Remix: 'American Idol' and Music Creation Software

American Idol was a big hit in our house this year. It was the first year all three kids were equally into watching the show and voting for their favorite singers. (Yes, my 9-year-old cried when Chris Daughtry was voted off the show.)

So I was interested in this Reuters' story about a deal between FremantleMedia and Sony Media Software to develop two new  products that will bring the "Idol" audience to music creation software:

• Idol Jam Trax is a $20 software program for beginning music creators.

• American Idol Extreme Music Creator will be a $50 edition of music production software for mainstream consumers. It will come with a Randy Jackson Producer's Pack bonus disc with 250 royalty-free pop music loops and hundreds of music samples.

I'll be checking them out when they become available for review. I've got some budding music writers who might be inspired to write and sing their own creations.