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We're Not Who You Think We Are

Archives for March 2006

Radio Killed The Radio Star, Part One

March 20, 2006 by Kassia Krozser

Part One: The Music Industry Doesn’t Have A Clue, And The Government Isn’t Helping Either

Remember when it was just video killing the radio star? Today, it’s the Internet and satellite and the iPod and, let’s be frank, general boredom with the medium. Does radio have a future in a digital world?

This was the topic of a SXSW panel called “The Future of Radio” (perhaps it’s a sign of the times that the podcast doesn’t seem to be online yet, but the video is — link below). Panelists included moderator Kevin Smokler, Celia Hirschman of Downtown Marketing and KCRW, Roman Mars of WBEZ, Elise Nordling host of Indie Pop Rocks from SomaFM, and Tim Westergren of Pandora, bringing together lifelong radio listeners, public radio professionals, Internet radio stars, and purveyors of social networking applications.

Before the session started, I eavesdropped on a conversation between two long-time radio professionals. At one point, the man said, “I’m very, very interested in podcasting.” And I’m thinking, “So you should be, so you should be.”

[Read more…] about Radio Killed The Radio Star, Part One

Filed Under: Marketing, Mediacratic, Radio Tagged With: CARP, Celia-Hirschman, DMCA, Elise-Nordling, Future-of-Radio, Internet-Radio, Kevin-Smokler, Pandora, Roman-Mars, SomaFM, SXSW, SXSWi, Tim-Westergren, WBEZ

The Daily Loper – March 20, 2006

March 20, 2006 by Lopy

Todays links of interest:

  • Google sued for falling web traffic
    In other news, Microsoft sues Medialoper for failing to do an Origami story this week.
  • YouTube: Natalie Portman Rap Search
    Today’s (01:20PM 03-20-2006) search on YouTube for “Natalie Portman Raps” returned 2 results.
  • Startup to Wed Mobile Games, Live TV Shows
    The ultimate convergence between cell phones and television or just another way to keep people from talking to each other?
  • Chef’s Quitting Controversy
    Maybe Isaac Hayes didn’t quit willingly. As recently as Jan, he was defending the now infamous Scientology episode, but he’s been ill since then, so maybe somebody quit for him. Dun! Dun! Dun!
  • How to right the copyright wrongs
    Media companies are using DRM to undermine traditional copyright. This is a British perspective where they still have something resembling traditional copyright laws. In the US we have a thing called the DMCA that pretty much eliminated the rights of the commons.
  • TiVo Has Been Cutting Out More Than Just the Commercials Lately
    Software glitch leads to missing final moments of episodes; luckily, TiVo can fix the problem, which makes the networks who purposely try to game the time-shifting experience still the worst offenders in the new world.
  • Increasingly, the news ‘scoop’ is found online
    Finally, the end of the pointless local news teasers: “Comet to crash into Earth in the middle of the night. Learn more on our 11 p.m. broadcast.”
  • Nets to Fight FCC Indecency Fines
    Good for the networks. It’s about time someone fought back on this.
  • DVD format clash continues with Sony announcement of Blu-ray release date
    Target release date: July. Target price: 00. Target audience: people with money to burn, yet young enough not to remember VHS vs. Beta. So basically popstars, trust funders and athletes.

Filed Under: The Daily Loper

The New Music Model: DIY

March 20, 2006 by Kassia Krozser

By now, everyone knows the story of Clap Your Hands, Say Yeah: independent band finances own record, manufactures disks, ships copies, plays Letterman, lands on the soundtrack of an Office episode, and sells 90,000* and counting copies. All without a major label deal. For every record sold, the band is putting major cash in the bank; rather than a royalty after certain costs, they’re getting the whole enchilada after costs.

And that’s before you factor in live performances and merchandise. Now whether or not this band is a flash in the pan, one thing is clear: you can have success without the machine. Other bands are looking at this model, and thinking that DIY isn’t just for punks anymore. As we wrap up our coverage of this year’s SXSW festival, we turn our attention to music, and how the bands are viewing the future.

[Read more…] about The New Music Model: DIY

Filed Under: Mediacratic, Music Tagged With: Clap-Your-Hands-Say-Yeah, Four-Day-Hombre-SXSW, Indie-103.1, Indie-Music, major-labels, Neil Young

The Daily Loper – March 19, 2006

March 20, 2006 by Lopy

Todays links of interest:

  • Sirius reaches accord with Universal, Warner Music
    Sirius agrees to pay Universal & Warner Music extra fees because they dared make a player that allowed — gasp!! — individuals to record songs for future playback!! Universal & Warner will pass the fee back to consumers in form of lower CD prices. Not.
  • YouTube: Natalie Portman Rap Search
    This afternoon’s (03:26PM 03-19-2006) on YouTube for "Natalie Portman Raps" returned 2 results.
  • Scientology vs. ‘South Park’ — The Tom Cruise Episode Controversy
    As always, Matt & Trey sum it up: "So, Scientology, you may have won THIS battle, but the million-year war for earth has just begun! You have obstructed us for now, but your feeble bid to save humanity will fail!"

Filed Under: The Daily Loper

The Weekly ‘Loper – March 19, 2006

March 19, 2006 by Jim Connelly

While you were figuring out ways of getting around your Network Admin policy of cutting you off from March Madness, we were dissecting the panels we attended at this year’s SXSW:

  • Librarians vs. The Search Giants – Sure, that sounds like a particularly bad Monty Python skit, instead, it’s a spot-on recap of a SXSWi panel about the issues surrounding the digitialization of books.
  • My Sony Settlement, Part 1 – Is there anything more disheartening than being part of the winning side of a class-action settlement against a evil multinational?
  • Fast, Cheap, and Redefining News: Rocketboom – Can people still create quality content without being backed by huge corporate infrastructure? Duh!
  • The Darknet Panel: Meet the Consumer – Wanted: a way to be anti-piracy without being anti-consumer.
  • Nick Denton is the Most Generous Man on the Internet – Another report from SXSW, but less on a hard-hitting panel discussion, and more about free drinks and pool playing Roombas. Really.

Filed Under: The Weekly 'Loper

LaLa Love You

March 19, 2006 by Jim Connelly

Sometimes new media media ideas get retrofitted into older media. A perfect example of this is a start-up called LaLa, which takes distinctly new media concept — using the Net to share files — and applies it to an older technology, the Compact Disc.

Part MySpace, Netflix, eBay and iTunes, La la incorporates pieces of each: Users list online the CDs they both want and have. In the process, they find others who share the same taste in music. Then, when one user requests a CD that another person owns, the owner drops it in the mail in a pre-paid envelope. The receiver is billed $1, plus 49 cents for shipping; the shipper pays nothing.

It’s devilishly simple, of course, and 100% legal.

[Read more…] about LaLa Love You

Filed Under: Music Tagged With: CD, file-sharing, iPod, LaLa, RIAA

The Daily Loper – March 18, 2006

March 18, 2006 by Lopy

Todays links of interest:

  • Georgia College Pushes for iPod Ingenuity
    The iPod is making the world safe for studying again.
  • iTunes slips by proposed French DRM law
    Just don’t call them Freedom Tunes.
  • U.S. Is Denied Google Queries
    Best reaction I’ve read: Doesn’t the government know how to use Google to search for this stuff?
  • YouTube: Natalie Portman Rap Search
    This afternoon’s (03:28PM 03-18-2006) search on YouTube for "Natalie Portman Raps" returned 2 results. Where are NBC’s lawyers??
  • Niche companies find new markets for Hollywood studios.
    All of those Christians? From H’wood’s standpoint, a niche market.
  • After Years Of Talk, High-Def DVD Era Set For Soft Launch
    At this point, "Soft" is actually a bit of an exaggeration.
  • Change afoot for Yahoo! Mail users
    Apparently it’s new and improved and ready to take on gmail. But the big question is whether not their spam filter has been upgraded.

Filed Under: The Daily Loper

The Daily Loper – March 17, 2006

March 17, 2006 by Lopy

Todays links of interest:

  • It’s Madness: Net hit with record traffic
    And they said the new media wouldn’t catch on with the kids. March Madness hits every office in America. With one notable exception.
  • Forgent Uses ‘Trolling’ As Business Model
    The good news is that patents eventually expire. Forgent, of course, is just biding its time; when the cash cow runs dry, they have, uh, business scheduling software waiting in the wings.
  • Proposed French Law Targets iTunes DRM
    The French don’t like proprietary systems — Apple becomes the new Microsoft.
  • Microsoft California Class Action Settlement
    Microsoft stopped accepting claims in California on Jan. 8 2005. Projected date when we can expect our vouchers – maybe the end of 2006. Then again, maybe not. You call this consumer justice?
  • YouTube: Natalie Portman Rap Search
    This morning’s (09:07AM 03-17-2006) search on YouTube for “Natalie Portman Raps” returned 2 results.
  • U.S. Judge Dismisses Google Copyright Case
    It could be suggested that some people just aren’t right. Among other things.
  • Making it easier to get your Phil
    You can now download your philharmonic. Should make jogging that much more fun.
  • Radio group calls for ‘smarter, more effective’ CRTC policy
    Canada is a great country: they’re talking about the issues that the United States should be talking about. Like, oh, the fact that radio isn’t just that thing that comes through the speakers in your car.
  • How much entertainment is too much?
    This is a lovely introduction to Medialoper’s upcoming discussions about new media and the need for savvy curators.
  • Will CBS, WB Go Extra Mile for New Network ?
    And here we have the number issue facing the new CW – the commute. Hey, it’s LA, location really matters. Programming? What programming?
  • Big media and the internet
    Here is the problem: new media requires nimble moves. Old media can’t move quickly. If the old media wants to maintain dominance, it needs to stop worrying and learn to love mistakes.
  • Twelve Newspapers in a State of Nature
    Now that the McLatchy media empire has absorbed the Knight-Ridder empire (do empires absorb or swallow?), the question of what happens to the briliant San Jose Mercury News? And, of course, what happens to the great journalism K-R has been advocating?
  • Korea drops file share cases
    82 people, “mostly teenagers” have either settled, or just had their cases dropped altogether after deleting the files.
  • Amazon poised for film downloads assault
    If they do, will that mean that everybody else planning film downloads might as well just pack up their servers and go home?

Filed Under: The Daily Loper

What The Office Will Do on its Summer Vacation

March 17, 2006 by Jim Connelly

While other TV shows will be taking their summer vacations, much of the cast of The Office will  be participating in a series of webisodes that will be available from NBC.com this summer.  According to an NBCU press release, there will ten eps: a story arc centering on a missing $3000, and the attempt to locate it. 

And in keeping with this season’s emphasis on the secondary and tertiary characters, the webisodes won’t have most of the big names: Steve Carrell, John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer and B.J. Novak.  Those people will be getting to take actual full vacations.  Sounds more and more like a real office, doesn’t it?

Conspicious by his presence is Rainn Wilson, which causes us to make a prediction: Dwight done it.  No doubt to finance the purchase of a of a brand-new Prism DuroSport 6000.

  • No Summer Vacation for NBC’s The Office

 

Filed Under: Television Tagged With: NBCU, prism-durosport, Television, The Office, webisodes

The Daily Loper – March 16, 2006

March 16, 2006 by Lopy

Todays links of interest:

  • Companies Fear Spread of March Madness
    I can tell you how one large corporation is dealing with this fear: blocking all sports sites. Not the college basketball parts, but ESPN in toto; CBS Sportsline in toto, etc. Even frackin’ MLB.com!! Which, of course, will drive hardcore fans to other measures.
  • March Madness may be crazier than usual
    Beyond the “free” broadcasts: Live Webcasts, On Demand, iTunes summaries. Tons of it. Everywhere. They’re doing it right, and possibly overloading entire corporations’ networks to boot!! It almost makes us wish we actually cared about college hoops.
  • YouTube: Natalie Portman Rap Search
    This morning’s (08:25AM 03-16-2006) search on YouTube for “Natalie Portman Raps” returned 4 results.
  • Gates Sketches Out Vision for the Future
    Excuse me, I’ve got an email coming through on my wallet. Where the hell did I put that thing?
  • Movie Theaters May Ask to Jam Cell Phones
    Not surprisingly, Kirk has a solution for this very problem. It too will require an Act of Congress.
  • Cable industry slams a la carte study
    In an escalating game of “my study can beat your study up”, today, the cable industry strikes back. The bad news? When the FCC does studies, taxpayers pay.
  • Why The Web Is Hitting A Wall
    Why Business Week is hitting the wall: in its first example, the person clearly *does* use the Internet. Is it his fault that he’s too lazy to point and click on his own?
  • CBS Facing 3.6 Million Fine For Indecency
    The issue? Trying to turn television into “Leave It To Beaver”? The problem? Programming can’t deal with real issues in a world where sex is deemed “indecent.

Filed Under: The Daily Loper

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Previously on Medialoper

  • Certain Songs #2542: Sugar – “The Act We Act”
  • Certain Songs #2541: Sufjan Stevens – “Too Much”
  • Certain Songs #2540: Sufjan Stevens – “Djohariah”
  • Certain Songs #2539: Sufjan Stevens – “Heirloom”
  • Certain Songs #2538: Sufjan Stevens – “Casimir Pulaski Day”

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