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The Apple Music Announcement

_Moto ROKR

100 songs=Shuffle + phone
USB
EXCLUSIVE TO CINGULAR

from Engadget:

It?s going to sell for $249.99 with two-year service agreement. It?s tri-band GSM/GPRS (850/1800/1900 MHz), it has a 176 x 220 pixel, 262,000 color display, weighs 3.77 ounces, is 4.25 x 1.81 x .80-inches in size, has a talk time of 9 hours, a VGA camera, and Bluetooth.

ROKR.jpg

_iTunes 5

“parental controls”
interface refinements

Introducing the iPod Nano…In both black and white.62 percent smaller than the iPod Mini.

Jobs calls the iPod nano “an entirely new ground-up design, that also has 1000 songs in your pocket.” The white device features a color display and can support photos, uses a grey click wheel to navigate, and is 80 percent smaller in volume than the original iPod — thinner than a number two pencil, said Jobs.

The iPod nano ships today in 2GB and 4GB confiugurations for US$199 and $249 respectively. Apple is also offering customized iPod nano accessories including a $29 dock, $39 lanyard with built-in headphones, color-coordinated armbands for $29 each, and “nanotubes” — green, purple, blue and pink slipcases, sold in boxes of five, for $29 each

The coming iTunes phone disappointment.

25 SONGS? Yr kidding, right?

Apple Music Event Sept 7

iTunes phone? Video iPod? New iPod shuffle/mini? An all-in-one mega-device, like the Motorola E680i? Apple has announced a “Special Event” Sept 7 in San Francisco. The Wall Street Journal reports that Cingular has signed on to the iTunes Phone. The New York Times has more.

iTunes Phone Today?

Red Herring is reporting on the possible launch of Motorola’s iTunes phone at a Moto event Monday evening. (via Mobiletracker).

iTunes 4.9 With Podcast Support Released

Apple has released an upgrade to iTunes, which adds support for organizing and subscribing to podcasts. It’s currently not up on the Apple website, however, it shows up in OSX’s Software Update. No word yet on the Windows version.

PS: Don’t foget about Donewaiting.com’s Podcast. It’s quite lovely.

Grokster Punditry and Discussion

For anyone wanting to get deep into the discussion of today’s Grokster decision, here is a good list of blogs to checkout today.

UPDATE: Ruling has been announced. Supreme Court votes against Grokster.

The Supreme Court ruled unanimously that developers of software violate federal copyright law when they provide computer users with the means to share music and movie files downloaded from the Internet, at least when the software companies take “affirmative steps to foster infringement.”

In a decision announced by Justice David H. Souter, the Court said: “We hold that one who distributes a device with the object of promoting its use to infringe copyright, as shown by clear expression or other affirmative steps taken to foster infringement, is liable for the resulting acts of infringement by third parties” — that is, computer users using free downloading software.

A sweeping victory for music recording companies and movie studios, the ruling set the stage for a major legal assault on rampant file-sharing of copyrighted works by attacking the software designers — a much more promising legal avenue than suing infringing users directly.

link

Important Copyright Reform Discussion

In addition to the Grokster decision tomorrow, there’s a “hubbub” arising around proposed radical reforms to music licensing in the US. Ernest Miller has the legal angle, as well as Cathy Kirkman at The Silicon Valley Media Law Blog. This would have a profound effect on collecting societies like ASCAP/BMI, and includes repealing entirely the compulsory mechanical license. The “digital part”:

The proposed legislation provides that if an MRO (Music Rights Organization) grants a public performance license for digital audio transmissions, the grant also includes a mechanical license:

?to the extent that the exercise of such rights facilitates the public performance of the musical work?.

The MRO is required to grant this license for its entire repertoire. This does not mean, however, that an MRO or the copyright owner is required to grant a mechanical license for ?cover songs? on CDs and other non-Internet media.

More Info On The Grokster Case

The EFF will be holding a press conference on the day the decision is released:

What: Post-Grokster press conference, with members of the StreamCast (Morpheus) and Grokster legal team along with representatives from the technology industry and public interest groups including P2PUnited, Public Knowledge, the Computer & Communications Industry Association, and the Computer Electronics Association.

When: 12 Noon EDT on the day of the decision. The Court has already scheduled opinion announcements for 10:00a on June 20th, 23rd, 27th, and 30th, and may schedule additional days.

Grokster Decision Expected Today

Numerous outlets are reporting that the Supreme Court will be releasing their decision in MGM v. Grokster today. More at The International Herald Tribune and The New York Times

UPDATE: Nothing today. Maybe Thursday.

American Association of Independent Music

In what appears to be another example of The Long Tail in action, C|Net is reporting the formation of the American Association of Independent Music—

Betting that collective action will help give them more market power, a group of 125 independent record labels initiated a new trade group Monday night aimed at giving them more parity with the four major music labels.

Dubbed the American Association of Independent Music (A2IM), the trade group’s membership and specific goals remain somewhat diffuse. But leaders–including top executives at some of the biggest independents in the country–say they’re hoping to help give indie businesses the power their collective market share deserves as the music business is transformed by digital technologies.