and shipping something on time (for Christmas sales). This was a topic that generated a lot of discussion at Open Labs. The final decision was to send four of the employee musicians home and see if they could have fun making and performing music for two hours. I am pretty sure that this formula will not be found in any MBA textbooks, but it worked for us.

We hope that it will work for you as well. Download our software, make and perform some music. If it is fun; buy it.

Thanks,

Cliff

A Letter From The CEO

Why I bought Open Labs three months ago…

Friends and family naturally asked the question; why? What was it about Open Labs that was so compelling to put down money, take on debts and the responsibilities of employees?

The employees are at least half of the answer. They are a smart, dedicated, passionate, committed group of musicians that literally want to change the music landscape. Open Labs products and support are redefining the way that music is created and produced. The employees want to make music creation and performance easy and seamless.

The good news is that mission is enthusiastically endorsed by marquee customers, which is another large part of the answer. Open Labs has been in business for over eight years and has thousands of professional artists and producers that use the equipment. The artists include superstar groups Maroon 5, Linkin Park, and My Morning Jacket, as well as MultiPlatinum Producers Timbaland, Polow Da Don and Scott Spock, in addition to Musical Directors Morris Hayes for Prince, Michael Bearden for Madonna and Jimmy Nichols for Faith Hill and Reba.

Open Labs products have been used at the Grammys, the Emmys, the Super Bowl Halftime show, multiple Saturday Night Live performances and in live shows to millions. The Open Labs products were even used at President Barrack Obama’s Inauguration. Open Labs customers are strong advocates for the product in YouTube videos, on line forums and even on the Open Labs website.

Passionate employees with a real sense of mission, professional musicians that are evangelists for the company and products that have been proven over time in demanding environments are all reasonable reasons to invest in the company. However, the final investment reason is the most important to the future. Open Labs has been working on a product offering that will allow the power of the Open Labs product to musicians with less cash than the marquee artists. It is a product that will allow musicians to get their idea down quickly and easily, as well as the ability to take it live, be that a backyard party or a stadium tour. It is a game changing product.

We’ve waited to communicate the excitement until we were certain that the product would be available and ready to ship. Check back tomorrow for more details.

Thanks

Cliff Mountain

Open Labs + Protools 9 Native = Perfect Integration. What are you waiting for?

BREAKING NEWS -

Open Labs products are now fully 64-bit capable! 32-bit compliant software will also run on Open Labs products. Our new Windows 7 64-bit operating system allows users to employ up to 16GBs of RAM in a single instrument (that’s over 4X the memory of previous systems!). Users now get the best of both worlds perfectly integrated into one working environment making the Open Labs creative experience even more powerful than ever before!

Already own an Open Labs product? Want to upgrade your existing system to 64-bit? As with any computer-based product, Open Labs understands the importance of keeping the internal components as current and cutting edge as possible. Open Labs offers affordable upgrade paths for its existing users so that their initial investment can continue to grow year after year. For more information on product upgrades or GEN6 64-bit products, please contact Open Labs directly: www.openlabs.com or call: 512-444-6222.

$50 DISCOUNT PROMO CODE (Valid on any upgrade or product purchase, expires 12/10/10): OL64BLKF

Open Labs Announces Release of Open RiFF 2.0

From the Live Music Capital of the World, Austin, Texas, Open Labs, the recognized leader in innovative, computer-based Music Production Stations, is pleased to announce its first major software upgrade to its VST Live Host – Open RiFF 2.0.

This release of Riff 2.0 follows closely behind the launch of Open Labs’ newest Musical Production Stations, Gen6. As one of the three key elements of the Open Labs Musical Operating Environment, Open RiFF 2.0 offers all users increased functionality, ease of use and simplicity of work flow over the previous version, RiFF 1.3.

With Open RiFF 2.0, Open Labs users now have a familiar, search based sound browser which allows users to browse and audition sounds more easily. Using a singular search window, the thousands of sounds found in the Open Labs NeKo and MiKo lines can be identified by musical instrument, musical genre or familiar nicknames.

Along with this increased functionality, there has been a significant improvement in Midi control, which allows for ease of use in both live performance and with the stage control of instruments.

Nick O’ Toole, film composer and Tour Relations Director for Open Labs said, “Finally a VST host that allows Midi information to flow out to other devices. This kind of functionality has been a long-time coming for Production Stations. Being able to send and receive Midi information, including program change information and having control on a song-by-song, patch-by-patch basis is incredibly helpful for guys with complex systems on tour or in the studio. The artists have asked for this kind of functionality and Open Labs has delivered it.”

Open RiFF 2.0 also offers one-touch performance, which will allow Open Labs users to record Midi tracks in more of a simplistic manner. At the same time, the user does not need to have use an external mouse or keyboard to manipulate Open RiFF 2.0.

Open RiFF 2.0 will be included in all Gen6 Music Production Stations. For all 2010 A-Stock purchases, Open RiFF 2.0 will be available at no charge. For all 2010 B-Stock Purchases, Open RiFF 2.0 can be purchased for $29.99. For Open Labs users with Gen5 Music Production Stations, Open RiFF 2.0 can be purchased for $49.99. For any Open Labs users with Gen4 and older Production Stations, Open RiFF 2.0 can be purchased for $99. Detailed information about Open RiFF 2.0 is available at www.openlabs.com/openriff.

A live demonstration will be available on Open Labs’ live Ustream webcast, Thursday, June 10th, 2010 from 5:00pm-6:00pm, CST. The webcast can be viewed at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/openlabs.

O-Live: Special summer hours start next week

Starting next Tuesday, June 4th, O-Live will be airing special summer hours twice a week. The new days and times are Tuesday/Thursday from 5-6pm.

Click HERE to check out the show! (Live or not, we always have something for you to check out!)

Or just watch here!

Live Videos by Ustream

Positive Press for Gen6!

Read what others think about the new Open Labs Gen6 products!
If you see press that isn’t on this list, please forward it to press AT openlabs.com.

http://musicindustrynewswire.com/2010/05/19/min3023_220826.php

http://www.gearslutz.com/board/new-product-alert/494562-open-labs-unveil-gen6-newest-line-products.html

http://www.allaccess.com/net-news/archive/story/75400

http://lawontherow.com/2010/05/19/music-biz-news-open-labs-announces-new/

http://www.hispasonic.com/noticias/open-labs-presenta-sexta-generacion-workstation-neko-miko-14804

http://www.sonicstate.com/news/2010/05/21/new-open-labs-production-stations/

http://news.hitsquad.com/OtherGear/Open_Labs_unveil_the_newest_line_of_products_Gen6

http://en.audiofanzine.com/misc-computer/open-labs/generation6/news/a.play,n.6793.html

http://rapbeatsonline.info/how-to-get-into-the-music-industry/open-labs-announces-new-gen6-and-q-series-pc-powered-keyboard-workstations/

http://massmediacontent.com/2010/05/19/MMC3388_220826.php

http://www.gearjunkies.com/news_info.php?news_id=5117&PHPSESSID=94f2fbf6ba57e909359acd4d26fe8685

http://www.samplepoolz.com/?q=aggregator&page=1

http://www.audiopronews.ro/2010/05/open-labs-unveil-the-newest-line-of-products-gen6/

http://futuremusic.com/blog/

http://audiobusters.com/news/station-de-travail-workstation/nouvelle-gamme-de-produits-chez-open-labs-la-gen6

http://delicious.com/OpenLabs

http://digg.com/music/Open_Labs_Unveil_Gen6_the_Newest_Line_of_Products

http://openlabs.ning.com/profiles/blogs/open-labs-unveil-gen6-the

http://www.stumbleupon.com/stumbler/OpenLabs/

http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=58022979&blogId=534610322

http://www.openlabs.com/blog/?p=1011

Videos: Check out the Gen6 Product Launch Video

The Gen6 lineup includes the Gen6 MiKo QC6, the Gen6 NeKo QX6, the Gen6 MiKo LXD and the Gen6 NeKo XXL. The entire new Gen6 product line offers more power, more sounds and is more affordable.

Check it out below!

PRESS RELEASE: Open Labs Unveil Gen6; the Newest Line of Products

Open Labs, a recognized leader in innovative Music Production Stations based in Austin, Texas, debuted their newest line of Production Stations today, Generation6. The Gen6 lineup includes the Gen6 MiKo QC6, the Gen6 NeKo QX6, the Gen6 MiKo LXD and the Gen6 NeKo XXL. The entire new Gen6 product line offers more power, more sounds and is more affordable.

All products in the Gen6 lineup feature processors from the 2010 Intel® CoreTM processor family and are based on Microsoft’s Windows 7 for true Open Platform Capability. The Q series lineup includes the MiKo QC6 and the NeKo QX6, which offer over 10,000 sounds, full DAW capabilities, a 15” touch screen interface, DVD/CD burning and internet capability and a 37 or 61 keyboard form factor.

The L series lineup, which are the pinnacle of Music Production Stations, include the MiKo LXD and the NeKo XXL. Both production stations offer over 15,000 sounds, full DAW capabilities, a 15” touch screen interface, DVD/CD burning and internet capability and a 37 or 61 keyboard form factor. The L series offers incredible control over production with the Alpha 2 controller, the bankable Mix Edit and the drum pad interface Bump MP. The NeKo XXL also raises the bar in audio by offering 24bit/192khz recording.

“We are very excited to be launching the most powerful Musical Production Stations we’ve ever produced,” said Victor Wong, Chairman and Co-Founder, Open Labs, “with our migration to Windows 7 we have spent months testing and retesting our proprietary software products as well as the most popular third party software and hardware products. We can assure our customers the same level of musical flexibility that they have grown to expect in our Production Stations and with our new offerings we can expand in ways which we have never been able to before now.

“Our software offerings will continue to flourish and our platforms will grow more robust with each release. This is a major transition for Open Labs and our ability to serve our customers and their musical aspirations,” said Wong.

The Q series Open Labs Music Production Stations come with Open Labs Gold Support Services which include: a one-hour “Get to Know Your Machine” session, two hours of technical training and warranty for parts and labor for one year. The L Series come with Open Labs Platinum Support Services which include the same level of Support Services as Gold Support in addition to seven hours of technical training.

The Gen6 MiKo QC6 is available for $3,799 USD and the Gen6 NeKo QX6 is available for $3,999 USD. The Gen6 MiKo LXD is available for $4,799 USD and the Gen6 NeKo XXL is available for $6,999 USD. All Open Labs production stations can be purchased directly through Open Labs at http://www.openlabs.com or through an authorized reseller listed on the Open Labs web site.

About Open Labs

Headquartered in Austin, Texas — at the crossroads of music and technology– Open Labs develops and markets cutting-edge studio and musical instrument technology. Since 2003, Open Labs has been the recognized leader in providing musicians and producers of all genres, with high-performance portable instruments that combine all the equipment found in a professional music studio with unsurpassed live performance capabilities. A-List artists currently using Open Labs products include: Timbaland, Jonathan Davis (Korn), Morris Hayes (Prince), Jesse Carmichael (Maroon 5) and Jimmy Nichols (Faith Hill) to name a few. For more information on Open Labs, please visit http://www.openlabs.com.

News: Special Announcement TODAY Wednesday, May 19th!

Be sure to tune in to O-live on Wednesday, May 19th, for a very special announcement…

NEW Products: Check it Out! (PS: April Fools!)

We have been hinting for a while that we would be doing SOMETHING new in the next few weeks. Everyone has been trying to guess. New software? New NeKo? New big artist? Well, the time is finally here to unveil our newest products!

Check out the newest lineup to Open Labs, The MiKo XXS (retail $499) and the NeKo AX5 (retail $8,999).

Read more about each product below!

http://www.openlabs.com/nekoax5.html

http://www.openlabs.com/mikoxxs.html

Although neither product is currently available for order, call Sales to get more details on availability!