From TNR: Telecommunications was the driving force behind the great economic boom of the late ’90s. Between 1996 and 2000 the telecom industry grew at twice the rate of the national economy. By March of last year telecom companies had reached a market value of $3 trillion, and their share …

Our own Marc Weisblott has a new blog for keeping tabs on the tabloids: “Tabbed”. Someone had to do it.

The group with “five lead singers” – David Ruffin (replaced by Dennis Edwards in 1968), Eddie Kendricks, Paul Williams, Otis Williams, Melvin Franklin – the temptin’ Temptations was THE male vocal group of the ’60s and the early-’70s. Mellifluous harmonies, dynamic dance steps, and killer material provided primarily by Smokey …

Earth, Wind & Fire – the most successful soul/funk group of the ’70s and one of the most important black bands of all time – has a vibrant recent live CD of previously unreleased material from their classic 1975 “That’s the Way of the World Tour.” Co-produced by Maurice White, …

David Nevue on selling your music online: How you go about marketing your music successfully depends on a great many factors. This article contains some suggestions where to start. I recommend musicians take a three-pronged approach to selling their music on the Internet. The first ‘prong’ is what I call …

Declan McCulloch on transcript of Commerce Dept hearing disrupted by “geektivists”: Photos from the event here. Comments from audience members who spoke are not, for the most part, reflected in the transcript since they didn’t have microphones. -Declan […] Mr. VALENTI: Number three, I am convinced, and I could be …

The President writes a tune about Iraq, exclusive on MadKane’s site: “Iraq, Iraq” (To be sung to “New York, New York” from “On The Town”) Iraq, Iraq, I refuse to back down. Most hawks say yup, but some others just frown. Hussein belongs in a hole in the ground. Iraq, …

According to PW Daily For Booksellers: The assignment of translator Michael Sells’s Approaching the Qur’an (White Cloud Press) as required reading for incoming freshman at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has resulted in a federal court case, national media coverage and legislative calls to curtail the university’s …

NY Times on DataPlay: HERE’S the proposition: The record industry wants you to buy your music on a new kind of disc. Unlike a CD, the format will greatly restrict your ability to make digital copies. It will cost more than a prerecorded CD. And it will require you to …

Electronic music community to protest bill: A coalition of members of the music community have come together to protest the unconstitutional R.A.V.E act now being considered by the US Senate. The R.A.V.E. (Reducing Americans’ Vulnerability to Ecstasy) Act, bill number S.2633 would expand the federal “crackhouse” statute. Water Bottles, Glowsticks …