The company: Noisy Puppet
Their website: http://www.noisypuppet.com/
Examples of their work: "I'm Amazed" by My Morning Jacket, "Code Monkey" by Jonathan Coulton, and "Curse You All Men (Live)" by Emperor
Speaking for Noisy Puppet: Darren Korb

How did you get into RBN authoring?
Jeremy started authoring while he was still working at Harmonix. He helped develop the RBN system and has been honing his skills ever since. Darren started authoring his own music for RBN independently and joined up with Jeremy shortly after the launch of RBN. Dana and Ryan joined up shortly after that.

Who are the people on your team, and what are their roles?
Darren Korb - Head of production/Authoring - Composer, musician, sound engineer, winner of the 2010 Total Rock Total Rewards national Rock Band competition, and Audio Director for Indie game developer Supergiant Games (creators of Bastion)
Dana Haynes - Production/Authoring - Composer, musician, sound engineer, Rock Band enthusiast
Ryan Stockton - Venue Designer/Playtest Coordinator - Rock Band expert
Jeremy Parker - Company Founder/Finance - Musician, composer, sound engineer, former programmer at Harmonix

Do you have an authoring specialty or specific kinds of artists that you hope to attract?
Since all of our instrument parts are authored by working musicians AND Rock Band experts, we strive for our tracks to have as much musical authenticity as possible to make you feel like you are really playing the song. And since we are all sound engineers we always make sure our mixes sound great. Now with the addition of Pro Keys, Dana's expertise as a professional pianist and music transcriber can really be put to good use!

What's your favorite part of authoring?
Perhaps the coolest part of authoring is the chance to listen to the multitrack stems of some really cool music!

What's the most challenging part of authoring?
The toughest part of authoring is probably the community testing portion, simply because we have little control over the turnaround time on that portion of the process. When working with clients who have deadlines we would like to meet, this can become very challenging.

Do you have a cool or funny story to share with the community?
Probably the coolest experience we've had so far was when we authored "I'm Amazed" by My Morning Jacket, of whom we are all big fans, and we got to hear all sorts of instrument noodling in the multitrack session before the song. It gave us a nice little window into the recording session of a band we really respect!

Any last words you'd like to share with our audience?
ROCK ON!

The company: Craigman Digital
Their website: http://www.craigmandigital.com
Examples of their work: "Building a Robot" by Robot Makers; "Lay Kenneth Lay" by Felsen; "Difference" by Rivethead
Speaking for Craigman Digital: Eric Rosloff

How did you get into RBN authoring?
We were asked by a client if we knew about the RBN and whether we would be interested in doing any authoring for them. Since our relationship with our clients is one in which we find technical solutions for their needs, this seemed like an entirely appropriate avenue for us to pursue.

Who are the people on your team, and what are their roles?
Craig Anderson, President of Craigman Digital, initiates the process, reaching out to new clients and working with them on the best path to getting their content into RBN.

Tim Phillips, Lead Author, is the creative force behind our team, applying his in-depth knowledge of sound and music towards bringing our clients’ songs to life within the game.

Eric Rosloff, Project Manager, takes care of things behind the scenes, facilitating the process from early phase paperwork all the way through Peer Review and making sure it all goes down in an efficient, timely manner.

Do you have an authoring specialty or specific kinds of artists that you hope to attract?
We feel confident in being able to author for any track that comes our way, but what whets our interest the most is the challenge of taking on songs outside the traditional rock format. Jazz, world, electronica - there is so much different, vibrant music out there in the world that we feel would be a ton of fun to jam out to in Rock Band.

What's your favorite part of authoring?
Finding new tricks for inputting audio data in an automagical kind of way.

What's the most challenging part of authoring?
Getting the community to respond in a timely manner to Peer Review. We all have priorities, and sometimes it is difficult to recognize the priorities of others and help them meet their deadlines, as well encouraging them to help us meet ours. PR trading has helped this process along, but it could still use a little work.

Do you have a cool or funny story to share with the community?
The funniest stories we have don’t involve authoring at all - in fact it’s usually the songs we’re not allowed to author that bring about the best stories. Learning of the relationship between defunct but still kicking bands and their living (or dead) members is fodder for some of the most lively water cooler conversations in the house.