The DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act) was sold to the American people as a compromise: give media companies stronger powers to prevent people from copying their content, for longer periods of time, and in return they will make much more of their precious content much more available to many more …
The Police Give Back…Everything!
In Thursday’s USA Today’s Life section (August 6th, 2008), the article Police will bring on the night one last time caught my eye, and not just because I think that Sting’s Bring On The Night is one of the great live albums ever produced. Reporting revenues of $141M for the …
Yahoo! Music Store closes…taking the keys with it
As reported in Ars Technica, customers who bought digitally restricted media (DRM) from Yahoo! Music Store will lose the technical ability to play the music they lawfully acquired. As Corey Doctorow has been teaching for years: 1. That DRM systems don’t work 2. That DRM systems are bad for society …
Slow Food makes its way to the table
The objective of Fast Food, it seems, is to maximize short-term profits. The eater profited by “wasting” as little time as possible eating, and the producer profited by sourcing the cheapest possible ingredients from the global economy, assembling those ingredients as rapidly and mechanically as possible, without regards to any …
The Music Lesson
Last week Lyle Estill was scheduled to give a reading at Quail Ridge Books and I was asked to introduce him. After his reading, which was excellent, and the questions, which were semi-interesting, he set himself to signing books for the 30+ people who came to hear him that evening. …
Music: Food for the Soul?
Another article by Robert Frank confirms that the most desirable purchase these days is not a thing, but an experience (a memorable meal to be precise). What’s up with that? For data, Frank provides that: A new study by American Express of their U.K. Centurion card holders (read: titanium-toting super-rich) …
Anya Kamenetz asks “Who’s American Dream is it Anyway?”
Silly me. While I’ve been focusing on how the music industry seems hell-bent on its own self-destruction, Anya Kamenetz has been looking a far larger picture: the whole American way of life. And I think she has a point.
small is possible: reconstructing local music
I just read Lyle Estill’s manifesto small is possible, an account of how he and others in Pittsboro, North Carolina (population 2,500) discovered how to feed, fuel, heal, and govern itself as a community. First off, the writing is simply first-rate. Lyle writes with humor, but also with a very …
Power, Passion, and Beauty
Last month I had the opportunity to read Power, Passion, and Beauty, the story of the Mahavishu Orchestra, published by AbstractLogix. As many of you can imagine, I’m a huge fan of John McLaughlin, and as a fan, the book did not disappoint. Meticulously researched the book’s organizing structure of …
Red Floor Records
Daniel Lanois is pursuing a new business model with Red Floor Records. I will be checking out the music of his first release, the soundtrack to the movie “Here is What Is”, but I have to confess, based on the description, I really want to see the movie (or the …