Culture and Society

The Future of Music Policy Summit 2004 is going on right now in DC. Since most of us aren’t there, a great way to keep up with the proceedings is via the blog that CD Baby’s Derek Sivers is keeping. Topics up so far include This Panel Kills Fascists, The …

German band Super Smart have released their new album only on ringtones: Super Smart have turned their backs on vinyl and CDs and instead have decided to just release their album as ringtones. The album, Panda Babies, is published by a German company that focuses on digital music for mobile …

Wow – this takes the instant live recording concept another step farther: Now, minutes after your favorite band sounds its last note on stage, you can load a live recording of the concert onto a cigarette-lighter-sized hard drive hanging off your keychain. Take it home, toss the digital files onto …

The beat goes on, 477 more: Since January, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), employing the “John Doe” litigation method, has sued more than 2,000 people. The RIAA is using this method because the names of the 477 people accused of illegally distributing copyrighted sound recordings on peer-to-peer services …

Fifth grade science teacher David Thon is joining as an “embedded blogger” as a team of WeatherBug meteorologists take part in a five-day-long tornado chase called WeatherBug Storm Chase 2004. The team will set out in search of storms beginning Monday, May 3 in Oklahoma City: David (top right) was …

The tech manufacturers and content providers have been making nice of late: “Content is king,” trumpeted Carleton S. Fiorina, the chairman and chief executive of the Hewlett-Packard Company, as she opened the National Association of Broadcasters convention last week in Las Vegas. The slogan was old, but still sweet to …

It’s decorative art – it’s a text messager: You’re swirling around the ballroom, colourful skirts shimmering under the chandeliers when all of a sudden one of the crystal cascades above your head asks you for the next dance. A surrealist dream? No, a design from the house of Swarovski crystals …

This is seriously bare bones so far: Online technology company CNET Networks Inc. on Monday launched a free digital music service, allowing users to search and download what it said were thousands of songs contributed by independent and unsigned artists. The service, based on CNET’s Download.com Web site has been …

I’m not sure what to make of this yet: Attorney General John Ashcroft announced today the most far-reaching and aggressive enforcement action ever undertaken against organizations involved in illegal intellectual property piracy over the Internet. Beginning yesterday morning, law enforcement from 10 countries and the United States conducted over 120 …

The Onion has spoken on the subject of online music stores: I can’t believe the idiots at the labels are talking about RAISING their prices: iTunes has been hailed as the first successful online music store, with over 50 million songs downloaded. Its success has been due largely to Apple’s …