The programming pulls musicians from across genres, including jazz, soul, and hip-hop, including Ann Peebles and Stevie Wonder contemporary Norman Whiteside. “What we’re selling mostly is the connection to the artists,” says Dangerfield, “to show you that our performances are going to be wonderful and weave into your life in a very natural way.” The speakers are currently available for pre-order at $299, which Dangerfield says is at cost. In contrast to smart speakers, like an Amazon Echo, the Oda is made out of natural cherry wood and uses a vibrating panel nestled inside to mimic the way sound reverberates off a live instrument, like a guitar or a cello. The speakers are designed to foster an intimate sound, according to Dangerfield.
Listeners can put the speaker on “do not disturb” mode if they don’t want to listen to music they can also use the Oda speakers to play their own music via Bluetooth or a line-in connection. Just like a live tour or a ballet, there’s a calendar of performances, so there’s no changing the channels, but listeners can check out the lineup online before buying a membership. The artist is in charge of the experience: They simply press a button to activate the speakers and play direct to listeners. Musicians are paid for evening performances or weekend residencies. The Oda speaker is paired with a membership ($79 for a three-month “season”), which gives the listener access to programming that plays through the speaker-and nowhere else. Oda is unique in that it’s more akin to having Zoom on sleep mode all the time, and musicians can just walk up, activate it, and play. venue that set up socially distant platforms for guests, and a slew of live streams and Zoom sessions. There have been some inventive solutions, like a U.K. But its launch now comes at an opportune time, as concerts across the globe have been canceled due to COVID-19. Oda was originally conceived of in 2017, when founder Nick Dangerfield’s friend, artist Phil Elverum, wasn’t able to go on tour. And a radically new way to listen to music. But for an industry that’s struggling due to COVID-19, this could be a happy medium.
Sure, you can’t actually go to shows in person right now. But don’t think of it as a radio think of it more like a modern baby monitor for adults who miss the intimate experience of live music. In an innovative combination of product design and event planning, a new speaker called Oda uses a direct feed from artist studios to bring live music straight to your home on a nightly basis. Whether that’s enough to make them a success is something we’ll have to wait and see.But it doesn’t have to be that way. At that price, you could get any number of loudspeakers, including popular choices like Kanto’s YU4s, but few are going to be as unique as Oda’s offering. After Oda sells its first 1,000 units, the cost of the speakers will increase to $399.
The Oda speakers are available to pre-order starting today for $299. To that end, you won't hear ads at any point during one of the company's musical sessions. Oda makes a point of noting that it's business model doesn't involve collecting and selling customer data.
One thing you won't find on them is microphones. It's a design that allows for a relatively compact setup, but bass response and overall sound quality can sometimes suffer.
Unlike your typical loudspeaker, they feature a flat panel design that utilizes an audio exciter in each speaker to produce sound. What we do know is that they include Bluetooth and WiFi 802.11n connectivity and a line-in connection. Naturally, you can use them to listen to your music library as well.Īs for the speakers, Oda hasn't shared too much information about them. In between broadcasts, Oda will transmit sounds from places like bird sanctuaries. Some of the more notable musicians who plan to participate in Oda's seasonal programming include legendary jazz composer Terry Riley, electronic producer Arca and Madlib, best known for his work with MF Doom and J Dilla. "We pay meaningful performance fees to give artists and opportunity to create something unique and stretch their creative limits," the company says on its website. The idea behind the seasonal passes is to create a sustainable business model for performing artists and musicians.