“Piracy is clearly here to stay, but as iTunes has shown, the record companies’ best strategy is to provide an easy-to-use service that offers music downloads at a fair price. But what price is “fair”? Apple says it is 99 cents a song. Of this, Apple gets a sliver—4 cents—while the music publishers snag 8 … Continue reading “What’s The Right Price For Digital Music?”
“It took only six days after launch for NPR’s ‘Story of the Day’ podcast to reach the coveted No. 1 spot on iTunes for most downloaded podcast. On Nov. 21, NPR’s podcasts held down 11 spots on the iTunes Top 100, more than any other media outlet. But NPR has done much more than simply … Continue reading “Launch Of NPR Podcasts A Big Winner”
“Not many music lovers have warmed to the idea that they don’t retain all the rights to the music they buy. The crux of the debate is this: When you buy a song, an album, or a movie, are you buying the content only in the form it comes in? If you purchase a song … Continue reading “How Music Companies Are Screwing Us On Digital Music”
Napster creator Shawn Fanning is back, and he’s got a new plan for music. “He doesn’t simply want to impose fees for the same songs that are available through Apple’s iTunes and other stores. He wants to create an open system that would allow anyone with music to share – big labels and garage bands … Continue reading “Fulfilling The Promise Of Napster (Legally?)”
“Not many music lovers have warmed to the idea that they don’t retain all the rights to the music they buy. The crux of the debate is this: When you buy a song, an album, or a movie, are you buying the content only in the form it comes in? If you purchase a song … Continue reading “That Song/Album/Movie You Just Bought? (What Do You Own?)”
TV shows are selling well for the video iPod. What does it mean? “The iTunes distribution model gives the networks a huge opportunity to reinvent themselves. By allowing viewers to purchase individual episodes, broadcast-television executives could free themselves from the yoke of advertising revenue. That could potentially usher in a new age of television, one … Continue reading “Will The iPod Reinvent TV?”
The online music business is booming. But there’s a fight between producers and musicians about how to divy up the new income. “Thanks to the success of iPod and iTunes, online music sales are growing at a healthy clip. But record labels complain they aren’t recouping expenses, while musicians say they’re being squeezed to take … Continue reading “Online Music – Who Gets The Money?”
Five Hollywood unions representing actors, writers and directors have called for negotiations with producers to make sure their members get a cut of revenue generated by the sale of TV shows on Apple’s iTunes software.
Apple’s new video iPod will show downloads of TV shows the day after they air. “The newest member of the popular iPod line will feature a 2-1/2 inch wide color screen and the capacity to store up to 150 hours of video in addition to music and photos. The rollout of the product will coincide … Continue reading “TV Shows For Your iPod”
Who has time to read program notes at the concert? “Now the Los Angeles Philharmonic has come up with something it considers a solution to the problem: FastNotes, a brief set of program notes to be e-mailed free to interested parties a week or so before a concert. Thanks to the miracle of the Internet, … Continue reading “Get With The Program (By Email, And In Advance)”
