Member Profile - Asa Doyle, Groovebox Corp.

Asa Doyle is the co-founder of the Texas based Groovebox Corporation. Although Groovebox itself does not publish or manufacture music software, the company does create training videos for numerous music software products in the market. As a content provider, Asa strongly believes in IMSTA and its nondestructive approach in facing piracy.

Asa, could you please tell us about yourself? 

I am the Co-founder / President of Groovebox Corp. We make training videos for popular music software and technology. Groovebox focuses on exciting content like tips, tricks, music production and practical application of the tools and features within these programs. In addition, we provide a lot of options for accessing the material both online and in retailers with our new Brainwerks branded training DVD's. Our goal is to create informative, entertaining and effective training that empowers producers and engineers.   <<Asa Doyle

How did you get involved with Music? Do you play an instrument?

I have always loved music and dabbled around with the piano we had in our living room while I was growing up, but I really go into music when I was 15 and I started playing guitar. I first got introduced into the engineering side of music when I was 16 - 17 and living in Brisbane, Australia. I was attending a school called Nudgee College and they had a media room with all this great stuff the students could use. There was a couple of keyboards, an Alesis 32 channel board, a few ADATs, some outboard gear, a patchbay, etc... You know all the stuff to get your gears spinning. Honestly I didn't get competent at engineering while I was there though. The class had many other focuses beyond just working in that control room, but I did get introduced to it and loved everything I had learned. When I graduated high school back here in the states, I attended Houston Community College and received a degree in Audio Recording. From there I went on to work as a technical support guy at Sweetwater for a couple of years, which is where I met my business partner and eventually left to form Groovebox.

How long have you been in this business? 

We have been around since 2003. Wow, 5 years already.

What other music related companies have you worked at in the past?

Sweetwater was the only music company I ever worked for. I couldn't have asked for a better experience right out of college. I learned so much about music technology and had access to an amazing example of how a company should be run.

Do you still find the time to play music?

Rarely do I get a lot of time to throw at engineering or production work, but I play my guitar pretty often.

How does Groovebox approach the software piracy problem?

Our thoughts on this have changed with time and our own evolution as a company. For us piracy and the prevention of it is way different than a typical software manufacturer. We make training videos and our rights management issues are more akin to music downloads than software cracks. In the beginning we wanted to create as many loopholes and limitations as possible for pirates to access our content. I could go on and on about things we tried but the long and short of it is with each curve ball we through the pirates; we also made pitfalls and limitations for paying customers as well. We deal with the situation ever increasingly by making our products priced correctly, highly accessible and well positioned. We focus much more on simply creating more content and making it so easy to access that purchase at some point is inevitable. If someone does want to steal our content we consider it an opportunity to brand and promote a future sale. We try to stay as positive as possible. Yes, it sucks. Yes, it is unavoidable. So, how do we make it work for us?

What are some reasons that you joined IMSTA?

We are passionate about raising awareness on software piracy and how it affects software developers, artists and everyone else supporting those industries. With IMSTA we feel we are supporting a group that has a common goal. Without sales, these companies can't survive to continue making all this great material that enhances our lives. IMSTA gives the message a voice and helps educate the masses on how this theft negatively affects so many people. We support that 100%.

How can a company such as Groovebox benefit from its membership in IMSTA?

Hmmm, that is a tough question. I can't really speak on behalf of someone else, but for us there were 2 main benefits. 1) We felt that we were playing a socially responsible role in raising awareness about software and media piracy. 2) Supporting the industry that supports us. Without all of these great software programs, we would not be in business. I think that goes the same for most manufacturers. Everything feeds off of everything else in this industry. More money within the industry is generally good for everyone. s

We ask this question from all our interviewees. Is there anything you want to say to the pirates out there reading this article? 

Aaaaarghhhhh! (as the pirates say in movies)

Asa Doyle - In the studio

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