There has been a lot of complaining in the media for the past few weeks regarding online privacy. A fantastic infographic was recently published which is helpful in visualizing how Facebook has changed their default privacy settings from its inception in 2005 to today.

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Apple uses Justice Department's ruling to take on Ticketmaster/Live Nation

April 28, 2010

In January the U.S. Department of Justice approved the merger of Ticketmaster and Live Nation — creating the behemoth Live Nation Entertainment. LNE’s deal with the DoJ required that several divisions of each company would be broken-off to allow for competition. Here enters Apple.

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Information is Beautiful answers: How Much Do Artists Earn Online?

April 27, 2010

When working with a “top ten” MySpace artist several years ago, I was privy to the financial aspects of their earnings from MySpace Music. I was stunned by how little had been earned. Since then I have been one of the few technologists who evangelize that physical product is still king.

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Secrets of an Early Adopter: Understanding the rule of Centralization vs. Syndication

April 12, 2010

Wouldn’t it have been wonderful if you would have been quicker to embrace YouTube or Twitter? Instead of waiting to see what everyone else is doing, wouldn’t it be great if you could instantly parse good ideas from bad? In this article, I explain the key principles which early adopters use.

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Vendor Review: Scatter Tunes and their patent pending technology

April 7, 2010

Scatter Tunes is software for desktop computers which allows music fans to have a more interactive experience with an album, called V-Albums. Scatter Tunes works directly with record labels and, in turn, the record label promotes the V-Albums as a premium offering to fans.

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In 2010, The Old Model is still the Best Model

March 10, 2010

I am often asked about the challenges technology poses to music. Hipsters expect me to embrace emancipation — expecting I don’t oppose P2P. Music executives expect me predict their demise — anticipating I don’t appreciate their accomplishments. My response surprises people.

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Why has everyone stopped talking about Piracy?

March 8, 2010

Although we are seeing a growth in paid-for digital music, 95% of all digital music is acquired illegally. Big industry players are scrambling to prevent recorded product from becoming too inexpensive. News flash: music is already commoditized. It is time to change strategies.

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YouTube darlings OK Go say an overdue goodbye to EMI

March 8, 2010

I remember thinking that there was a culture clash waiting to happen when OK Go signed to EMI in 2001 — after their videos “went viral” on YouTube. When EMI recently began blocking content from YouTube’s embedded players, it became a matter of time before the relationship would end.

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Flashback to 1989, Piracy is not a new Problem

March 8, 2010

I frequently hear fellow music professionals blame piracy for the subpar state of the music economy. Although I agree with their premise, they treat piracy as though it is something new. Nothing could be further from the truth. Wouldn’t you agree that theft has always been a core issue?

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Having Friends won't help you in Social Media

March 8, 2010

The value of a record label is in its relationships. If People.com loves your big artist, they will pay attention to your new artist. The same for radio. However, a million fans on Facebook for your big artist does not do squat for your new artist. What can you do to game the system?

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