Zahidah is a Singapore based singer songwriter. Her song ‘All I want is you’ came to our attention when we watched the documentary ‘Here we are’ produced by Daniel Rucerito, about the music scene in Singapore. We were very impressed by her songwriting and singing talent and contacted her to see if she would like to be one of the early artists on Bittunes. So, we were very happy when she accepted. Recently she agreed to do an interview with us, so we prepared a list of questions so her growing list of fans could understand more about this exciting young artist. Q: You are at an early stage in your career, what do you think are the biggest challenges for you as a songwriter? Zahidah: One of the biggest challenges, is actually the lack of a challenge. As someone who is still learning the ropes to write a song, I know that I have a lot more to learn about songwriting. There’s only so much I can improve if I keep writing songs for myself. I feel that writing with, and for other people will definitely help me to hone my songwriting. Unfortunately for me, its rather hard to find such opportunities due to various reasons - conflicting schedules etc. Its really unfortunate, but I’m always on the look-out for such opportunities. Q: You write and sing in both Malaysian and English, do you prefer one or the other? and what are the differences from your perspective? Zahidah: Malay, you mean. Honestly, I speak more English than Malay so sometimes writing in Malay can be a bit of a challenge. With that being said, I don’t exactly have a preferred language to sing/write in, because both languages are definitely different. For example, Malay is a rather gentle language, so it can be quite difficult to accurately capture the emotions that I want to express in the song, but when I manage to do it, the experience can be pretty exhilarating! Q: When you are recording at home, like in the ‘Bedroom Sessions’ video on Youtube, what gear do you use to record? Zahidah: Haha my equipment has not been upgraded since the day I bought them 6 years ago. Considering that I was still a student back then, my gear are either i) really affordable or ii) second-hand. I’m not a gear junkie, so to me, as long as they are still working fine, I am good. For my mic, I use the Audio Technica AT2020 and for my USB interface, its the Zoom C5.1t.   Q: When you write songs are you consciously trying to write in a particular genre or is the process more spontaneous? Zahidah:...

Zhang Zhang is a Chinese singer songwriter who has become a leading exponent of all things Bitcoin in China.   In the video (below) Zhang Zhang is interviewed by Yi Lam from the Bittunes team, he discusses his background, why he became a songwriter, his love of freedom and independence, and also Bitcoin. His song ‘We are Bitcoin’ is available to purchase on the Bittunes platform. Full text of the extended interview Zhang Zhang: Hi, My name is Zhangzhang, I have been doing music for more than 10 years. I like freedom, independece, I enjoy life, enjoy music, and now I like Bitcoin.   Q: What, or who has had the biggest influence on you as a singer songwriter? Zhang Zhang: When I was in college, I started to fall in loves with music, under the influence of Qiqin, who was a very famous musician back at that time. I was thinking I can be the same as him, I can write some great songs as well. After that, I started to teach myself guitar, then I started to write songs, and do some recording.   Q: Are you with any label? Zhang Zhang: No label, No, I had signed with a label and released an album before, however, in the end I realised, only by being independent artist, that I can make my own music, because I like freedom. The nature of music itself are free and independent, so, I believe to respect with the nature, to be freely to express without control, and this is similar to the nature of Bitcoin.   Q: How did you first become interested in Bitcoin? Zhang Zhang: In the end of year 2012, I read some news about Bitcoin in 163.com, at that time, I was amazed that by it’s nature, the decentralisation, it’s a democratic and open system. And most importantly, it is similar with my core values, so, I immediately joined the Bitcoin World. Now, I have various alt-currencies, Bitcoin, Litecoin, Quark, Nextcoin and Zetacoin, I believe this is the future, so, I decided to jump into the Bitcoin World.   Q: Tell us about your Bitcoin Song, “we are bitcoin”… why did you write it, and how have people reacted to it in China? Zhang Zhang: In the Bitcoin World, everyone is using their own way to make a contribution, to me, I am using music to do my contribution, so, I am very happy that I can write this Bitcoin song. Bitcoin is getting more and more popular in China, although the government might not quite like this thing, but in fact, China is the world’s largest Bitcoin exchange market. So, because Bitcoin is getting more mature...

Adrien Violet is the CTO of Bittunes, here he gives an overview of the project, basically serving as an introduction for new potential users, Artists and developers. The video was originally intended for a French speaking audience, but we have created English subtitles, for a wider audience Une explication de Bittunes faite par Adrien Violet, Responsable Technique de Bittunes. Adrien has been mainly involved in the development of the Android Application which is currently available ofr Alpha testing on Google Play....

Simon Edhouse explains Bittunes Strategy In this video Managing Director Simon Edhouse explains the strategy and context behind Bittunes. In brief, Bittunes derived from a growing awareness that there were long term and serious problems in the music industry and that although P2P technology has been available for many years, no one has yet created a solution fo the music industry using this obvious technology. Recap: what are we intending to do? The bittunes project is about fundamentally changing the way digital music distribution operates on the internet. The project potentially affects both the ‘demand’ and ‘supply’ side of the equation. The initial and most relevant aspect of the project is that it allows people who buy music, (demand side) to earn income by being directly involved in the distribution of digital music. The project also positively affects the ‘supply side’ (artists/copyright holders) by being able to provide fairer distribution of royalties, and it primarily achieves this by flattening the music industry supply chain. Achieving these effects involves altering or utilizing 3 key factors: a) the distribution processes, (using P2P systems) b) application of copyright (extending creative commons) c) the payments mechanisms. (using digital currencies) All of these 3 factors achieve novelty in this system because they are combined together in an atypical way. Further, they effectively all have the characteristic that they all operate on the edges of the network (on client devices) rather than at the core of the network (on servers controlled by businesses) Free to contact us if you would like to  become more involved. write to: admin at bittunes dot...

When Heth and Jedd uploaded their studio version of this song to bittunes, back in late May, they left the following message, for us. (by the way, we love the studio version, which will be available on bittunes, but this live version captures something about these guys that really inspires us, a spontaneity and lack of pretension, and simple love of their music which we absolutely share.) “Hi, We’re brothers Heth and Jed—we are duo from New York City. The track we’re uploading is Future Memory from our CD Between the In and the Out. Our CD is a mixture of Rock tunes and atmospheric soundscapes. Produced by producer Jamie Candiloro. Were 100% DIY, self-funded and we were so psyched when we came across your website. We wish you much luck and thank you for considering us—we’d be honored to be a part of bittunes. Thanks, Heth and Jed” www.hethandjed.com www.youtube.com/hethandjed...