Something Interesting I Found

On Rags Gupta's blog, which can be seen on DigitalMusicNews.com, Gupta makes an interesting point about the music industry fighting against the "free" business model in regards to P2P downloading and other online music services.

"One can compete with the "free" business model; indeed competing against "free" protects you from lazy marketing. The bottled water industry is the most
obvious example of this, and it was raised by Prof. Moon. However, she raised an interesting point: imagine if consumers were used to getting music for free...do you think you could sell CDs? I'd think so: the value proposition would be around things like artwork, having a backup to the digital file, having a packaged playlist put together by someone else (so you're paying for editorial programming)."

I think Grupta is right on the money. They've gotten lazy in their marketing and sales. A little kick in the pants my give consumers a better product at a better price. Grupta has some pretty cool links to great bloggers in the industry. If you're interested in this kind of stuff, I'd suggest you check it out.

Keep the comments coming guys. How about getting a little academic conversation going on here.

Don't Forget!!!

Please get out and vote!!!

November 7th, 2006

If you need information on the candidates, check this out!

Project Vote Smart

Online Poker Ban Signed By President!

On Friday, October 13th, President Bush signed the new "Safe Port Act" that made it official: online poker is illegal. Wait, did I hear that right? Isn't the bill called the "Safe Port Act"? What on earth does that have to do with online gambling?

Nothing.

The "Internet Gambling Prohibition Act" was added to the "Safe Port Act" as a back door, get-it-out-the-door-before-elections-begin ploy that worked flawlessly. And since voting against increasing the safety in our ports is pretty much supporting Satan himself, the bill became law unanimously.

So instead of gaining approximately $3 billion in tax revenue from regulating and taxing (see the report here) the widely popular card game, they've outlawed it all together. Here are a few things Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) cited as reasons to ban online gambling:

-Internet gambling sites are unregulated.

Unfortunately, Senator Frist is wrong on this one. Many of the most popular sites are managed by the U.K. and Canada. They have some of the most complex algorithms to curb cheating on the planet and are fully licensed by the internationally recognized organizations. Funds are notoriously tracked and managed.

-Online gambling websites may fund terrorist organizations.

Please... I'm not even going to talk about this one.

-Poker addictions are running rampant! And there are underage gamblers all over!

Many online gambling websites use advanced software to detect the beginning signs of a gambling addiction and limit deposits by both amount and frequency. Not only that, they use strict procedures to ensure that there are no underage gamblers on the site. If there are, that means Mommy and Daddy know about it and are allowing Junior to illegally gamble.

Really, Congress just passed a bill that, in a survey, 74% of America didn't approve of. Gotta love the work they're doing.

And in a CNN poll, half of Americans think Congress is corrupt. I'm not getting into whether they are or not, but at the very least, nobody likes them. At least they have something to say about it in a few weeks.

Anyway, enough ranting. If you want to know more about the poker ban and how you can help, check out this website, the Poker Players Alliance.

And So It Begins...

Universal Music Group sues video hosting sites Grouper and Bolt.

See below for my comments on this.

What I've Always Wanted to Hear!

I was just browsing CNN.com and I came across THIS article under the "Education" section.

To sum it up, reputable scientists have concluded that video games can "reshape" the education industry. I'm sure they're not talking about adding "Def Jam: Fight for New York" into the ciriculum, but maybe parents and educators will finally realize the potential benefits of video games instead of using them as a scapegoat for the reason why kids are so angry today.

I just started playing Sim City 4 (and I'm about to start Civilization 4 too) and, let me tell you, it isn't as easy as it looks. I'm on my 5th city and I just finally balanced a budget where I'm making a few dollars instead of being in the red all the time. The game should be encoraged by parents, not shunned (well, as long as you don't play for 5 hours at a time like I did last night while I should have been doing some homework). Not only do you have to balance a budget with taxes and funding cuts, you have to create and make demand, keep your citizens happy with public services, manage traffic patterns, create and employ city to city business and the list goes on and on. You're not just running a single city and hoping a tornado doesn't come and tear it to pieces anymore; you're running multiple cities and intergrating them all to futher the society as a whole. It's pretty wild.

I did a speech last year on the positive effects of video games and it went off pretty well. There will always be Grand Theft Autos and Mortal Kombats, but the vast majority of video games, including the aforementioned one, provide incredible workouts for your brain. Some, like the Sims and Civilizations even have some historical and academic value to them as well.

Today's pop culture facinates me: South Park, video games, blogging, etc... So much that it even gets me to read about it. Check out this book if you're interested: Everything Bad is Good For You by Steven Johnson.

Another DRM Casualty

As Posted @ BelmontCopyright.org

Chalk up another DRM victory for Hollywood.

The TiVo Series 3 HD was missing a valuable feature when it was recently released: TiVoToGo. This highly regarded attribute to the digital video recorder allowed users to transfer programs to other devices and PCs. The difficulties arose when TiVo decided to incorporate CableCARD technology into the DVR hardware. CableCARD allows the high definition device to act like an everyday cable box while taking advantage of digital cable’s subscription services like HBO and video-on-demand. However, with pressure from Hollywood, CableCARD’s licensor has required adequate digital rights management (DRM - Check the link for a quick definition) on the device before it will allow TiVo to use the TiVoToGo feature on the new DVRs. Simply, as the Electronic Frontier Foundation puts it, “DRM gives Hollywood and these service providers a veto over innovation.”

(Don't forget: circumventing DRM, even for a legal use, is a violation of the DMCA)

…all at the expense of consumers. Why can't we just make it easy so I can buy a DVD and play it on my computer, my iPod and my TV and no one comes after me for infringment?

For more about TiVoToGo, DRM, CableCARD and what you can do to help, check out the following article HERE.

GooTube, a Trip to the Amazon and Wiener Dogs With Raincoats

Going back to our guest speaker, Siva Vaidhyanathan, and the Google/YouTube deal, I think I'm getting a little worried. It seems that even the infamous Mark Cuban is right on this one too. There's a few things that could happen now that Google bought YouTube for 1.65 billion dollars. I know it looks like Google/YouTube/GooTube comes out a winner in this, but I'm scared of what still might happen. If any of you have taken a basic law class in school, there's a wonderful and terrible thing called precedent. Now that YouTube has some deep pockets behind it, record labels are going to be itching to get their hands on it. And in comes precedent. Universal, Warner and the rest are sure file lawsuits against the small, copycat YouTubes that don't have the financial backing to put up a fight. And thus, the demise of the only thing that keeps YouTube running: the DMCA's "Safe Harbour" Act. With that precedent against the smaller, mimicking GooTubes, the record labels will bring the fight to the big leagues. With the leverage they now have, they'll rope Google into higher than anticipated licensing agreements or try to shut the down all together.

Maybe it's not as simple as that, but with the Google Library project and the recent acquisition of YouTube, it looks like it's starting to become Google vs. The Entertainment Industry. Personally, I'm rooting for Google, but I'm still worried. If Google loses this epic battle, there's no telling how the inter-nets might change. Not only that, but all of this legal stuff is going down in the Southern District of New York which seems to be favorable to anyone but the progressive copyright lobbyist.

In other news, Amazon.com is putting out a music download service. Another guest speaker we had, Scott Ambrose Reilly, Senior Manger of Digital Music at Amazon, told us a bit about it. Their aim is to take a bite out of the market that iTunes currently dominates. Looks like they might have a legit shot at doing so, because they may have an even larger catalog than iTunes and eMusic. The service is planned to launch in the first quarter of next year and I simply can't wait.

Since the birth of Amazon in 1995, they've been revolutionary in the online retail market. I love their low prices and cheap shipping. If they get a decent voice in the market, that mean that they'll be some stiff competition all around. Competition means lower prices and better service which is always a bonus for consumers. I love iTunes, but I don't want them to get complacent. There are certainly some things they can improve on.

On to a little different note: wiener dogs.

The other day, on my way home from class, I saw a man walking his wiener dog. Now, if you really know me, you know I'm biased towards dachshund. Back home in Wisconsin there's a little pooch named Gracie that always greets me with a wet tongue and a wagging tail (not to mention a weak bladder when she gets excited). But this night, it was raining and the dog was decked out in a yellow raincoat complete with a hood and leg holes. I'll be the first to admit it looked pretty cute, but don't you think that's a little ridiculous? Some people are a little too obsessed with their canines. But for your enjoyment, here's a picture I found on the inter-nets...

Fin

Gotta Be Like Everyone Else...

So here I am. I figured since I read so many blogs these days that I might as well start my own. Whether I have something meaningful to say or not remains to be seen, but at least I've got something written down for when I'm old and someone asks me what I've done my whole life.

Really, though, who will actually read this? How does one become a blogging superstar? Everyone has to start at the same place, but some of these guys (and girls) get a crazy number of hits per day. I'm sure it has to do with the quality of what one writes and maybe a catchy little title (I've already got that, I think), but what's the story behind these people? Well, at least you can say "I was here in the beginning when..." after I've become an international hit in the world of blogging. Sounds a bit far fetched to you too, right?

First up, a little about me. As I write this, I'm a 21 year-old Music Business major at Belmont University. I'm originally from a small town in Wisconsin but traveled to Nashville in search of stardom in the music industry (that last approximately 1 semester). Right now, I'm studying in New York City and interning at a local law firm. Eventually, I hope to be on the cutting edge of entertainment and IP law. Technology is certainly booming more than ever and I want to have a say in it. Hopefully, someone will listen. I've already have some opinions on what's going on and you'll definitely read them on here.

To get a little taste of what this might be like, I recommend you check out these blogs and sites that I frequent and enjoy. For the most part, I really agree with these guys (they actually are all guys this time) and hopefully I take a little something from each of them and mold it into me. And then, to close, I'll leave you with a quote I heard yesterday from Siva Vaidhyanathan, author of Copyrights and Copywrongs: The Rise of Intellectual Property and How it Threatens Creativity that really makes you think. So, without further ado...

Sivacracy.net
EMichaelHarrington.net
The Lefsetz Letter
DigitalMusicNews.com
Electronic Frontier Foundation

"Copyright law was meant to encourage new work, not simply protect the old."