Friday , March 29 2024

Culture and Society

Not Sure You Can Pin This One on the RIAA

John Dvorak blames the RIAA’s announced assault on file sharers for a raft of upcoming problems, including terrorism and the disappearance of the rain forest: The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) may become indirectly responsible for our inability to stop the next terrorist attack on the US. Hear me …

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The $.99 Download

Billboard analyzes the $.99 download and whimpers that “no one is getting rich.” Perhaps this is because the entire industry needs to be restructured to a model that emphasizes quantity at a reasonable price (MUCH lower than .$99 per song) rather than the all-or-nothing hit model that is failing so …

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Torivision

As we mentioned back in April, Tori Amos has had this big contest going on inviting fans to create a music video for her single “Taxi Ride.” The final nine are now up on her site for review and a vote: All votes must be cast by Friday, July 11 …

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Putting the “Me” in “Media”

Not for the faint of heart – see this picture for a ghastly caution against bioengineering, in this case the unholy breeding of Harry Potter, an owl, and the Joker. Actually it’s an interesting article about the spread of media personalization: Coldplay, my favorite band, is performing on a Saturday …

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Always On

Especially following a holiday weekend with some actual downtime for contrast, who among us cannot relate this this punch in the kidneys? In a way I am fortunate because I have learned I simply can’t concentrate fully on more than one thing at a time, but I find I do …

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Master Debaters

CNET’s Declan McCullagh hosts a debate on P2P between Freenet inventor Ian Clarke and Matt Oppenheim, RIAA’s senior vice president of business and legal affairs: News.com: Should file swappers have any expectation of privacy? Ian Clarke: Everyone, including file swappers, should have the ability to communicate freely without someone looking …

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The Leveling Effect

Our own well-dressed Ed Driscoll , smiling benevolently upon the reader but with the slightly pinched expression of someone looking for a restroom, has a fascinating column on Tech Central Station about digital vocal tuning and its philosophical ramifications for recording: The recording industry is doing everything in its power …

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“If you like that one, you’ll Love this one … “

Henry Jenkins misses the soicio/cultural aspects of Napster: We didn’t hear our song for a decade. When we discovered Napster, one of the first songs I downloaded was “My Bestest Friend.” I left a note on the computer for my wife to read through our playlist and see what I …

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Another Voice Says Recording Industry Stupid

The Guardian’s rock critic, Alexis Petridis, joins the chorus of those who say the recording industry’s tactics are foolish at best: The industry has always been full of bright ideas – eight-track tapes, plastering records with skull and crossbones logos that warned home taping was “killing music”, signing Mariah Carey …

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Kazaa Countersuit Tossed

In the midst of a legal war, Sharman Networks, the company that distributes Kazaa, countersued the RIAA and MPAA for antitrust violations last January. Last Thursday a federal judge threw the case out: The labels and studios filed suit last year against Sharman Networks, alleging that it violated their copyrights …

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