music – Jane Siberry says “pay-what-you-want”

On September 1, 2006 By Rick McIn economics, internet, music, product endorsementsLeave a comment

UPDATE: Jane sold her house and let go of most of her possessions. Sounds a lot like my philosophy of voluntary simplicity.

Oh, and she has changed her name to “Issa”.

album cover I am a big Jane Sieberry fan. Especially the When I Was a Boy album. (critically applauded, commercially negligible)

Siberry is an artist who deserves more attention.

Jane Siberry is leveraging the net and economics to make for a new way to make money selling her tunes online. Basically, she lets you pay what you want, when you want – … Net result? It looks like given a choice, on average, people pay *more* than at iTunes!”

Boing Boing: Freaknomics on Jane Siberry’s pay-what-you-want music store

See for yourself:

Jane Sieberry’s on-line music store

music – OK Go – Here It Goes Again

On August 28, 2006 By Rick McIn humour, musicLeave a comment

The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There’s also a negative side.

– Hunter S. Thompson

Hunter S. Thompson Quotes

You have to admit, Hunter had a way with words.

The music industry is changing. Artists can bypass the pimps and thieves, posting their best stuff on YouTube directly.

Hunter Thompson would have loved this video by OK Go.

Click PLAY or watch the clip on YouTube.

video – awesome guitarist

On August 27, 2006 By Rick McIn musicLeave a comment

UPDATE:

Web Guitar Wizard Revealed at Last – New York Times

One of the most watched videos in YouTube history.

It’s some Korean guy calling himself funtwo in his bedroom performing a rock version of Pachelbel’s Canon composed by JerryC.

Few would ever have heard of funtwo if not for the internet. This video has been streamed well over 6 million times.

Click PLAY on the video below or watch the clip on YouTube.

music publishers cry foul for “teaching music”

On August 10, 2006 By Rick McIn internet, musicLeave a comment

You might say I am “soft” on protection of copyright.

It’s not exactly one of my 10 commandments.

It is this kind of story which makes me so unsympathetic to the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) and the Music Publishers’ Association (MPA) of America.

Dvorak Uncensored » Music Publishers Now Say Teaching Someone To Play A Song Is Copyright Infringement

music – Macy Gray – thumbs down

On July 30, 2006 By Rick McIn music, product complaintsLeave a comment

If I MUST see live music, there is no better venue than outdoors on Prince’s Island at the Calgary Folk Music Festival.

The headliner on Friday night in 2006 was Macy Gray.

Gray’s profane show was sloppy. Her vocals slurred and often lost in the mix. I was disappointed. The only highlights were her two funky backup singers.

Moreover, some drunk girl tripped over me. Then cursed me as a poor fan for not standing throughout her show. (Is it impossible to enjoy music while sitting?)

Gray was booed in 2001 after forgetting the words to the American national anthem. I have to assume she is no one I would want to know in real life.

I love Macy Gray’s recorded music. But thumbs down on the live show.

music – London Calling – Clash

On July 28, 2006 By Rick McIn musicLeave a comment

This is one of the best album covers of all time.

Great music too.

Just saw Bedouin Sound Clash — they reminded me of the Clash in a way.

radio – Sook-Yin Lee – DNTO

On July 26, 2006 By Rick McIn audiocasts, humour, music, product endorsementsLeave a comment

A lifelong CBC AM radio listener, these days I am reduced to listening almost exclusively via podcast. Radio on demand, when and where I want.

Best is downloading the podcasts to my MP3 player and listening while cycling.

My favourite show is Definitely Not the Opera, the weekly pop culture wrap-up hosted by talented Sook-Yin Lee in Winnipeg. It is consistently excellent.

Check it out on the DNTO website. You can download the podcast from iTunes, of course. It’s free.

DRM – Digital Rights Management

On July 13, 2006 By Rick McIn movies, musicLeave a comment

James Kim posted a nice summary of the DRM controversy:

MP3 Insider: Rallying behind the eMusics of the world – CNET reviews

Two of his points rang true with me:

DRM seems to be used less to thwart piracy and more to establish a dominant position in the music industry.

That’s certainly true of the iTunes store. It’s Apple’s business model.

I’m not anti-DRM, but I have a problem with closed DRM schemes–I’ll buy DRM tracks if I can play them on any device. … I have purchased many iTunes and WMA tracks and find it deplorable that I can’t play my music on all my devices.

Those computer savvy and ethically flexible enough to download music illegally may continue to do so — after getting ticked off when music they bought legally will not play on a new MP3 device or computer.

larger propoganda on crfp.com