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There is now a CONTENT FREEZE for Mercury while we switch to a new platform. It began on Friday, March 10 at 6pm and will end on Wednesday, March 15 at noon. No new content can be created during this time, but all material in the system as of the beginning of the freeze will be migrated to the new platform, including users and groups. Functionally the new site is identical to the old one. webteam@gatech.edu
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Atlanta, GA | Posted: December 21, 2005
Creating music at Georgia Tech has just become a little easier for those who are tech savvy. Jason Freeman, an assistant professor in the Music Department, recently created a program that utilizes iTunes to create a unique sonic signature of a person's musical taste.
"I made a java-based application that anyone with a web browser and iTunes can go to and use this website to launch it," said Freeman. "It takes about three to four minutes to churn through everything and make a signature of their music collection. They can make it their cell phone ring tone or use it for their blog or their web page. They can email it to people. They can post it on the web page if they want."
The iTunes Signature Maker is a free software program that can run with most browsers.
Freeman is a composer by nature and said he wanted to share his passion for music. The application is a way for the average person to have a creative music experience.
"I find it pretty accurate as a representation of the type of music I listen to," said Freeman. "It is also an interesting piece of music in its own right. It is not something that stylistically would be bought in a bin at Wal-mart, but it is something that is very interesting to listen to."
Freeman said he came up with the idea because he didn't have a way to accurately tell people what his unique music tastes were. The program allows him to simply let anyone listen to the signature that depicts his tastes through music.
The program uses iTunes to select the favorite tunes or most-listened-to songs of the individual creating the signature. It then allows the user to select certain criteria for how the signature is made. The signature can run anywhere from five seconds to five minutes.
It has been a huge hit on the web and has even been featured on Marketplace, airing on public radio.
Freeman says he received a Rhizome Commission for the iTunes Signature and is proud of how many people have been touched by his latest invention.
"There have been about 36,000 hits on the website and I'm amazed," said Freeman.
The Rhizome Commissions Program is made possible by support from the Jerome Foundation in celebration of the Jerome Hill Centennial, the Greenwall Foundation, the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.
For more information on iTunes Signature Maker, please visit http://www.jasonfreeman.net/itsm/.
