Nathan Lubeck » KCRW

Gizmodo App of the Day

Nathan Lubeck — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 23:55:21 +0000

The KCRW Music Mine iPad app I contributed to was named Gizmodo ‘App of the Day’ — check out the article.

Radio App for Android

Nathan Lubeck — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 02:24:56 +0000

I’ve been working with developers on putting the finishing touches to the KCRW Radio Android application. It will use the pre-installed YouTube app to access video from Morning Becomes Eclectic performances. Also, you will be able to share playlists and programs with friends over Facebook, Twitter, SMS, etc. (unlike iPhone, which only allows you to email). The user will also have the option to switch between high (128k) and low (64k) streams depending on bandwidth and I’ve included a home screen widget for the three live streams… More details to come upon release!

Download from the marketplace using this QR code promo I made today or visit: http://market.android.com/search?q=pname:com.kcrw

iPhone4

Nathan Lubeck — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 19:23:02 +0000

Cool/subtle reference to the KCRW application on Rollingstone.com – “Organizing all your music apps onto one screen is a time-consuming bore. The new OS lets you instantly create folders of similar apps. For instance, take your Shazam icon and drag it over your KCRW app and you’ll automatically create a folder called Music.”

KCRW iPhone Radio Application

Nathan Lubeck — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 20:08:55 +0000

The official KCRW Radio App has been approved by Apple! Many thanks to Ed Wrenbeck and Jessica Cigno. Visit iTunes to download…

Features include:

Listen Live
The KCRW Radio app streams all three KCRW channels — On Air, Music and News. Music shows include real-time track lists for each show with the ability to purchase from iTunes.

Listen On Demand
The KCRW Radio app also offers KCRW’s Music, New and Talk programs for on-demand listening. On Demand content is updated with new shows daily and weekly, depending on the schedule for each program.

Listen to KCRW’s award winning programming including Morning Becomes Eclectic (with live performances), Guest DJ Project, To The Point, Left, Right and Center, Good Food, Bookworm, Le Show, The Business, and many more.

Be Tuned-In with Events
Events feature information on the latest music, news and arts happenings around town. Listings contain date, venue and time information and are updated weekly.

KCRW iPhone Applications Released

Nathan Lubeck — Tue, 26 May 2009 18:18:41 +0000

After much hard work, Apple finally approved a set of iPhone video applications from KCRW (for In Studio on Morning Becomes Eclectic and Good Food). Both apps cost $0.99 and proceeds go to supporting KCRW.

There were quite a few components of the project that needed to come together in very short period of time: the overall look/feel of the applications (including functionality), RSS news feeds and events, the video media, subscription section, and analytics.

Design and Functionality
Using an outside company to develop an application can sometimes limit design somewhat. We went through various iterations of the splash screen and over-all look/feel. The icons and brand recognition were particularly important — especially since there are numerous applications associated with the KCRW brand. An important aspect of the main navigation was the ease in which listeners can join the station.

News and Event Feeds
Our primary website developer created a custom RSS feed in Plone specifically for the iPhone. Users can now stay up to date with Good Food and music related KCRW events and the RSS feeds can be used for other projects.

Video Format
Media is encoded in H.264 and uploaded to our CDN at 640×480 then auto-transcoded into high and low versions. The application detects bandwidth and serves appropriate versions.

Analytics
Pinch Media provides the (almost) real-time analytics on usage and uptake.

Subscribe to KCRW
A feature that was later removed was a “join” section. All KCRW applications were to include a section for member support but it was later found out that Apple doesn’t allow this functionality built into the application. The original plan was to host this section on the KCRW servers for easy updates. I used iWebKit_4.5.3 to make the website — which would’ve eventually been integrated with a secure mobile Ecommerce solution for the iPhone. Magento was an obvious option (with an iPhone skin already available) but found the integration with non-profit CRM systems lacking.

COMING SOON: A KCRW Fringe Benifits application for members, and a tricked out media player…

KCRW Acquisition Campaign

Nathan Lubeck — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 23:32:30 +0000

Recently setup an email acquisition campaign where sign-ups are verified through a two step process and users are sent an iTunes code to download the new KCRW Mix. Acquired sign-ups are exported in CSV and imported into CRM software. The system is entirely integrated into Plone (email templates and all) and the confirmation/verification emails are sent locally through white listed servers. Referrers are user inputted but also tracked based on URL.

It’s a great mix, go here to sign up and stay on top of KCRW events. All emails have an opt-out if you would like to stop receiving updates.

NPR Planet Money

Nathan Lubeck — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 19:21:58 +0000

Our second streaming broadcast from the The Eli & Edythe Broad Stage in Santa Monica went off without a hitch — check out the archived show on Tuesday, April 21st at kcrw.com

Here’s a short description of the program:
“...join the charismatic team of This American Life’s Alex Blumberg and NPR’s Adam Davidson for an entertaining live stage show here in Los Angeles explaining the economic crisis in human terms.”

And check out the NPR podcast here.

KCRW Tracklist System

Nathan Lubeck — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 22:54:08 +0000

Just completed the new KCRW tracklist system. Instead of the old (and outdated) table based static system, KCRW.com now has an auto-updating tracklist complete with AJAX effects, integrated ads, RSS feeds, etc…

NEW FEATURES
User Experience: A significantly improved user experience through better design and functionality.

Search: Unlike our previous playlists these pages are fully searchable with data going back to 2006. Want so search by artist, song, label, channel, host, date you can do it.

Sharing: Track lists for specific shows and custom searches can now be bookmarked on your browser or shared with friends on Facebook, MySpace, etc.

MP3 Ecom: Auto search Amazon and iTunes with “buy now” links

Also: DJ Comments, Band members (when there is a live performance), and advertisement support (two banner sizes that mirror the KCRW media player for consistency)

I created the design in-house and outsourced the html/css production. The application was programmed by two independent developers. Project managed in Basecamp.

Check it out at http://newmedia.kcrw.com/tracklists

UPDATE: It seems even with pinging Feedburner their RSS feed is still only updated at 30min intervals. Looking into a locally hosted/cached way of offering a feed. I’m also working on updating the usablility based on the feedback the KCRW interactive team has been getting.

RadioActive Flyer Design

Nathan Lubeck — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 19:49:33 +0000

I made a quick design for the upcoming ‘RadioActive’ Dance Party KCRW is presenting in downtown Los Angeles. I particularly enjoyed the challenge and think it came pretty well. Click on the image for a larger version. Event details below:

RadioActive: A Dance Party for KCRW
Saturday, April 11 from 9PM-2AM
The Legendary Park Plaza Hotel
Los Angeles

Tickets/More Info

LRC Live

Nathan Lubeck — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 00:51:58 +0000

This coming Sunday at 5PM I’ll be working with Interactive Producer Rob Lafond to do a live webcast of Left, Right, and Center Live at the Broad Stage in Santa Monica. We’ll be using Flash Media Live Encoder and Limelight Networks to stream live video via Flash Player. Check out KCRW.com Sunday to watch Arianna Huffington, Matt Miller, Robert Scheer and Tony Blankley discuss the current state of politics — the show will be simulcast over the web and on the air.