“Twitter has unleashed some major changes yesterday that give the site and its apps a cleaner look and some new Facebook-like features. Most of the changes are positive, though I did notice some design and readability issues on some Twitter homepages using both approved and custom skins. (Be sure to check to see how your’s looks.) Here’s a first look at some of the new features and a video tour:”
“Wikipedia, reddit, and others are going dark to protest the legislation, while sites like Scribd and Google will also protest. In response, MPAA chief Chris Dodd wheeled out the big guns and started firing the rhetoric machine-gun style. His statement feels unusually angry for the normally unruffled trade group, but the MPAA has long asserted that Google simply wants to profit from piratical ad money.”
“In his new book, Free Ride: How Digital Parasites are Destroying the Culture Business, and How the Culture Business Can Fight Back, longtime Rolling Stone contributor Robert Levine tackles head-on the subject of digital piracy and how tech giants such as Apple and Google are booming while the creators of content keep getting hurt. He argues forcefully for stronger copyright protection and offers ways to reach that goal.”
“The focus of the music industry is downloads – but is this the smartest move? Figures show most people still want to listen to CDs, plus there has been a boom in vinyl sales.”
“The music industry has been forced to reinvent itself thanks to the Internet. Ever since Napster first appeared on the scene, consumers have been finding ways to get their music for free, at the detriment of recording labels and artists. One answer to this issue has been the subscription music model: Services like Spotify, Last.fm, MOG, and Rdio are compromises between a market that is searching for profit models and customers who simply won’t spend what they used to.”
“The following is an excerpt from Brandew Matthews‘ article, The Evolution of Copyright, which originally appeared in Political Science Quarterly in December, 1890. It traces the “prehistory” of copyright — from ancient Greek and Roman times to the development of the printing press — and gives one explanation for its development.”
“I wake up every day thankful that I make a living and support my family with my work as a record producer. Unfortunately, this has become increasingly more difficult thanks to rampant piracy and the unabated and, to many, socially accepted act of file sharing.”
“BandPage creators RootMusic tracked the Top 250 Musicians on Facebook, looking for best practices and strategies that make them successful on the platform. “The important points to takeaway from this is that there is a huge active audience of music fans on Facebook,” concludes RootMusic, “and a large part of your success comes down to how to properly engage those fans.”
“What’s interesting about their analysis is it shows growth in downloads from services like iTunes slowing, while subscription services are taking off. This year, they say, susbscription services will account for just over $500 million in revenue, compared to more than $3.6 billion for downloads.”
“But wait: wouldn’t kids be the most progressive media consumers, the ones most comfortable with digital intangibility and conditional ownership? Guess not: according to a study shared by NPD Group, kids between the ages of 2 and 14 in the US still overwhelmingly purchase physical goods.”
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