DISCLAIMER: Music files shared here are for sampling purposes only and are intended to bring joy to music lovers. I strongly believe that music-sharing results in more awareness for artists and as a result, more revenue. If your music is featured in a Share Me Sunday post and you are opposed to this sharing philosophy, please email me at info@shinydotbulletin.com and I will take the file down right away. Respect.
The man who created the Backstreet Boys and ‘N Sync has been sentenced to 25 years in prison on four federal charges.
But Judge G. Kendall Sharp in Orlando, Fla., said today (May 21) he would reduce the sentence by one month for every $1 million that Lou Pearlman returned to the investors he stole from.
Pearlman pleaded guilty in March to two counts of conspiracy, money laundering and using false statements in a bankruptcy proceeding.
He is most famous for creating “boy bands” that sold millions of records. But prosecutors alleged he bilked thousands of people out of millions of dollars in a decades-long investment scam.
Verdict: largely underwhelming. Really appreciate Chris Martin’s moves though, he’s got a unique squirm in his indie rock writhing… a response to Scott Weiland’s grunge-era squirm-calls perhaps.
This song is definitely growing on me in a “hi, I’m a radio-friendly Coldplay track” kind of way.
TV, games, tours and more: How smart bands thrive today
FRED GOODMANPosted May 29, 2008 5:00 AM
For Austin rockers Spoon, 2007 was a breakthrough year — but not because they sold a lot of records. Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, their album on the indie label Merge, garnered more radio play than any disc in their 15-year history and earned them an appearance on Saturday Night Live. So far the disc has moved just over 250,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan — about half of what Spoon’s manager, Ben Dickey, believes it would have sold even five years ago. “But as far as the band is concerned, the record is a hit,” says Dickey.
The reason? CD sales are no longer the yardstick the band uses. While hip-hop and pop artists ranging from Jay-Z to Britney Spears have long used recordings to sell every- thing from perfume to liquor, rockers are only just starting to think of album sales as a component — rather than the sum of — the commercial equation. Spoon have been actively licensing their music for use in films, television shows and a Jaguar commercial, making money, gaining exposure and moving up from clubs to 3,000-seat venues.
Album sales are down 25 percent since 2000, leading to widespread predictions of the record business’ demise. But smart artists and managers are finding new ways to reach fans and make money. “For some bands we represent, there’s more licensing income than record sales,” says Carol Sue Baker, whose Ocean Park Music Group has been connecting independent artists with music supervisors for movies, TV and advertising agencies since the early 1990s.
First up, Conservative Senator Marjorie LeBreton. When asked to respond to the fact that 40,000 Canadian Facebook users have organised against Bill C-10, LeBreton responds:
Honourable senators, I have been asked about Facebook before. I never look at Facebook because I do not understand the technology. I think the concept is dangerous.
Awesome. Even more awesome when you consider the fact that Canada represents the greatest number of Facebook users per capita.
And really, Facebook is just the tool and largely beside the point. LeBreton chooses to use her ignorance of Facebook (and hostility towards) as a shield to elude the heart of the question - 40,000 people have organised to speak out against Bill C-10, what do you think of that?
Next up, Jim Prentice, Minister of Industry, acts like an ass and also eludes questioning around the push towards DMCA-style copyright legislation when confronted by the obviously-informed Charlie Angus, Timmins—James Bay, NDP:
As has been pointed out time and time again, Canada does not have poor copyright legislation currently. From Michael Geist:
Moreover, the World Economic Forum ranked Canada’s intellectual property protection fourth in G8, ahead of both the U.S. and Japan. That ranking may reflect the fact that there are many areas where Canadian law is actually far stronger than the U.S., including our more limited fair dealing provision, the existence of crown copyright, the significantly higher copyright fees for broadcasters and educators, as well as Canada’s the heavy reliance on copyright collectives.
If net neutrality is not on your current affairs radar, it bloody well should be.
Will Antitrust Law Save Net Neutrality?
Congressman wants to use old regulations to prevent Internet discrimination
By Martin H. Bosworth
ConsumerAffairs.Com
May 12, 2008
The ongoing struggle to protect “net neutrality,” the right of consumers to access content on the Internet equally, took a new turn as members of Congress introduced legislation that would treat interference or content-blocking as violations of antitrust law.
The “Internet Freedom and Nondiscrimination Act of 2008,” introduced by House Judiciary Committee chairman John Conyers (D-MI) and co-sponsored by Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), would require Internet service providers (ISPs) to interact with each other on a “reasonable and nondiscriminatory basis,” and would require network operators to ensure that all content, applications, and services are treated the same and not favored over others when consumers access them.
“Americans have come to expect the Internet to be open to everyone,” said Conyers. “The Internet was designed without centralized control, without gatekeepers for content and services. Many of the innovations and products we use every day, such as search engines, music download services and online video, likely would never have developed in such a restricted environment.”
I heard the Queens of the Stone Age cover of Romeo Void’s “Never Say Never” on woxy last night as I prepared a turkey meatloaf - the meal of choice to accompany an impending evening of Battlestar Galactica (three episodes in a row… my head is still spinning).
Wow - what a great cover. Not usually my cup of tea genre-wise, Queens of the Stone Age consistently impress my pants off.
* This cover is ancient! It lives on the The Punisher soundtrack, and um, no wonder I missed it. Could I care less about this movie or any of the other bands on the soundtrack?
Let’s play a game: “Guess who’s had media training?”
It’s amazing how the hosts are really willing to bend to American market interests as opposed to listening to Howard about the facts and issues.
I’d also like to point out that despite all of the allegations that “piracy” is destroying the entertainment sector, the following was still able to occur:
Grand Theft Auto IV is not just a gleaming cube of excellence. By selling 3.6 million copies and raking in US$310 million in its first day of release, GTA IV claimed both the Guinness World Records for highest grossing video game in 24 hours and the highest revenue generated by an entertainment product in 24 hours.
This has established GTA IV as the biggest entertainment release of all time, quite a feat when you consider other blockbusters such as Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows, which took in US$220 million, and Halo 3, with US$170 million.
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