Depending on where you look, you're going to get a different idea of what Pushtape is. From talking with Farsheed, I know he's quietly building the initial prototype before opening up the project for feedback and contributions. That said, as there are more and more people coming across this project, it would help to provide a bit more detail regarding the goals and features of Pushtape. Also helpful would be some direction for those who want to contribute code, funds, or moral support.

Features and/or feature requests

Base Features

#1226226: Importing/exporting discography
#1263956: Events
#1263994: Blog/News/Journal
#1263926: Rich media display (video/photos)
#1303120: Rich media management
#1266218: Customizable base theme

Add-ons

#1223882: Playlists
#1225102: Third party aggregation
#1226164: Content Distribution and Syndication
#1231816: Online store/Ecommerce
#1305306: Press/Reviews/EPK

Comments

gusaus’s picture

Issue summary: View changes

adding a running list of features and/or feature requests

gusaus’s picture

Issue summary: View changes

updated the feature list

gusaus’s picture

I've pulled some more feature ideas predominately from the following places -
http://groups.drupal.org/node/111789
http://groups.drupal.org/node/21648

See anything we're missing so far? Add a feature request -
http://drupal.org/node/add/project-issue/pushtape

gusaus’s picture

Title: [meta] Define Pushtape and determine features for a base profile » [meta] Define Pushtape and determine features and cost to develop and maintain a base profile
gusaus’s picture

Issue summary: View changes

added to the feature list

gusaus’s picture

It would be good to get some more feedback on what features should be included in a base Pushtape profile. Also thoughts on the cost to not only develop a stable release (which would include a few themes), but also to maintain, document, and market. This outline (http://drupalkata.com/music/node/1328) was lifted from some of the notes when beginning to scope out MD4D. Not sure how much of that is relevant until we come up with a better idea of what will come w/ Pushtape out of the box.

Discuss!

zirafa’s picture

This is a *really* hard question to answer. The features that could be included are infinite, but what I'm curious to find is the minimal feature set necessary to build a good foundation. For instance, stabilizing a "track" node, an "album" node and this sort of data architecture seems like the first step. It will be expected that any amount of customization beyond the base feature set will require custom code or hiring a developer. There are just too many use cases to support them all in one install profile, however additional modules can build off of this install profile to extend its capabilities. This way when building a music site you don't have to define track, album nodes or worry about that workflow - this install profile handles those common situations for you.

Targets for Alpha Release
- Define track node, album node, static page node
- Basic defaults for node views and listings.
- Content creation workflow
- Simple default theme
- Basic audio playback with Flower or Soundmanager2. Maybe just restrict to MP3s for now?
- drupal-org.make script

Targets for "1.0" release
- More themes!
- Improved, easier workflow/management
- Marketing effort on pushtape.com
- Media module support
- Theme configuration options
- Mobile friendly
- Themes, themes, and more themes

Potential features (probably better as add-on modules)
- Email capture/Webform
- Blog/Microblog
- Commerce
- Content Distribution. Maybe via a Diaspora app?
- Data export. It would be nice to export an entire site as CSV or static HTML so that data doesn't get locked inside of Drupal.

One thing I know for sure is that a project like this will need ongoing support and maintenance to be sustainable. The cost to maintain, document, and market I think is more of a question of commitment and monthly man-hours, not a one time development cost.

I can't emphasize enough how important the workflow experience is for this install profile, and how important a role themes will play. With music, we are dealing with an abstract medium already (sound) so visual elements are incredibly important.

gusaus’s picture

By the looks of it, the only differences between alpha and 1.0 would be improvements in theming and media (including file managment and workflow). Probably might want to include a blog/news feature as would be pretty essential for artists. As long as Farsheed isn't reponsible for everything, would it make sense to just consolidate these into 1.0?

gusaus’s picture

Issue summary: View changes

adding to the feature list

gusaus’s picture

Issue summary: View changes

updating feature list

gusaus’s picture

Issue summary: View changes

revising feature list

Dublin Drupaller’s picture

hiya guys. I have some ideas too that might be of use. am mid project at the moment. will try and contribute at the weekend. great to see momentum on this again. kudos. dub

gusaus’s picture

Issue summary: View changes

revised feature list

gusaus’s picture

I came across another platform that seems to resemble where we're trying to go with Pushtape. The base features are as follows:

  • Blog - Painless blogging with all the features you'd expect
  • Status - Update your integrated social profile statuses and save them to your website to allow fan commenting.
  • Events - Complete with integrated venue and supporting act management.
  • Commenting - Get your fans involved with integrated commenting for blog posts, statuses, and photos.
  • Fansite - Password protected Fansites provide exclusive content for registered fans (coming soon). Use the collected information about your fans to target your marketing efforts more effectively. Advanced Fansites are currently only available for custom websites.
  • Media - Manage your photos, audio (coming soon), and video.
  • Page Content - Management for your account and individual admins' About sections and links.

Aside from possibly 'Fansite', these seem like good features to include in the base Pushtape platform. Any other thoughts?

discipolo’s picture

if it were me:

i´d start with a .profile and a .makefile including the profiler library.
i would also include http://drune.org/ either by integrating it or including it. which gives us

- projects[views]
- projects[features]
- projects[ctools]
- projects[jplayer]
- projects[getid3]

next we already know the minimum aditional contrib dependencies from http://groups.drupal.org/node/178429:

- devel
- filefield_sources
- pathauto
- references
- token

these can all go into the makefile

Also I feel like this should use the media module, don`t you think?

next someone should create a kit-compliant feature for albums/tracks and include them and their dependencies. (starting with the minimum)

it might also be advisable to include some sort of calendar feature for upcoming gigs

i feel that would be enough for an initial distribution pretotype which will then be extended with aditional features.

(anyone familiar with http://drupal.org/project/apps yet?)

at least i would release it like that...

gusaus’s picture

That seems very consistent to the base features outlined above. And from our discussions in #pushtape this really should not take long to build with the people we already have.

zirafa’s picture

Please see http://drupal.org/project/pushtape_features

and

http://drupal.org/node/1356858/release

Once this features package becomes stable, we can then work on designing and implementing a theme and then creating a drupal.org makefile for this project.

gusaus’s picture

From what I can gather from our discussion in #pushtape the other day, we're in agreement this is a good feature set to include in the default distribution. Is that the same thing as http://drupal.org/project/pushtape_features? If not, why?

gusaus’s picture

It looks the issue queue is now more consistent with the base features above. At the same time the 'add-on' features have been marked as 'closed (won't fix)'. Does this mean that these features would never be included in the Pushtape distribution? If that's the case where should development and feature requests occur?

zirafa’s picture

Version: » 7.x-1.x-dev

FYI, I am working through a design and development strategy with Nica Lorber (creative director of Chapter Three) and will post what we come up with in a separate issue. This document will guide development and design decisions by clarifying core goals, mission statement, and target audience.

gusaus’s picture

Based on this thread and recent discussions in #pushtape, I think we have a pretty clear idea of what the initial scope/feature set should be, but we get a bit hung up on defining the target audience (or audiences). While obviously we can't and shouldn't build a once size fits all solution, it would be nice to identify some common use cases (single artist/band, record label, music publisher/supervisor) and provide templates that 'users' could select and customize during setup. A couple screengrabs from Drupal Gardens might provide some inspiration for one type of approach.

Interestingly enough, the portfolio project is working through some similar issues pertaining to scope, process, but also goals -
#1372320: Document project milestones and history
#1354088: [meta] Scoping the use-case
#1360570: A specific use-case: freelance musician or a band

That's awesome Nica is helping define the project. Would be even better if she could provide guidance along the way!

zirafa’s picture

Title: [meta] Define Pushtape and determine features and cost to develop and maintain a base profile » [meta] What is Pushtape?
Component: Code » Documentation

I'm in the process of revising the design and development roadmap for Pushtape- but first I want to point out that I think there are two project ideas being talked about here and that we may be talking past each other.

1 :: Pushtape

This is a project I started, and that I am mostly doing on my own because I have a general interest, need and desire to build a software product that serves the use case of a single band. In this use case a band, DJ, or individual musician is seeking a solution to build a strong online presence for their group with structured ways to share and distribute their music online. The concept is similar to what Bandcamp is doing but self hosted, customizable, and hackable. While this vision for Pushtape is clear to me, I need to do a better job of communicating and outlining my roadmap with milestones, tasks, and ways people can help.

2 :: Drupal for Musicians (MD4D, Kendra Hub)

This is a much broader and more ambitious project that I feel you (Gus) are speaking to. It more closely matches previous conversations and initiatives for a music distribution for Drupal, the mission to create a system that can be configurable for a wide variety of musical sites and user scenarios (record label, individual musician site, playlists, commerce, etc). It involves lots of evangelizing and organizing lots of people around a community that has a diverse array of needs and goals. Perhaps Pushtape can help spark development and attract more interest for a larger project. But Pushtape is not the same thing as this larger concept.

How do we move forward?

Where do you stand? We need to better understand each other. Below you'll find a series of design and strategy questions that I encourage everyone to answer for themselves, and if you feel so inclined, you can post your answers or thoughts in this thread. These questions have been pulled from my conversations with Nica, and her experience working with clients to develop roadmaps and a strategy guide. While simple questions, they are surprisingly difficult to answer. Take your time and really think about these questions. By answering these questions it will help you clarify your own ideas, as well as help you communicate to others what you are trying to do. As a project moves forward, this design and strategy document can be helpful when faced with tough decisions as it creates a point of reference for everyone involved.

Design and Strategy Process

Definitions

  • Mission: Why you do what you do; the organization’s reason for being, its purpose. Says what, in the end, you want to be remembered for.
  • Goals: A set of three to five aims that set the organization’s (or project’s) fundamental, long-range direction.
  • Tactics: Actionable tasks that get deployed to achieve the goals.
  • Results: Your organization’s bottom line. Defined in changed lives—people’s behavior, circumstances, health, hopes, competence, or capacity. Results are always outside the organization.
  • Customers: Those who must be satisfied in order for your organization to achieve results.
  • Deliverables: A tangible chunk of work that needs to be "delivered" by a deadline. Examples: piece of code, report, design document, server maintenance, any building blocks for the project.

Background

  • What type of project is this? What are you building? (examples: a web site, a Drupal product, a software service, a mobile app.)
  • What is the background and history of this project?
  • Why should this project exist?
  • Why doesn't it exist already?
  • When does this project need to be completed?

Mission

  • What is your mission?
  • Who is your customer?
  • What are your results?
  • What are your business goals?

Plan

  • What does the development roadmap look like?
  • What tactics will you use?
  • What does success look like?

Competitive Landscape

  • Who are your direct or indirect competitors (name and URL)?
  • Do you particularly like or dislike any of your competitors' sites, or attributes of their sites? List pros and cons for each site.
  • What differentiates you from your competitors?

Research and Strategy

  • Where are you now?
  • Where will you be in 1 year?
  • Where will you be in 2 years?
  • Where will you be in 5 years?

Metaphors

  • If your site were a famous person, who would it be and why.
  • If your site were a car, what would it be and why.

Theme & Site Design

  • Are there any design or brand guidelines to adhere to? (brand, identity or style guides for the intended audience?)
  • Describe how you would like users to perceive the new site. What is the overall tone? Give adjectives. (e.g. fun, sleek, user friendly, etc. Feel free to include links to sites that you feel achieve these qualities)
  • List 3–5 sites you love the visual design of and explain why.
  • List 3–5 sites you dislike the visual design of and explain why.
  • List the websites that are similar in nature to yours. Describe what you like and don't like both from a visual, functionality, and usability stand point.

Functionality

  • Will your site require workflow? If so, briefly describe these stories and actions. (i.e. update a blog post, rearrange a playlist)
  • What site reporting is required? (i.e. google analytics, site statistics)

Installation & Setup

  • Where does the user go to download this project?
  • What does the installation process look like?
  • What does the setup process look like? Is there a default sitemap or demo content?

Hosting

  • Where will the site be hosted?
  • Any special requirements?

Content types

  • What are your content types? (examples: basic page, event, blog, press release)

Template Pages

  • Do you know what template pages need to be designed? (i.e. node pages, landing pages, admin pages, etc)

Deliverables & Next steps

  1. Provide a sitemap of all the pages for your site (simple text outline or flowchart)
  2. List your template pages (i.e., node templates, list templates, landing page templates, admin templates, etc)
  3. Show key content blocks for each template
  4. Wireframes of all template pages (hand drawn, omnigraffle, or fireworks [960gs plugins available])
  5. Explicitly define all content types & their fields
  6. User stories & workflow stories
  7. Style guide
  8. PDF comps of all wireframes
  9. Go back to step 1 and review everything above. Revise and repeat as needed.
  10. Build out the theme and site based on PDF comps
gusaus’s picture

Drupal for Musicians (MD4D, Kendra Hub) - This is a much broader and more ambitious project that I feel you (Gus) are speaking to.

First off, I (still) think MD4D and Kendra Hub were completely different. However, after talking quite a bit in this thread, previous posts and the IRC, I still don't see how Pushtape, at it's core, is that different from the MD4D that Dub and many others in the community (including yourself) previously signed off on. We also seem to have a consensus on which features to include and also that a single-band/artist would be the primary use case out of the box.

How do we move forward?

Let's first figure out if there's really a disconnect. Are there big differences between MD4D as referenced above and Pushtape?

zirafa’s picture

Let's first figure out if there's really a disconnect. Are there big differences between MD4D as referenced above and Pushtape?

MD4D

  1. handles multiple use cases
  2. developer audience
  3. requires fundraising
  4. requires more infrastructure
  5. wide scope
  6. more contrib themes, more contrib modules
  7. less UI requirements
  8. multiple contributors, large team effort

Pushtape

  1. solves only one use case
  2. musician audience
  3. no fundraising for 1.0 (because I'm volunteering my own time)
  4. no infrastructure bottlenecks (use drupal.org infrastructure only)
  5. very restricted scope
  6. minimal contrib modules / themes
  7. more UI requirements to serve audience
  8. single person, small team effort

Putting aside differences in scope, the main difference is logistical. For a MD4D there are a lot of non-technical logistical hurdles to solve such as fundraising, hosting, infrastructure, support, team building and project management. By nature it is a more ambitious project and larger projects need more people and more organizing. A decision making process is needed because there are lots of variables.

Pushtape on the other hand, has minimal infrastructure and organizational requirements. It does not have to deal with negotiating and planning out feature requirements for different use cases. The strategy is to avoid bottlenecks by making the requirements simple and obvious and by controlling as many variables as possible. This is my goal - to build a minimal polished product that 'just works' for a single band. I don't want to get bogged down by trying to build an entire MD4D infrastructure or a developer toolkit. In the end, I know what I'm trying to build and just want to build it and share it.

zirafa’s picture

Hey guys,

Moving things forward here is the document created from working with Nica through the questions I posted above and created related tasks/todos as issues:

Pushtape Design and Strategy Process + 1.0 Roadmap

gusaus’s picture

Great work, Farsheed! After glancing through the design doc, aside from a couple features (notably events and video), it's essentially the same single artist solution that I personally (and probably dub and others) have been interested in contributing towards. I guess you'll let us know if you need feedback, help, or anything?

Thanks for doing this!

zirafa’s picture

Status: Active » Closed (duplicate)

Marking as a dupe of #1398262

zirafa’s picture

Issue summary: View changes

revising the feature list