June 9th, 2010
Company: Sonoma Wire Works
Website: www.sonomawireworks.com
Tell us a little about yourself and what you do for Sonoma Wire Works.
My name is Daniel Codella and I do artist relations for Sonoma Wire Works. Basically, my job is to establish and develop relationships with artists and companies. I provide artists with our software and get valuable feedback which I then pass to our engineers. We also benefit from any press that artists get using our products, so we try to develop quality software that artists will actually use. Bands contact me every day to request software, tell me of their upcoming projects, or ask me about software we have given them, which I also assist with marketing which has me doing everything from writing press releases to designing t-shirts. We are a small company, so I wear many hats. We all pick up the slack whenever things get busy, so that may mean I do tech support or shipping on some days.
>Who are the other members of the team and how do all these members interact on a typical day at Sonoma Wire Works?
Doug Wright is the president of the company as well as the lead software developer. Hayden is our other software developer and works with Doug to write all of our software. Muss is our third engineer and has been working primarily on improving RiffWorks’ collaboration features. Doug’s wife, Michelle, is our VP of marketing and handles our press inquiries, print and web advertising, and relationships with distributors. Peter is our director of operations and makes sure all orders go out in a timely manner and Jason is our tech support. Like I mentioned earlier, because we are small, we all might have to wear different hats depending on the needs of the day.
Describe the company name, brand and vision/goals.
Sonoma Wire Works makes software and apps that don’t get in the way of songwriting. So many music programs just keep adding more and more complicated features that you spend more time trying to figure things out rather than actually writing music. We try to make simple, yet great sounding software that any musician can pick up and create art with. All of us in the office are either musicians or work with audio, which helps us to really understand our target user. Each of our software titles are easy to use yet produce stellar results. We want to continue to use the latest technology to create amazing software that helps musicians write amazing music. As far as the name? You’ll have to ask Doug 
What products/software does Sonoma Wire Works offer the consumer?
Sonoma Wire Works offers a wide range of music software and loops for both the pro musician and the amateur hobbyist. Currently, Sonoma Wire Works makes RiffWorks, Drumcore, Kitcore, instantDrummers, FourTrack, StudioTrack, and the entire Discrete Drums product line.
What are Sonoma Wire Works current/future plans and projects? Any brand new software in production?
Currently we are working on making updates and new versions of all our existing software. We will be unveiling a new product at Summer NAMM in Nashville next week. I am not at liberty to speak about it, but I feel it will be a real game changer.
Where does the Sonoma Wire Works team view themselves in 5-10 years?
That’s an interesting question. I know that even if he were to retire next year, Doug is an extremely creative and hardworking individual who will probably always be creating new things. Ultimately, I think all of us are excited to see SWW grow and expand into even more aspects of music creation. We have many things in the pipeline, and I get the feeling this will be an especially important year for us.
How has Sonoma Wire Works product line changed with the arrival of the iPad?
We had the privilege of being a launch app for the iPad with our StudioTrack program. StudioTrack is a multitrack recording app that includes effects on each channel, 8 mono tracks, and WiFi sync. Currently, StudioTrack is our only product specifically for the iPad, but we have been tossing around several ideas for future apps. The iPad device is really unprecedented, and we believe that most developers have only scratched the surface. The full potential of the iPad has yet to be realized.
What are the current plans to keep up and integrate Sonoma Wire Works software with emerging technologies, like the new iPhone 4 and iPhone OS 4 (iOS 4)?
We here at Sonoma Wire Works try to monitor all emerging technologies and incorporate them into our products. We are very interested in the iPhone in particular and are already developing for it. Mobile devices are getting so fast that the need for expensive desktop systems is almost a thing of the past. All of us try to keep up on emerging trends and actively support new technology if it will benefit our users.
Does Sonoma Wire Works have plans to expand their product line across different operating systems and mobile operating systems?
Currently our desktop software works on both PC and MACs with no plans to develop on Linux. Other mobile platforms do not allow us to both play audio and record at the same time which make it impossible to develop our software for them. Once they make that available to developers, we will consider developing for them. Additionally, it is very inexpensive to develop for the iPhone. There are currently three models of iPhone to develop for and troubleshoot, unlike other platforms which have multiple companies producing multiple handset configurations.
Are there any relevant websites and/or social networking sites you would like to share?
RiffWorks has a collaboration feature which allows users from around the globe to work on music together called RiffLink. Users can post their creations and join collaborations on our RiffWorld.com site. Feel free to check out what our users are coming up with!
What musicians actively use the software?
Countless artists are using our software including M83, Chris Stein of Blondie, Rikki Rocket of Poison, Dave Kushner of Velvet Revolver, Al Di Meola, Daniel Bedingfield, IAMX, and David Gray. A list of artists that have been using FourTrack can be found here: http://www.sonomawireworks.com/iphone/artists/. I also maintain a page on our site called “Artist Spotlight” which features interviews I have conducted with some prominent artists which can be found here: http://www.sonomawireworks.com/artists/.
If there is one, point to a link or download of an MP3 or iTunes download that has been created using the software?
The 88 recorded their single “Love is the Thing” entirely on the iPhone using FourTrack. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKITWfS41zw
