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."