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The All-New Hudson Music Digital Bookstore & Reader
We are excited to announce the release of our all new Hudson Music Digital Bookstore and Book Reader app, available now for Apple iOS and Android devices. Our new book reader is also available immediately for use as part of our eBook Bookshelf at HudsonMusic.com.
Completely Rebuilt from the Ground Up
Over the years we’ve heard from customers some great ideas and suggestions that we wanted to implement into the next version of our app. The list was long and daunting – develop new media playback functionality within the apps for an improved user experience. Improve the shopping and bookshelf experiences with search, faster load times, and syncing of in-app purchases with existing HudsonMusic.com user accounts. Enhanced account details, troubleshooting and support directly within the app. To do this, it would require a rebuild of our entire book reader application from the ground up, as well as entirely new app versions for iOS, Android, and our web reader. We also wanted to take the opportunity to remove or change some functionality that users didn’t care for or use, as well as updating some processes within the apps with how books are loaded and viewed.
Good news - we did it. We did all of it. And it's awesome.
What’s the Same?
- Convenience – the ease of purchasing and instant access for digital books is still just as convenient and eco-friendly.
- Book content – the same content and page flipping experience of a print book, without the paper, shipping, waiting or ecological impact. 100% identical content, print or digital.
- Video playback – still included directly within the books and streaming to your device. Full screen playback is now standard for all video within the apps.
- Free Book Reader apps – our apps are free. There are no charges for media, add-ons or enhanced features. There are no subscriptions or ongoing costs. Once you purchase the book, it’s yours, no matter how many times you access or read it, we will not charge you again.
What’s New?
- Audio playback – the single biggest change within the apps is our new, custom audio playback functionality. Audio is still included in each book and streamed to your device, but we have added enhanced playback controls and functionality, including play, pause, timeline/scrub, looping and speed control (with no change to pitch). We have also improved playback that spans multiple pages in a book, perfect for play-along charts and exercises that span more than one page.
- Purchase Sync – this is maybe the second biggest change within the apps. If you purchase a book using in-app purchase on your iOS or Android device, we will automatically sync it to your existing HudsonMusic.com account. The enables you to instantly access your in-app purchases on any supported device or reader, including our web-based reader. Our number one customer question has always been – how can I access the book I purchased in my mobile app on my computer – we listened and this new feature will be a tremendous upgrade, convenience and time saver for all users! As always, if you make your purchase directly at HudsonMusic.com, you will be able to access that book in any of the book reader apps or web browser reader, instantly.
- Speed – it’s faster. The app itself is roughly half the size of our previous app. Shop and Catalog screens load 20% faster than before. Books load 90%(!) faster than the previous version. Media is now served using edge CDN servers around the world to deliver audio and video faster and more reliably than in the past.
- Shop and Bookshelf search – find it faster. Search our catalog or your owned books by title, author, style, skill level, or publisher. No more scrolling through hundreds of books to find what you want (unless of course, you want to – go right ahead!).
- Shop = Buy. Bookshelf = Read. We’ve renamed these screens within the app to be more clear to users.
- Navigation – the shop catalog will now only display books you do NOT own, making navigation cleaner, easier and less confusing. Similarly, the bookshelf will only display books you DO own.
- Table of Contents – each book now features a consistent app-based table of contents for navigation within the book.
- Bookmarking – users can now bookmark pages within the book app. This enables you to save and quickly access favorite pages, exercises, lessons, charts, or whatever else, within each book.
- Zoom – users can still double-tap to zoom in on a page, and we have added granular zoom controls that allow for easier and greater control over what and where you zoom.
- Search – all books now offer search within the book. Looking for a particular topic or keyword? Hit the search icon, start typing, and get a full index list that you can tap to navigate.
- Account info – users can now view their account info from directly within the app, request a password reset, and more.
- Support – we have included common support questions for the app and book reader directly within the app. When you can’t resolve an issue, we have included a direct contact option, as well.
What’s Changing?
- Our book reader apps for Mac and Windows have been retired. Over the years, we saw fewer and fewer users installing and using these apps, and with the release of our web browser reader, the need for computer-specific applications became obsolete. If you have been using one of our Mac/Windows reader apps, we would encourage you to try the new web-based reader. We think you will love it. Please note that some Macs will be able to run our iOS app on their computer – macOS 11.0 or later and a Mac with Apple M1 chip or later is required.
- An active internet connection is now required for accessing and viewing digital books. One of the great features of digital books is that we can make changes or corrections to a book, publish it, and users can see that change immediately (customers receive these updates to books for no additional charge). It is impossible for us to update a downloaded book, so this step to require internet access enables us to deliver the latest version of each and every book to users, every time. Our analytics also show that nearly 100% of our users are already connected to the internet while using the apps (it was already required for audio and video access), so we anticipate this change will affect very few, if any users.
When, Where, How Much $?
The updated apps and reader are available today from the Apple App Store, Google Play Store, and our website, HudsonMusic.com. The book reader apps are still free. We have not increased the cost of our books at all. Still no subscriptions or fees. This is a 100% free update for all users.