WFMU Streaming Through iPhone Application
November 5, 2007 – 5:20 pm | Written by Robert DuffySee here. If this is signs of things to come, I’d expect to see things like this from our friends at WOXY any day now.
Donewaiting.com: Tech
Saul Williams + Trent Reznor + Free = The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust!
October 25, 2007 – 12:31 pm | Written by TankboyFader is releasing the Trent Reznor / Saul Williams collaboration The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust! free of charge in DRM-free 192 kbps MP3 format. If you want a choice of formats, or you just want to directly support the artist, you can shell out $5. The album will be available for download November 1, but you can pre-order now.
In some ways this is awfully similar to the Radiohead model, with a few improvements. First of all, the higher baseline kpbs encoding is nice, but I really like the fact that if you pay, you can get the download in whatever format you’d like on up to FLAC.
Secondly, I don’t think this is physically coming out, so it won’t be viewed as a leveraging ploy / future CD-sales tactic. In fact it’ll probably give Williams more recognition than he’s (ever?) had. This is not just due to the sales model, since obviously Reznor’s involvement is pretty noteworthy … especially given his own recent outspoken disdain for the Major Label model of distributing music.
I’m liking these changing times.
Sell Your Broken iPods
September 30, 2007 – 4:51 pm | Written by Robert DuffyIf you have a broken (or working) iPod sitting around collecting dust, maybe you should sell it to the people at Buymybrokenipod.com. Seems easier than trying to sell it via Craigslist or eBay, especially if it’s broken.
BuyMyBrokeniPod.com wants to buy your used, new or broken iPod or iPhone today! We offer a fast, simple, and eco-friendly way for you to get money for used, new or broken iPods and iPhones. We accept Classic, Touch, Video, Photo, Nano, Mini, iPhones & Generation 4 to 1 iPods. We don’t care if your iPod has a cracked screen, the a busted hard drive busted, or shows a sad face, has buttons that don’t work, is acting weird, is old and creepy, has water damage, or if the battery is dead. We will pay you top dollar for your unwanted iPod MP3 Player or iPhone guaranteed! Keep your old iPod out of the landfill and you get cash in return!
Amazon Launches MP3 Store
September 26, 2007 – 6:40 am | Written by Robert DuffyYesterday, Amazon launched their new MP3 store. Key features:
- MP3 format, 256 kbs
- No DRM
- Individual songs priced at $0.89
- Albums priced between $4.99 - $8.99
The store has albums available from locals like Miranda Sound, Megan Palmer, Eric Metronome and Jon Chinn. Indies like Spoon, The New Pornographers and Grizzly Bear. And major label artists like Kanye West and Radiohead.
This definitely isn’t going to be an iTunes killer - nothing will ever “kill” iTunes.. but I think it’s the first legitimate competition Apple has ever had. And competition is always a good thing.
Fight Vinyl Warping
September 21, 2007 – 12:10 pm | Written by Robert Duffy
For just $1,500, you can have your own crazy contraption that will un-warp your vinyl records. No true audiophile with lots of disposable income should be without one.
Fake Steve Jobs on the iTunes vs. Universal Deal
July 5, 2007 – 8:21 am | Written by robert duffyReading about this battle is boring, except when Fake Steve Jobs talks about it:
So you’ve no doubt seen this story or one like it explaining that Universal Music Group won’t renew its iTunes deal. And you’ve seen people saying that the majors are trying to “recalibrate” their relationships with us. Actually what’s happening is they’re crapping in their pants. They woke up one day and realized that we’ve got 80% share of digital downloads. Suddenly all the power in the value chain resides in one player. Oops.
Read his full blog post here.
Tomfoolery and ASCAPpery.
April 26, 2007 – 11:19 am | Written by Tankboy
Finally, a court ruling about digital music that seems grounded in some semblance of reality! ASCAP attempts to double dip into royalty streams by claiming digital download count as public performances has been slapped down by a federal court. This confused me, since ASCAP sells itself as being super artist-friendly, and this tactic was sure to hurt artist’s audiences by making it more difficult to distribute their music. I tried tried to get some insight into this from the local Chicago ASCAP office when the story broke a few weeks ago, but they didn’t return my emails.
As an aside, I’d like to point out that all my interaction with representatives from ASCAP has always been positive, and in Chicago they do their damndest to get exposure for artists they sign with. So I view this whole legal action as a gross misstep grounded in the greed of ASCAPpers in corporate positions … which would probably explain why our local reps had nothing to say. Would you want to go o0n record disagreeing with the actions of the boys upstairs? Probably not.
Exposing your roots digitally: A game you can play at home!
April 25, 2007 – 10:00 am | Written by Tankboy
We’ve all gotten the emails / bulletins / memes asking to throw the iPod — or whatever music media player you prefer — on shuffle and post the first ten songs. Or put those songs into some sort of fake narrative for hilarious (not) results. As I was scrolling through the ol’ tankPOD today, looking to do some housecleaning, I noticed certain bands took up an awful lot of screen time as I scrolled through.
So that got me to thinking, wouldn’t those bands be the best litmus test when it came to really pinpointing one’s musical tastes? I mean, sure, I’ve got loads of super-obscure, truly indier-than-thou bands, unheard masterpieces by regional acts, IDM prone to inducing seizures, and white label singles in the tankPOD / diPOD team, but when pressed what really informs my tastes?
So I did an experiment and decided to list all the bands who have four or more albums on my MP3 / M4A / OGG / WAV player in hopes that such information would be rather revealing (full list after the jump). You see, in this age of instant gratification I think it really says something about a band if you feel the need to carry that much of their material around with you at all times. Such a list might prove unintentionally revealing and betray one’s actual musical tastes, even if they are usually hidden under a patina of hipster aloofness.
Of course such a list is automatically going to skew towards older acts, since it takes a few years to push out 4+ albums’ worth of music, but that would make such a list an even better reference for divining one’s musical tastes, since it would probably skew towards artists that helped formulate a particular individual’s musical background. Right?
In my case the result pretty obviously favored artists that came to the fore in the ’80s and ’90s, no surprise there. And it is pretty light on electronic artists, but that makes sense when you consider that most electronic music lives in the world of the single, not the multi-album arc.
The interesting about my own results, actually, is that I almost NEVER actually listen to any of the 4+ album bands on my iPod anymore. It’s almost like they’re there as more of a security blanket. Truth be told, I have so much new stuff coming in every day I need to listen to, for various reasons, I rarely get the chance to peruse deep cuts from my personal catalog … but it’s interesting to note because I think these are the sorts of discs I may not listen to every day (or even once a year), but that I might like to take to a desert island to keep me going in tough times.
Anyway, if you’re interested, my list is after the jump. Feel free to post your own lists in the comments and let me see where your musical soul actually dwells when no one else is around to judge.
(more…)
EMI, Apple Are Announcing Sale Of Non-DRM Music for $1.29/song
April 2, 2007 – 8:29 am | Written by robert duffyLooks like EMI Music, a huge huge label, is going to be selling MP3s without any DRM restrictions. Details here.
EMI will offer songs without DRM, iTunes is first partner. Songs will be encoded at 256k and sold at $1.29 per song, $0.30 more per song than the current price. These will be offered along side the existing lower quality, DRM tracks, and consumers can choose.
Your reactions in the comments.
Can Will.i.am and Michael Jackson Help Rush the Death of the CD?
January 21, 2007 – 4:20 pm | Written by robert duffyI think a big theme of 2007 in the media is going to be the “death of the compact disc.” We’ve heard this a little bit throughout the last few years, but this year it’s gonna get loud.
At the MidemNet conference this weekend, Will.i.am from Black Eyed Peas talked about working with Michael Jackson on his new album, and how he is pushing him for a digital only release:
[Will.i.am] is currently working in the studio with Michael Jackson on the veteran singer’s forthcoming album, raising the prospect of an exclusive online release.“I dream how he could be the first major artist to release a record through this platform without a record company,” Will told paidContent.org. “Groups that I work with in the future that don’t want to go the traditional route with the record company but want to use this independent route and make money, I would do that with them.” He said Jackson was in “great shape” and the two are working on “strong melodies that affect people emotionally and rhythms that make people dance. I think he’s probably the only person that doesn’t need a label and, through social networking, be able to release his album and be successfully independently … straight from the studio onto the web for people to purchase. I hope he uses the Musicane thing—that would be fresh.” (full story)
The Sunday Nerd
January 21, 2007 – 1:14 pm | Written by robert duffyHere’s some nerdy websites and applications that I ran across on Lifehacker recently that might be fun for you:
– iConcertCal: This is a fun extension to iTunes. After you install it, go to the “Visualizer” window of iTunes and this application will show you a calendar of upcoming concerts in your area by bands that are in your music library.
– Zontune: At this website, you enter in a band/album title and it will display the track listing of the record and then will let you know if there’s any videos for the songs on Youtube. Kind of a novelty. Example: “I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One” by Yo La Tengo
– Jajuk: For Mac or Windows, another program to play and manage your mp3s. The player provides a lot of interesting ways to cut up your data, but I wasn’t that impressed with the Mac version. (plus no iPod support that I could see.)
Universal Music Group Hates Your Evil Non-Zune MP3 Player
November 13, 2006 – 10:48 am | Written by Robert DuffyDIRTY DIRTY MP3 player…
Yesterday, Microsoft agreed to share revenue from Zune sales with record labels and artists. Forcing the issue was Universal Music Group, which at deadline is the only label named in the program. UMG refused to license its music to the Zune unless it could receive a percentage of each device sold, in addition to standard music licensing fees for downloads and subscriptions.“These devices are just repositories for stolen music, and they all know it,” UMG chairman/CEO Doug Morris says. “So it’s time to get paid for it.” (full story)
Firefox 2.0 Now Available
October 29, 2006 – 11:23 am | Written by Robert DuffyA nice, friendly Sunday reminder for those of you who’ve not upgraded yet:
Go on and download, dude. And if you are a nerd like me, these Firefox tweaks are really helpful.
Here’s my two favorite music-related addons: Foxytunes lets you control iTunes from Firefox and Download Them All will download all mp3s linked off of a webpage.
The Digital Freedom Campaign
October 26, 2006 – 12:44 pm | Written by Robert Duffy“The Digital Freedom Campaign holds as its core value the recognition that new technologies are essential to the creativity and innovation that have allowed this nation to thrive. Digital technology enables anyone and everyone to be an artist and an innovator - to produce music, to create cutting edge films and videos, and to reach new audiences. For consumers, it allows individuals the ability to enjoy these new works when they want, where they want, how they want and to participate in the process. These are basic freedoms that must be protected and nurtured. The Digital Freedom campaign is dedicated to defending the rights of artists, innovators, creators and consumers to use lawful technology free of unreasonable government restrictions and without fear of costly lawsuits.”
Happy 5th Birthday, iPod
October 23, 2006 – 12:10 pm | Written by Robert DuffyOld school:
Today:
Mmmmmmmm, cake:
