Jun 3, 2010
No Preview?
“How am I supposed to know what I am buying without preview?”
We knew this was coming, it’s not an oversight, it’s a carefully considered decision. Here are a few of the reasons why we chose to not offer a preview function…
Before we get into the subjective realities of having preview or not, there is something you may not realize, and it’s something we have known for so long that we forget that everyone else probably doesn’t know this, but it’s true. Now, you won’t be surprised to know that Apple has big, giant servers. That’s because Apple hosts the files for iTunes music, both the songs and the previews you get there, Apple hosts the files for the iTunes movies and their previews, too. And Apple hosts the files that are the actual apps in the app store (including Thundergod), but… in-app purchases are not hosted by Apple. They are hosted by us. That includes any previews that would be involved. Imagine if every band on iTunes had to host their own files and previews, both financially and technically. Now, if we were a paid app, maybe we could build that cost of serving previews into the cost of the app. But we are a free app. There are way more people who download and use free apps than paid. Previews would become it’s own form of entertainment rather than a means to provide useable information. It becomes a game; read about a track, hear what it’s like, and move on to the next one. The need to hear it has been satisfied, and the listener never actually had the experience. Clearly this is in no one’s best interest, not yours and not ours. And now, with everyone previewing all the stuff, most of them having no intention of buying anything, since they are just curious and checking it out, it’s very possible that we just went out of business because of hosting costs. There are 85 million iPhones out there. It’s simply the financial reality of being a free app. So if we have to serve it, we have to charge for it. Below is all of the other reasons why we don’t like preview; it covers the preview issues that affect people who would actually buy Naturespace.
Naturespace is unique, it is more than just nature sounds, it is holographic audio. It can take up to several minutes to acclimate to a holographic space when you hear it for the first time. This isn’t just some lame excuse, it’s totally real. The listener would be making their decision based on a false premise: that they can know what the experience of listening to the space for 10 minutes would be like if they listened to it for 30 seconds. While it may be true that by hearing the sound of a cardinal in a preview, they may have avoided buying a track with a cardinal because they have 30 cardinals in their yard now and the last thing they want is another one in their headphones. But what if the cardinal wasn’t in the preview? The point being that many of our loops are long, undulating, changing ambiences, with all sorts of sounds that may or not be present in a 30 second preview. No matter what 30 seconds we pick, it won’t tell you everything about it. It will only tell a tiny bit. We truly believe that in general, you can’t know whether you like a Naturespace track until you have owned it for a while. You can not tell if the holographic space is relaxing in 30 seconds. It is simply not possible. Our tracks are between 6 and 13 minutes long and are designed to transport you to another space. 30 seconds is a weak analogy to the experience you have when listening for 10 minutes; a single rumble of thunder can last up to 40 seconds. Do you think you would be able to get a sense of our thunderstorms in 30? Not in any meaningful way.
We realize that for some, perhaps many, the lack of preview is a deal breaker, and we understand that. For those people, we hope you frequently enjoy and use the free tracks that come with the app; we strongly believe that it is a completely useable app with no further purchase required. It is not a “lite” version, with features missing until you pay for them. The only thing that costs money is adding to your library. Many tracks are a dollar, the rest are 2 dollars, and a few are 3 dollars. We think it’s worth the risk. Remember, all these recordings are our own, unlike many other sound apps in the app store that are more of a repository of lots of sounds with extremely variable levels of quality. Naturespace quality is consistent and self evident.
We do care what you think, so please let us know by emailing us, by posting here on our blog, or on Facebook, where we can respond to you (unlike the reviews in the app store where we have no way to communicate with you).
My wife and I have become Naturespace nutjobs, to such an extent that I bought some little speakers for my phone exclusively to play the Odin track while we sleep. Bedtime is now called “Odin time.” Yeah whatever, we’re not proud.
Anyway, I was super excited to see all the new sounds to download but, yeah, surprised there wasn’t a preview option.
The first section I went to was Sci-Fi because I had no idea what that would even mean, and after reading the descriptions of the sounds, had even less idea — and that’s when I went hunting for a preview clip.
I get where you’re coming from after reading your explanation, but if you’re not going to have previews, then the blurbs really need to do the heavy lifting. And most of them do a great job of describing the sounds and the intended mood, but you may want to add a few concrete descriptions to the Sci-Fi section (or any other blurbs that are sort of vague). Just two cents from a creepy fanboi.
Great feedback Josh, thanks.
i too was a bit irritated that there are no previews available, but your reasons for not including them in the app make a lot of sense. however, an obvious question would be- why not post previews here on the website? that would certainly be less bandwidth-intensive than millions of iphone users logging on, as only the dedicated ones would bother to go to the website. you could even sell them here as stand-alone downloads (which for me would be preferable to using the app to listen)
as pointed out by Joshua above, the descriptions are pretty mysterious, and it would still be nice to have at least some idea of what the tracks sound like (2 – 3 min previews would be ideal, even in low bitrate)
I would love previews. I like to buy sounds that fit my mood, and I can never understand the mood of the sound from the description. If there was a little sample or demo (even on the website, not the app) it would be much better. (For example) I went to get a new sound, and was looking into the new Si-Fi section at the Peyote one. From the description, I had absolutely no idea what it would be (much like all the other Si-Fi ones)so I didn’t buy it.
Even if the previews were short and on the website, it would make this a better app.
Thanks for posting this explanation, I too wondered why there were no previews. However I went ahead and bought some anyway based on their descriptions. I’m glad I did – Midnight & Rhythms Of Circadia are fantastic for listening to before sleep, especially for people who work at night like I do. Soft Forest Rain is good too.
Oh, and for what it’s worth, I’m really glad you created the Naturespace iPhone store! I’d been tempted to buy some tracks from the website, but would have missed the endless/looping audio. The Thundergod app looked interesting, but the upfront cost put me off. But being able to buy individual tracks and have them all in one app is ideal. Thanks!