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Orrin Hatch on 'destroying file sharer's machines ;)

 

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“"If we can find some way to [stop filesharing] without destroying their machines, we'd be interested in hearing about that. If that's the only way, then I'm all for destroying their machines.” –Senator Orrin Hatch (writer of Our Gracious Lord, Climb Inside His Loving Arms, and How His Glory Shines). BBC link here

MusicTank

Lots of good links here

Google's TALK VoIP

Just installed it and had my first 2 calls. Good sound,  less CPU / Resource strain than skype, and the usual no-frills Google interface. I like it!  BUT... beyond that, Skype has a lot more to offer that Google won't have, for a while, imho: skype-in / out, website integration etc etc.  and - there's room for both. Summary: great job, google, as usual. Skype: don't worry. yet.
On Google.... well, Cringely has a story that I quite like... here
And THE ONION has a great spoof on Google... read it here.

"MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA—Executives at Google, the rapidly growing online-search company that promises to "organize the world's information," announced Monday the latest step in their expansion effort: a far-reaching plan to destroy all the information it is unable to index. "Our users want the world to be as simple, clean, and accessible as the Google home page itself," said Google CEO Eric Schmidt at a press conference held in their corporate offices. "Soon, it will be."

Skype versus Google Talk

Google just upped the ante for Skype and launched the Google TALK application. I just downloaded it, feel free to test-call me at gleonhard@gmail.com. Maybe this will be less a burden on the CPU since it's not P2P.... even said that, Skype Rocks, no doubt!!! I am a heavy user, skype-in and out ;), and can testofy to that.  The IHT has a good feature on Skype versus Google.

Portable Media Expo Nov 11-12, Ontario / LA, CA

very interesting event.
I am speaking on this panel:
Topic: Music in Podcasts: The Future of Music Licensing 
  Speakers: Gerd Leonard - thinkandlink.biz, Matt May - Matt's blog, Derrick Oien - Association of Music Podcasting, Kelli Richards - The All Access Group, C.C. Chapman - Accident Hash Podcast and Podsafe Music Network
  Room: 100AB
                        Description: As of now, music licensing agencies do not offer a way for podcasters to legally play licensed music in their shows. Will we see a license podcasters can purchase in the near future? How can podcasters and other portable media creators work with the licensing bodies so that both parties can achieve their goals? These questions will be discussed at length by the panelists who each have distinct areas of expertise in this area.

Book Publishers' War with Google Heats Up

Good feature in DRM Watch.
Is there a role for DRM>>CRM here ?  I think so.

Playlouder MSP, IMEA 2004 winner, closes landmark UK deal with Sony-BMG

PLAYLOUDER MSP is a hot company to watch -- check it out here

" WORLD'S ONLY MUSIC ISP SIGNS LANDMARK UK DEAL WITH SONY BMG 22 August 2005
PLAYLOUDER MSP (PLMSP), the world's first and only music ISP today unveils details of its groundbreaking UK licence deal with SONY BMG, the first major to license its catalogue to PLMSP signalling a landmark in the development of the UK digital music market. The deal sees a major label embrace a new business model, which brings licensed file sharing to UK consumers for the first time. The deal is also a clear indication of Sony BMG's progressive position within the constantly evolving digital music world and shows that the major is at the forefront in identifying and supporting compelling new business models in the digital music market...."

Playlouder MSP, IMEA 2004 winner, closes landmark UK deal with Sony-BMG

PLAYLOUDER MSP is a hot company to watch -- check it out here

" WORLD'S ONLY MUSIC ISP SIGNS LANDMARK UK DEAL WITH SONY BMG 22 August 2005
PLAYLOUDER MSP (PLMSP), the world's first and only music ISP today unveils details of its groundbreaking UK licence deal with SONY BMG, the first major to license its catalogue to PLMSP signalling a landmark in the development of the UK digital music market. The deal sees a major label embrace a new business model, which brings licensed file sharing to UK consumers for the first time. The deal is also a clear indication of Sony BMG's progressive position within the constantly evolving digital music world and shows that the major is at the forefront in identifying and supporting compelling new business models in the digital music market...."

last.fm - good review on corante

New Last.fm: Social Architecture Drives Music Experience  (Steve Boyd / Corante).
He says  "  this version of Last.fm is almost a perfect example of what I have been preaching about social architecture:

1. People Are The Living, Breathing, Beating Heart Of The Universe -- the social elements of social applications are central, and the domain elements (in this case music) come second.
   
2. Artifacts Bind Us Together and Define Us -- the social "gestures" that we leave behind in our online searching -- comments, ratings, tags, and so on -- weaves the fabric that binds us together, and through which we make sense of the world.
   
3. Social Interaction Is Bottom Up, And So Is Everything Else -- successful social applications -- like Last.fm -- work because their orientation is bottom-up throughout. People's fuzzy tags, group formation, and music preferences drive the overall experience, not a single, centralized taxonomy and unified top ten hit parade model. (Big aside: exactly what is lacking in all the current top 100 or 500 blog lists, by the way.)
   
4. Social Stuff Absorbs and Trumps Domain Stuff -- it is our collective perceptions of and enjoyment of music that animates the endless catalog of artists, albums, and tracks that form the natural domain model of recorded music. It is through social interaction that we can learn something about a new artist, or new music by an old favorite. We are not on our own, wandering through the stacks: our view of the world of music, in this case, is shaped and informed by others...."

Very interesting stuff. Check out the rest here
Go to Last.fm

Legal issues in podcasting MUSIC

good overview here

Rags Gupta on Digital Music being a tough business

here
PS: sorry for not blogging much right now.... summer taking over. Real Life catching up;)

Swiss Music Guide 2005 (GERMAN and FRENCH)

From the Swiss Music Guide 2005
"Auf zur «Next Generation Music Company»: Wie Independent Labels
neue Technologien nutzen können - denn dabei sein ist alles..."
German:  Download smg_leonhard_d1.pdf
French:Download smg_leonhard_fr.pdf