New Trade Organization Launches for Internet Radio!

Well, it’s now official. The Internet Media Device Alliance (IMDA) just announced its plans to hold their first General Assembly meeting at CES on Jan. 9 at the MGM. According to the website’s mission statement at www.IMDAlliance.org, “The IMDA has been formed with the aim of developing and promoting a set of open, interoperable standards and device profiles in order to maximize the growth of a global consumer market in Internet-connected media devices”. This can only be a good thing as the internet media and device market has been growing in many directions with no clear path or consensus. I'm overly optimistic that enough of the right people and companies will sign up so that it will be a successful venture, as 'Internet Radio' itself as a category seems to be gaining incredible momentum with consumers and will grow faster with some collective guidance.

DISCLAIMER: I’m honored to have been a member of the original Steering Committee and look forward to much progress with respect to interoperability and infinite choice for content. (It’s also worth mentioning that I’m on the Product Development team for the RCA and Acoustic Research Infinite Radios.)

How Much Is Online Radio Advertising Worth?

According to eMarketer, the size of the Internet radio ad market is approximately $500 million, but I guess that depends on who you talk to.  TargetSpot, the only independent company I know of exclusively specializing in online radio ads, seems to be in a great position as this new medium takes off!

Selling Songs Through Games

Apparently, Microsoft is currently selling ~3.8 million songs per month through X-Box Live, mostly from Rock Band & Guitar Hero.  So, if we round up a little and allow for a little growth, that's almost 50 million a year in new revenues - not too shabby!!  Now if you could only move them to your favorite device, they might be onto something :-)

AOL Video Uploads to Close on Dec. 18, 2008

Another one bites the dust!

Dear AOL Video Uploads User,

We’re writing to inform you that the AOL Video Uploads site is no longer accepting new video uploads and will close on Dec. 18, 2008. We hope that this does not cause you an inconvenience.

The good news is that we can help you move your existing videos to Motionbox in a few, simple clicks. Motionbox is a free service that makes it easy to upload, store and share personal videos, and supports all of the features you enjoy with AOL Video Uploads -- including fast and reliable uploads, secure sharing, high quality video playback and more. To transfer your videos to Motionbox, all you need to do is click on the “transfer” button next to each video on the My Uploads page and follow the instructions.

If you want to download, delete or transfer your files to Motionbox or another site, you must go to the My Uploads page to take action before December 18, 2008. After that date, you will no longer be able to access your videos through the AOL Video Uploads site (also know as uncutvideo.com).

For more details please see our FAQs.

Thank you for your patience and understanding as we make this transition.

Sincerely,

AOL Video Uploads Team

 

 

The Problem With Music

Here’s a great article [sad but very true] by Steve Albini called “The Problem With Music.”   While it’s a little dated, the process is pretty much the same or even worse – given all the new artist 360 deals….

Some Rare Good News...

At least there's some good news in tech. Twitter just hit 1 billion tweets. "If anyone ever needed a clear sign that Twitter has gone mainstream—however you define it—this milestone is it," says Mashable.  However, I don't know how this currently translates into tangible profits...?

Recent Findings from Nielsen’s TV/Internet Convergence Panel

"The Nielsen Company's new TV/Internet Convergence Panel, which electronically measures both television and Internet usage in the same homes, has found that television viewing and online video streaming are complementary activities. According to the convergence panel, the heaviest users of the Internet are also among the heaviest viewers of television: the top fifth of Internet users spend more than 250 minutes per day watching television, compared to 220 minutes of television viewing by people who do not use the Internet at all."

• Nearly 31% of in-home Internet activity takes place while the user is watching television, demonstrating that there is a significant amount of simultaneous Internet and television usage.
  
  
• Roughly 50% of the Convergence Panel panelists had viewed some streaming content online. The demos streaming the most included Female Teens (82%), Male Teens (64%), Men 18-34 (57%) and Men 35-54 (55%).
  
  
• Nearly 60% of panelists and more than 80% of people who watched TV and used the Internet that month had simultaneous sessions - watching TV and being online at the same minute. This group tends to be very heavy users of both TV and Internet.
  
  
• Teens are the most likely demographic to have simultaneous TV/Internet usage, but Adults 35-54 have the most simultaneous usage minutes.

Quote of the Day

“At the end of the day most people listen to a max of 4 radio stations for 95% of the time.”

  - John Ousby, BBC

Questionable Research

According to a recent online study from Paragon Research polling more than four hundred 14-24-year-olds about their music-consumption habits,  "The youth demo has increased its time spent listening to radio 11% this year, while its time spent listening to iPods has actually decreased 13%."....Sorry, but I just don't buy it!

NEW RESEARCH: Ipsos’ TEMPO Digital Music Brandscape

The 5th annual study shows emerging changes for the US music business...but why no mention of eMusic, which is the #2 download store in America?

Quote of The Day

"Content and other services make sense as long as the user experience remains uncomplicated."
       - Arlene Harris, Jitterbug's inventor

Times Are A Changin': Men Under 35 Prefer Technology Over Sports!

According to cable network G4's recent study, "Hunting With Lightsabers: A Field Guide to Men 18-34", "today's hombres are more passionate about the Internet (93%), new technology (88%) and computers (88%) than about professional sports (74%)...Men under 35 now are likely to boast of their tech savviness rather than be ashamed of their nerdier tendencies."

Quote of the Day - (very refreshing!!)

"It seems the feuding factions of the music industry realize it's smarter to strike a balance and stay afloat than rearrange deck chairs on the Titanic."
      - entertainment attorney William Hochberg

Quote of the Day (talking about the new PEEK)

"I love it so far… KISS is the key…It's now what the device can do, it's what you can do with the device….
- The Peekster from Tennessee

Favorite Quote of the Day

"...The recording industry is destroying the "recording industry"..."
          - Robert X. Cringely

African American Women Embrace Tech Gadgets

Interesting new research from Time Inc's Essence Magazine:

• "...The findings defy an image of technology consumers focused on young men..."

• "...Overall, black women are savvy tech shoppers...."
  
• "...They see technology as a way to express style and personality..."

HD Radio Not Ready for Prime Time

According to a recent Billboard article, U.S. HD radio sales totaled about 300,000 units in 2007, with about 1 million units expected to be sold this year.  Even though some radio models have tumbled below $100, consumers aren't swallowing the pill....One reason may be the fact that there are over 13K stations, but only 8k ones with 'different or original content' for the side channels...

Also, according to a consumer survey conducted in January by Arbitron and Edison Media Research, "only 24% of respondents said they had "heard/read anything recently about HD radio," down slightly from 26% a year earlier."

If you can't win the loyalty (and wallet) of the American consumer the ol' fashioned way, well, just cheat......"As satellite broadcasters XM and Sirius await FCC approval of their proposed merger, some members of Congress have voiced support for iBiquity's request that the FCC require all new satellite receivers to include HD radio capability."  So, let me get this straight.  The service isn't compelling enough or affordable for the mass market to adopt it, so let's just force it down their throats instead?  

Video-Game Makers Are the Newest Rock Gods

Click HERE to read the an interesting article about the music industry's newest source of revenue - "While a connection between the increase in digital sales at sites like iTunes and Napster and "Guitar Hero III" isn't definitive, the evidence strongly suggests that the game played a role in the huge increase in single sales."

Quote of the Day

“It should not be against the law to make a program that interacts with third-party web sites in a way that they haven't given permission for.”

            - Bennett Haselton

U.S. Internet Advertising 2008-2012 Forecast and Analysis

IDC Finds Internet Advertising Keeps Growing Fast Despite Economic Difficulties

According to IDC's recently released study, U.S. Internet Advertising 2008-2012 Forecast and Analysis: Defying Economic Crisis  - “Internet advertising in the United States will continue to grow fast even as the current economic woes will lead to a contraction in ad spending overall, essentially accelerating the transfer of marketing budgets from the traditional media into the new. During the forecast period, Internet advertising will grow about eight times as fast as advertising at large. IDC finds overall Internet advertising revenue will double from $25.5 billion in 2007 to $51.1 billion in 2012.

The Internet will go from the number 5 medium all the way to the number 2 medium in just 5 years, making it bigger than newspapers, bigger than cable TV, bigger even than broadcast TV, and second only to direct marketing. Video advertising will be the principal disruptor of Internet advertising over the next five years by attracting the most new marketing dollars. Its revenue will grow sevenfold from $0.5 billion in 2007 to $3.8 billion in 2012 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 49.4%. This growth will take place because brand advertisers will shift significant amounts of money into these video commercials, primarily from broadcast television and to a lesser extent from cable television.

Search advertising will remain the one advertising format that will garner the most revenue over the forecast period in the United States. This means that for any media company, search must be a key part of its strategy. Any media company that is not Google cannot ignore this segment even if Google is towering above all others as segment leader with about 70% share of the segment's revenue.”

 

A Sad State of Affairs....

With respect to longtime Walmart rackjobber Handelman’s recent decision to exit the music business,  Chief Executive Al Koch says that even after aggressive cost cutting, his company couldn't continue selling music profitably. "In the short term, it's not possible to downsize as fast as revenue is declining," says Mr. Koch.

Music Licensing & Royalty Basics 101

David Oxenford, a partner in Davis Wright Tremaine's Washington, DC office, summed up the basic royalty regulations for streaming music on the internet at this year’s Annual Broadcast Cable Financial Management Conference (BCFM). Anyone looking to brush up on their royalty basics can see his PowerPoint presentation HERE.  Definitely worth downloading, reading and storing for a later date.  Also, he’s got a great blog HERE too (Thanks Kurt!)

Quote of the Day!

“Music is the space between the notes…”

            - Claude Debussy 

 

Don't Let Congress Orphan Your Work!

This travesty of proposed legislation is set to have a huge effect on ALL works that would normally now be protected under the Copyright Law.  That would include not only illustrations and photographs, but all other creative works, such as music, stories, novels, screenplays, personal journals, sketches and designs.  The lawmakers have been led to believe that it would be a good thing to require an artist to register not only the final work, but every developmental sketch that led up to it, each time paying a fee to some so-far nonexistent commercial registry, or else risk the theft of the work for someone else's use.  That someone may be required to pay you for your intellectual property, but at a price that THEY consider appropriate, without any opportunity for you to negotiate or deny the sale.  If this does not sound fair to you, then you should go to the website listed below, pick one of the pre-packaged letters, and send it to the congressmen and senators who represent you.  I've already done it, and it's easy.  You don't even have to know who your reps are; addressing is automatic.  In some cases, you can add your own personal story to the letter, or even write your own version altogether.  But don't let this thing get passed without having your say.

 

2 minutes is all it takes to write Congress and protect your copyright - Please forward this message to every artist you know!

 

 

http://capwiz.com/illustratorspartnership/home/

 

Sharing Profile Data...

Apparently, MySpace ("Data Availability" initiative) and FaceBook ("Facebook Connect" initiative)  think this is a pretty cool feature, as both companies have made announcements in the last week regarding the capability to let users connect their identities and personal profile data to third-party websites.

Another DRM Store Sees The Light!

According to Hypebot’s report from yesterday's Digital NARM, a spokesperson for Napster “hinted that they would go DRM-free within a month…”

A New Player in Song Recommendations...

I discovered a new eur-centric BETA recommendation engine today called www.mufin.com, which comes as a free 27 MB download in 6 different languages.  The software app is available at MAGIX.net and according to the parent website, “Our goal is to personalize the Mufin music recommendation. Music on PC, Mac, online or on the move: All that counts is sound.” 

 

Initial reactions: too much advertising, incomplete catalogue, intermittent album artwork.  Streaming versions are available with some links to legally buy downloads from Amazon, Musicload and MusicShop…

 

Overall, a C+

 

 

Quote Of The Day

“Technology-led products are built around what's possible…Consumer devices are built around what people want."

            - Greg Brown, Motorola's new CEO

Sony Buys Gracenotefor $260mil !

http://www.sunherald.com/447/story/508780.html

That's the first smart move I've seen Sony make in years......So the question of the day is, how bumpy will Apple's inevitable metadata transition be...?

"Revenue Opportunities Abound In Online and Mobile Music Distribution"

Here are a few nuggets from In-Stat's latest research findings:

• Dollar sales of online digital music increased 48 percent between 2006 and 2007 to reach $3.05 billion last year
• Digital sales are expected to account for 40 percent of all music purchases worldwide by 2012, up from just 10 percent in 2007 and six percent in 2006
• Revenue for worldwide full track mobile downloads will reach approximately $4.2 billion by 2012
• The majority of respondents who accessed online video (72.3%) in 2007 did not pay for the video they saw from the Internet

http://www.instat.com/catalog/mmcatalogue.asp?id=212#IN0804027CM

FYI: Piper Jaffray's "Taking Stock With Teens" Research Survey Summary

Press release is HERE.

 

Total teen spending on fashion declined nearly 20 percent on a year-to-year basis, indicating a “discretionary recession”.  While the fashion category represents 41 percent of the total teen budget in the spring 2008 survey and teenagers continue to spend a significant amount of money in this category

Key findings from the survey in the fashion, beauty and personal care, home furnishing, video game, digital media and restaurant categories also include the following:

• Hollister remains the No. 1 preferred brand by teens, as ranked by mindshare, followed by West Coast Brands (e.g. Pacific Sunwear, Volcom, Quicksilver, Zumiez), American Eagle, Abercrombie & Fitch and Forever 21. Specifically among brands ranked by girls, Hollister maintained its “most preferred” position, while West Coast Brands continue to resonate as a favorite among young men.
• A bright spot in consumer spending trends points to an increase in spending from the fall 2007 results among teen girls in the beauty category. Overall, spending by parents was down in both the apparel and beauty categories. In addition, privately-held, Swedish-based IKEA was the top choice among teens followed by Pottery Barn/PB Teen in the home furnishing retailer or cataloger category.
• By gender, electronics represented 10 percent of total budget for young men and 4 percent for juniors this spring and 7 percent overall, up slightly from 6 percent last year. Spending in the video game system category increased significantly for young men to 13 percent from 9 percent last fall.
• In the digital media category, 86 percent of the students who own an MP3 player indicated that they also own some form of an iPod, which is an increase from 82 percent last spring. Although iTunes continues to dominate market share at 81 percent, 61 percent of the students surveyed indicated they download music illegally, compared to 64 percent at this time last year. In addition, 6 percent of the students surveyed indicate they own an Apple iPhone, which is double the market share found in the fall 2007 survey; 9 percent expect to buy an iPhone in the next six months.
• Starbucks continued to be the clear brand leader across the board in both the school and online survey. Premium coffee is potentially a growing category among teens as Dunkin’s Donuts appeared in the top ten brands for the first time in the school survey. Chipotle and McDonald’s remained in second and third places in the school survey, while Olive Garden and Applebee’s remained in second and third in the online survey. However, Chipotle continues to gain teen market share, ranking among the top ten brands in the online survey for the first time. In total, approximately 45 percent of the students surveyed believe they have spent more money this year at restaurants than last year.

 

Word of The Day: PERSEVERE

PERSEVERE:

"He failed in business in '31. He was defeated for state legislator in '32.He tried another business in '33. It failed. His fiancee died in '35. He had a nervous breakdown in '36. In '43 he ran for congress and was defeated. He tried again in '48 and was defeated again. He tried running for the Senate in '55. He lost.The next year he ran for Vice President and lost. In '59 he ran for the Senate again and was defeated. In 1860, the man who signed his name A. Lincoln, was elected the 16th President of the United States . The difference between history's boldest accomplishments and its most staggering failures is often, simply, the diligent will to persevere."

 

Internet Radio Scorecard

Click HERE to access a 9 page PDF of JP Morgan's latest internet radio research...

Key findings from The Infinite Dial 2008: Radio's Digital Platforms

·         The weekly online radio audience increased in the past year to an estimated 33 million.  Thirteen percent of the U.S. population age 12 and older have listened to online radio in the past week; up from eleven percent (approximately 29 million) in 2007.  On a weekly basis, online radio reaches more than one in seven 25- to 54-year olds (15%).

·         AM/FM radio continues to have a big impact on people’s lives.  The study asked consumers to rate the impact different digital audio platforms has on their lives.  More than one in five (21 percent) consumers said radio has a big impact on their lives; ranking second only to mobile phones (33 percent) as the audio platform/device that has the biggest impact on people’s lives.

·         iPod/Portable MP3 player ownership continues dramatic growth. Nearly four in ten (37 percent) own an iPod or other brand of portable MP3 player; up from 30 percent in 2007 and more than two and a half times the number in 2005 (14 percent).  Nearly three-quarters (73 percent) of those ages 12-17 own a digital audio player.

·         Audio podcasting usage continues to increase along side the proliferation of iPod/MP3 player ownership. Eighteen percent have ever listened to an audio podcast; up from 13 percent in 2007.  Nine percent have listened to an audio podcast in the past month (an estimated 23 million).

·         More than four in ten weekly online radio listeners have a profile on a social networking Web site. Those who regularly listen to online radio are much more likely to participate in social networks; 41 percent of weekly online radio listeners report having an online social networking profile (compared to 24 percent of the total 12+ population);  more than one-third (37%) visit social networking sites nearly once per day or more.

·         The Internet is gaining on radio as the medium to learn about new music. In 2008, radio is mentioned as the medium “you turn to first to learn about new music” by about half of consumers (49 percent), with Internet at 25 percent.  In 2002, radio was mentioned by nearly two-thirds of consumers (63 percent) for this perception, while only nine percent mentioned Internet. 

 

http://www.onlinepressroom.net/arbitron/

 

WEBCAST: The Infinite Dial: Radio's Digital Platforms

On Wednesday, April 9th, at 2:00 PM (EST), the latest findings from the annual study The Infinite Dial: Radio's Digital Platforms will be presented by Pierre Bouvard from Arbitron and Tom Webster from Edison Media Research.   (Arbitron and Edison have conducted these studies since 1998 and they have become one of the most widely cited source of information about consumer adoption of digital radio.)

The panelists will provide fresh findings and answers to the following questions and more:

• What are the trends and demographics for Online Radio usage?
• How has awareness and usage of Satellite Radio changed?
• Do consumers "get" what podcasting is and how many are using it?
• Has awareness of HD Radio changed and do consumers show interest in the concept?
• What is the latest adoption rate of iPod/MP3 players and what impact do they have on AM/FM Radio?
• How much impact do these digital platforms have on AM/FM Radio?
• How do Internet video and social networking influence traditional and digital radio platforms?
• Which of these media/technologies do consumers say has the biggest impact on their lives: AM/FM Radio, Satellite Radio, iPod/MP3 players, social networking, online video?

Arbitron and Edison will also offer recommendations for broadcasters, webcasters and advertisers based on the findings. Presenters expect the presentation to be about 40 minutes, and they will also provide 20 minutes to answer your questions.  The webinar is free, but registration is required. Please go to http://www.register123.com/event/profile/form/index.cfm?PKformID=0x553053b5b2 to sign up. Once you've registered, they will send you log-on information for the presentation……See you online!

 

Quote of the Day

"If you give people content they want and you make it easy to use and share, they won't even know they're in a commercial environment."

- Forrester analyst James McQuivey

Quote of The Day

Who’s Really Number 2?:  “Independent music makes up just under 30% of the music market in total (but more than 40% digitally), more than any of the individual major labels, and it encompasses so much incredible, vital music that is by and large ignored by the mainstream media.”

            - David Pakman, President and CEO, eMusic

Word of the day

“Prognosticative” - to foretell from signs or symptoms: to predict

Internet Radio Still Strong

Thirty-three million Americans age 12 or older (i.e. approximately 13% of the U.S. population) listen to an Internet radio station during the average week, up from 29 million a year ago, according to “The Annual Infinite Dial 2008: Radio's Digital Platforms” from Arbitron and Edison Media Research. The complete study, will be released next month.

Word of the Day....

“verticialization” – used by Jim Balsillie, Co-CEO of Research in Motion during the recent Canadian Music Week's digital music & media summit.

 

Wal-Mart Gets Tough With The Major Labels

Wal-Mart has recently proposed a new five-tiered pricing scheme that would allow it to sell albums at even lower prices and require the labels to bear more of the costs…(= less money for artists) While the proposal was presented only as a starting point, one label executive said, "This sounds like the Hail Mary pass, and if it doesn't work, they could be out of the music business; or maybe they reduce music down to a couple of racks from the 4,000 titles carried by Wal-Marts with larger selections.”

Favorite Quote of the Week

When asked about differentiating himself from others in the rapidly evolving home-automation market, “Addressing the broader market isn’t accomplished through establishing simple levels of product defined by cost…We stay #1 by listening to, caring for, and appreciating our customers more than anything else.  Our customers are our partners, our friends and our family.  We will never do anything to compromise that value.”  -- Randy Klein, EVP Crestron

The End of The Music Industry

Forrester Research is now predicting that half of all music sold in the U.S. will be digital by 2011, with the tide turning against the CD in 2012. "This is the end of the music industry as we know it," stated James McQuivey, VP and principal analyst at Forrester... "experiments in ad-supported downloads will be silenced by the powerful combination of DRM-free music and on-demand music streaming on sites like imeem.com."  McQuivey says that ad-supported Web music services are not the future and that ad-supported music should be "on the radio where it belongs."
OK, maybe I'm missing something here, so what does he call all the banner ads we're forced to see to get to the free on-demand streams....?  Aren't the licenses for this music being subsidized by the advertising, in addition to equity being given to the labels??

Quote of the Day

"To disable the Internet to save EMI and Disney is the moral equivalent of burning down the library of Alexandria to ensure
 the livelihood of monastic scribes."  --Jon Ippolito, of the Guggenheim, on the CBDTPA

 

(Thanks Paul S.!)

 

Universal Sues DivX

Here’s a great blog post by Davis Freeberg on the recent suit UMG has files against DivX’s Stage 6 video site…Personally, I’m glad to see a company with deep pockets challenge a major label under the Safe Harbor provision of the DMCA, but this will no doubt drag on and be very expensive!  “In a legal filing published late Tuesday night, Judge Dana Sabraw dismissed DivX’s request to declare Stage6 legal, ahead of their UMG piracy trial.”

Cell Phone Sales Still Strong

According to the latest figures from Strategy Analytics, “329 million mobile handsets were sold worldwide in Q4 2007. Volumes increased at 12.3% annually. Three of the top five brands saw sequential increase in average selling prices (ASP). Nokia attained 41% market share, revenues and operating profits continued to grow at double digit levels. Motorola and Sony Ericsson slipped to the third position in CDMA and UMTS respectively, Samsung occupied the second spot in both categories. Among others, RIM and Apple gained share, with Apple coming slightly below expectations.”

CD Baby has the largest digital distribution catalog in the world!

Here’ a great story about CD Baby and its founder, Derek Sivers….I’ve always been a big fan and my favorite quote sums it up:  “From the grass roots to the elite, the music industry has taken notice of Sivers, who has rejected lucrative offers to sell his company and declined payments to give preferential placement of an artist's disc on the site. It's never been about the money for Sivers; it's always been about helping musicians. This ethos prompted Esquire magazine to dub him "one of the last music-business folk heroes."

Freescale Buys SigmaTel

Neither story has received a lot of press yet, but in my opinion, BOTH are pretty big deals….

 

“Freescale Semiconductor, plotting a future in digital media, agreed to buy SigmaTel in a $110 million deal.  Freescale, a wireless chip maker that was taken private last year, said Monday that it will pay $3 share for Austin, Texas-based SigmaTel. The deal represents a 67% premium over SigmaTel's closing price of $1.79 Friday.  Shares of SigmaTel surged 52% in pre-market trading Monday.  SigmaTel makes semiconductors for a variety of consumer devices, including media players and some models of Apple's iPods.  The news comes just days after Freescale's largest customer, Motorola, announced that it was exploring the possible sale of its mobile phone business.”

 

PRESS RELEASE:   "The increased demand for feature rich, always-connected consumer electronics devices is driving manufacturers to look for platform-based solutions that will accelerate time to market," said Phil Pompa, president and CEO of SigmaTel. "With the addition of SigmaTel, Freescale is the obvious choice for these next-generation devices."  "The SigmaTel acquisition enhances the long-term, strategic value we can deliver to our customers," said Lynelle McKay, senior vice president and general manager of Freescale's Networking and Multimedia Group. "Freescale's proven strengths in the high-performance multimedia and general purpose markets are complemented by SigmaTel's strong mixed-signal expertise in the portable media player and consumer audio markets."

 

 

 

New Paragon Media Research

According to Paragon Media Strategies, "14-24 year olds are actively designing radio that's not on the radio. The average (median) young adult has 500 songs on their computer, 400 songs on their MP3 player, and 50 CDs. 14-18 year-olds have more than double the number of songs that 19-24s have on their computers and MP3 players."  There's some good research available on the site and it seems to be free - if you sign up for an account.....

iTunes on DVD

I haven’t seen much chatter about this new value-add feature of buying a physical disc, but I’ve been a proponent of this ‘something extra’ strategy for years with regards to the music industry…(I’m glad to see the movie industry learning from the music industry’s mistakes…)

“Buy select DVDs and you get something extra free: an iTunes Digital Copy. Just pop the DVD into your computer and the iTunes version transfers to your iTunes library, ready to watch or sync to your iPod, iPhone, or Apple TV. Look for “iTunes Digital Copy” on the DVDs you buy, starting with the DVD release of Family Guy: Blue Harvest Special Edition.”

 

New COBY Video Content Partnership

Coby Electronics and WoozyFly.com (an online music media company devoted to independent music) recently announced a strategic digital content alliance that will deliver Coby MP3 players, MP4 and Portable Media players bundled with original WoozyFly.com music video content to Coby customers globally…Beginning this month, select Coby players will feature WoozyFly’s original videos from the leading artists on the indie music scene…

 

 

 

Quote For The Day

“We are not here in this world to find elegant solutions, pregnant with initiative, or to serve the ways and modes of profitable progress. No, we are here to provide for all those who are weaker and hungrier, more battered and crippled than ourselves. That is our only certain good and great purpose on earth, and if you ask me about those insoluble economic problems that may arise if the top is deprived of their initiative, I
would answer, To hell with them. The top is greedy and mean and will always find a way to take care of themselves. They always do.”

- Michael Foot

Yamaha's New Visible Music Interface: TENORI-ON

Some of you may have already heard about this, but Yamaha recently introduced a new digital musical instrument for the 21st century called TENORI-ON, which has been named among the 25 Most Innovative Products of the Year by PCWorld.com. The TENORI-ON is "an ‘Inspired and intuitive handheld instrument that redefines music-making and screams innovation,’ adding, ‘nothing else even comes close'."

So......in other words, it allows anyone and everyone to create and play music with no training or talent! Yamaha truly has created a new "visible music" interface, and if it catches any legs, get ready for even more user generated content online and perhaps even a new genre of music :-)

http://www.global.yamaha.com/tenori-on/

Also, here's a link to a 3 minute video on YouTube.