iTunes tracks aren’t purchased but licensed
By Greg Swan, on September 8th, 2010%
From the Wall Street Journal:
In a decision that could affect the financial relationships between record labels and performers, a federal appeals court in San Francisco on Friday ruled that songs downloaded from Apple’s iTunes store are not actually purchased, but are rather “licensed” by the ostensible buyer.
The distinction is hardly academic. Under most recording contracts, artists are entitled to 50% of revenue from licensed uses of their music. That usually means soundtracks for movies, TV shows and ads. Sales, on the other hand generate royalties for the artist at a much lower rate—generally in the low teens, and rarely more . . . → Read More: iTunes tracks aren’t purchased but licensed
By Greg Swan, on September 1st, 2010%
Apple is a product company, evolving into a lifestyle company, now blazing a trail into social networking with its Ping announcement today.
I’m immediately skeptical. It’s just my nature.
Some thoughts before we’re able to install iTunes 10 and get to check it out:
Ping is a dumb name. It’s primarily a golf brand and a technical word for data notification. It’s un-ownable in Google and not worth trademarking.
Will this turn into yet another place for music marketers to sock puppet artists and astroturf fake fans and comments?
Where’s the WordPress plug-in for music bloggers? The html badge I can put in my sidebar?
But . . . → Read More: Semi-unimpressed with Apple Ping
Playlist challenged? Try Cimio
By Greg Swan, on October 28th, 2009%
The folks over at Scratch DJ Academy hooked me up with a trial of their beginner level beat matching software, Cimio, that allows you to create playlists from songs with similar beats per minute (BPM) and song structure.
It’s practically a fool-proof program, and they make no apologies for their three-step, elementary approach: “Cimio was designed for music fans who want to mix their music like DJs but don’t have the time or the money to invest in professional DJ software.”
I wouldn’t even compare it to mixing like DJs. You know when you want to pull together a playlist in iTunes, you . . . → Read More: Playlist challenged? Try Cimio
Scandinavian Internet radio stations through iTunes
By Greg Swan, on September 25th, 2009%
CC: Lisa Norwood
This is fun for a Friday. My friend Ruth Marie Sylte shares how to get Scandinavian Internet radio stations through iTunes over at Multe Music.
She translated it from a Norwegian blog, and it gives instructions on how you can import a fairly complete list of Internet radio stations (Danish, Norwegian, Swedish – pick one or all three) into iTunes. The stations are everything from the national broadcast stations to various musical styles to student university stations.
Check . . . → Read More: Scandinavian Internet radio stations through iTunes
By Greg Swan, on August 7th, 2009%
I’ve read countless articles that opine for the days of sitting on your bed staring at gigantic vinyl LP artwork while an album plays on a giant turntable in the background. It’s safe to say those days are dead, although there’s certainly a future for added-value album assets in the interactive realm.
For me — aside from the ultimate fan-boy, lust-after-anything-they-release bands (e.g., Radiohead, Dream Theater) — I tend to shy away from interactive extras and special release albums with bonus tracks. I just want the album, and I want to immediately rip it into digital form easily.
I’ll be the first to . . . → Read More: Will Cocktail Make You Buy Albums?
