January 2009
20 posts
Jan 26th
Commercials Come to Pandora Internet Radio (via... →
Under pressure of increased licensing fees, it was only a matter of time. I hope two things: 1) Pandora is able to stick around and perhaps make some money; and 2) the service remains essentially unchanged except the addition of nonintrusive in-stream ads.
Jan 22nd
“The services are not really free, but payment is included in the cost of, say, a...”
– Music Industry Imitates Digital Pirates to Turn a Profit - NYTimes.com (This quote may be the best two-sentence explanation of fee-for-all music plans.)
Jan 19th
Music Industry Imitates Digital Pirates to Turn a... →
These phones come with (masked fees for) music on an “unlimited basis.” This model has skeptics on both sides, but device manufacturers and phone companies are willing to give it a try.  Maybe this will be a test case for a broader implementation of a standard that charges a small flat fee for unlimited download access to music content.
Jan 19th
Music Ally: RIM CEO talks BlackBerry music →
BlackBerry disappoints with mere utterings about “Music 2.0” and “getting the artist closer to the fan.” It appears that business devices and media devices will fail to be integrated for even longer. BlackBerry or iPhone is still the typified industry dichotomy.
Jan 19th
iTunes Songs Don't Have DRM, But They Contain Your... →
So, Apple’s announcement was all good news for just a little while. Digital watermarking of e-mail addresses raises vexing issues as Mr. Longino points out in the article.
Jan 19th
Jan 17th
Triple-Digit Growth for Last.fm (via Wired.com) →
Last.fm has definitely grown up fast. As anecdotal evidence, I have spent more time using and contributing to the site.
Jan 17th
Jan 17th
SoundExchange, CPB Agree On New Royalty Rates →
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting reached an agreement with SoundExchange on royalty rates for its Internet radio transmissions. Commercial Internet radio (Pandora) is still hanging in the balance.
Jan 17th
ISPs can profit from busting file sharers |... →
ISP owner Jerry Scroggin sounds off against the RIAA again.
Jan 17th
Is Someone Playing A Joke? Why Would Penguin Force... →
This article has the embedded video of the interview with Lessig. A visit to Colbertnation.com confirms the topic of the article. It is strange. I find the appearance of Lessig on Colbert to be quite timely, since I just recently finished his Remix.
Jan 10th
The One Bright Spot In The Music Business -... →
Music Publishing is where it’s at. Thanks to Tamera Bennett for the link to this one.
Jan 10th
7 tags
Small Venues and PROs
In reference to my previous post (below), I do not have a whole lot of sympathy for the owners of coffee shops, smaller venues, or whatever they may bill themselves as. I know just a little about the ways in which ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC approach people about paying for licensing fees. As far as I’ve heard, it’s fairly standard procedure for them to threaten to sue you for not paying...
Jan 10th
Jan 10th
What's In a Name? Sony BMG Put to Bed... ... →
Does this mean they are no longer the Big Four?  This now makes the list: Universal, Sony, BMG, Warner, EMI.
Jan 9th
Photo Business News & Forum: Copyright... →
This is bound to be an emerging issue for sure. Photo credits are a huge topic.
Jan 8th
Opining on the Music Industry
You know what is wonderful about the current state of the music industry?  Almost everyone has some anecdotal remark about (illegally) downloading music.  I may come close to rolling my eyes when I tell people that I’m most interested in copyright law and the response is (inevitably) “Oh, so are you going to sue me? [laughter]” However, it is great that people readily identify...
Jan 7th
‘Appetite for Self-Destruction,’ by Steve Knopper... →
Another stick-a-fork-in-it, music-industry-is-done declaration. I’m interested in the book, but only if I can determine that Mr. Knopper has a new perspective to add to the all-popular tale of demise.
Jan 7th
I finished the aforementioned article. I will post more details later. I don’t even want to divulge the topic I settled on for now. But, I have finished and submitted the article.
Jan 2nd