I have been talking for some time about the virtues of kickstarter funding for music recording projects. The indie album Move by Matt Phillips and the Philharmonic could not have been made without kickstarter funding. But the more I learn about the world of music kickstarters, the more I see …
Speech text from the grand opening of Manifold Recording and The Miraverse
He set his mind to work on unknown arts and thereby changes the laws of nature – Ovid, Metamorphoses Welcome, and thank you for coming to the grand opening of Manifold Recording and The Miraverse! Some years ago Amy posted a little quote on my side of the mirror we …
Glee? Not for me…
Last month after the buzz reached a fever pitch, I finally sat down to watch an episode of Glee. I have not watched it since, but I have been thinking about why not. I came across this blog posting, which begins: The fictional high school chorus at the center of …
Authenticity without Originality?
A new article in the New York Times poses a question by way of a quotation: can there be authenticity without originality?
The (Musical) Gift of Haiku
Fleur-de-Lisa is an a capella quartet based in Durham, North Carolina, and they were guests today on WUNC‘s The State of Things. Frank Stasio talked with them about Hai Ka, which can be translated as Haiku Song.
Jazz Music and Open Source Software
Who knew that Open Standards maven Andrew Updegrove was a jazz fan? He riffs: Jazz, of course, is open source all the way — it’s the ultimate freedom machine. Once you’ve grasped the melody line and basic chord structure of any song, you’re on your own, encouraged to take the …
Freedoms promised in 1976 may finally be realized
A posting on the WIRED magazine property Epicenter has some pretty exciting news about the Copyright Act of 1976, including the fact that a good-sized catalog of music will revert to the control of artists from the control of record labels. Unfortunately, the title of the article frames the story …
McKinsey says Creative Commons matters
Joi Ito had a major article published by McKinsey & Co in their journal What Matters. The article is titled Creative Commons: Enabling the next level of innovation and the punchline is pretty powerful: TCP/IP and the Web are successful because they are based on open standards shepherded by nonprofit …
Copyright v. Culture
In the case of the written word, I can quote a few words from the latest best-seller and know that I am legally protected by the doctrine of fair use. In the case of digital media, the US 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that no such fair use exists …
Garrison Keillor plays the Durham Performing Arts Center (DPAC)
Because we are blessed with the best public radio station in the country (WUNC), we frequently receive the best that public radio has to offer, live and in person. Earlier this month, A Prairie Home Companion came to Durham, North Carolina to produce and broadcast a show at our new …