The above music video for Rise Up by the Black Eyed Snakes, directed by Brian Barber is one of the results of the Homegrown Music Festival in Duluth, Minnesota, which challenged 16 local filmmakers to each make a music video for an assortment of songs from local bands. The songs were randomly assigned, and the filmmakers had 51 hours to make a video. Continue reading...
4.5.09
Hypetape Searches Blogs for Music, Streams For Free
The new music site Hypetape, takes the search and indexing capability of Hype Machine, and adds it to the playlist creation and interface of Muxtape. The result: an engine that searches through thousands blogs for songs and commentary of the artists you search for, lets you add the tracks to a playlist associated to a Google account, and stream them for free. Read more...
Video: The Bad Plus Live On Record Store Day
In celebration of Record Store Day earlier this April, The Bad Plus performed live in their hometown, Minneapolis, Minnesota, at the Electric Fetus. I like how drummer Dave King’s technique cuts the rhythm just enough to make it interesting, and pianist Ethan Iverson gives the band’s jazz fusion his own classical touch.
The store crowded to see the local jazz power-trio perform songs from their new album For All I Care, which they released in February. The album is a collection of covers which added Wendy Lewis’ vocals to their established formation. Watch another video from the same location after the jump, with Lewis singing Nirvana’s Lithium: Continue reading...
3.5.09
People’s Music Store Doubles Catalog to 600,000 Songs
Ged Day, the founder of music download service Bleep.com, also created the People’s Music Store, which allows users to create music “stores” for free. Basically, store owners select and review tracks and albums from the site’s licensed catalogue of music, and are rewarded with points every time someone buys something from their store. These points can then be redeemed to buy music. Continue reading...
30.4.09
Seeqpod To Be Sold, Saved From Bankruptcy
After getting repeatedly sued by major labels, music search engine Seeqpod filed for bankruptcy in early April 2009. But now CEO Kasian Franks says Seeqpod will avoid shutting down because a large company is going to buy it. He told Wired that Seeqpod is now in “final acquisition talks” with a partner that “is in the [same] position” as Apple, Google or Live Nation.
Seeqpod was supposed to be protected by the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA), which lets search engines link to any content, so long as they take down allegedly infringing links at the copyright holder’s request. But the recording industry seems to be oblivious to the Act, and has continued to pummel music search engines like Seeqpod, Muxtape and MP3Tunes with lawsuits. Continue reading...
Apple Gets Sued, Accused of Censorship
Last year, a noncommercial, public Internet ‘wiki’ site operated by OdioWorks called BlueWiki was shut down after Apple lawyers claimed (pdf) that discussions on the site constituted copyright infringement. BluWiki users shared information about making other music platforms, like Songbird, Banshee, Rockbox and Winamp, workable on the iPhone and iPod instead of Apple’s iTunes.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has now partnered with OdioWorks to file a lawsuit against Apple for stifling free speech on BluWiki in order to restore the discussions on the site. Apple is obviously trying to maintain iTunes as the exclusive platform on the iPod and iPhone, but hobbyists and tinkerers should be able to share their thoughts on community sites like BluWiki. Read more...
Rusko Remixes Andy Milonakis’ Let Me Twitter Dat
Comedian Andy Milonakis’ original track Let Me Twitter Dat has been given a professional electronic makeover with the new remix from Rusko. Judging by Rusko’s official Twitter account, the track was whipped up over this last weekend, and was hyped on several occasions through the micro-blogging service. Read more...
28.4.09
Recording Industry Releases 2008 Sales Statistics
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA pdf) and the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI pdf) both released statistics for 2008 sales. As expected, the numbers show that physical sales continued to drop in comparison to 2007, but digital sales grew to nearly 30 percent of the total market, and digital performance rights royalties went up 74 percent. Read more...
New Disc Can Store Over 100,000 Songs
The way we listen to music has gone through regular changes, generally due to evolving technology in digital data storage. At first, there was vinyl. Then the cassette tape, the CD, DVD, and most recently the Blu-ray disc, which can currently hold between 25 and 50 Gigabytes (GB). Inevitably, science has produced the a new prototype in the field.
General Electric has unveiled their “micro-holographic” disc, which stores a whopping 500GB, and is the same size as a normal DVD. The new discs are able to contain data in three dimensions, rather than just on one the surface of the disc. The technology will initially be used for archiving, but the company believes it will eventually make its way to the consumer market and home use. Continue reading....
26.4.09
EU Votes to Extend Music Copyright Term to 70 Years
The European Parliament has voted to lengthen sound recording copyright to 70 years, up from the previous limit of 50 years. If the proposal is passed by the EU states in the European Council to become a law, artists like The Beatles and the Rolling Stones will continue to receive royalties on recordings for another 20 years.
Sir Cliff Richard, Roger Daltrey and Sir Paul McCartney are among the many musicians who argued in favor of the proposal. However, British singers Paul McCartney, Elton John and Mick Jagger lost millions of their personal fortunes last year due to the economic crisis, so it’s possible that they are looking to compensate for their losses with the new EU law. Continue reading...
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