A little piece of our own music... (Real Audio - 4:00) 

Security warning draws DMCA threat.  "Hewlett Packard has found a new club to use to pound researchers who unearth flaws in the company's software: the Digital Millennium Copyright Act."  [CNET News.com] 

Jake Savin:  "'mc' has a list of top contributers to Rep. Berman, one of the sponsors of the bill to allow media companies to hack into your computer..." 

Media giants: What's new is old  [CNET News.com] 

Will Cox:  "State Your Hypothesis. Test. Revise.  This post, like all others here, is subject to change without notice at the author's discretion."

The same applies around here.  Despite all those who like to dictate what weblogs are, what they should be, and what is proper, there are no rules except those imposed by the author.  I apologize to subscribers who end up seeing a post appear again after they just deleted it (it frosts me, too), but this is a work in progress and will always be.  And Will, please forgive me for testing and revising what you said... :~| 

So much for my vivid imagination...
Thanks to a reader named Jerry, I just found out that "guess who" is on the cover of the current issue of Time.  I was going to link to their website but since they use exit advertising, I won't.

So - welcome to the future of news.  It's the age of media giants who sell entertainment through news reporting.  It makes me want to throw up, especially because Bruce Springsteen is one of my favorite musicians.

By the way Sony, Columbia, AOL, Time, and CNN - all one of you - I know you own the copyright on the image to the right and before now, I've never grabbed an image from any site without permission, but this is what they call fair use, that thing you're all so busy trying to destroy... so sue me! 

Protesting Bush in Greensboro  [not quite random < mediajunkie.com] 

Breaking News?
Today, just a short while ago, I'm sitting in the living room watching CNN on the tube.  A "news" item about Bruce Springsteen's just released album comes on -- not just a mention, but a report that lasts for several minutes with interviews and coverage that really made it seem like news.  I'm thinking "this is odd - must be a slow news day."

Then a little light bulb goes on in my head.  I start to wonder if AOL Time-Warner has some sort of stake in the Boss' new album.  Could this actually be an advertisement masquerading as a news item?  Naaw.  They wouldn't do that, would they?  I have to admit that sometimes I think too much, but the question in my mind continues to burn.

So, I go to Google and search for "Bruce Springsteen Record Label" and end up at the Columbia Records site and see the new album mentioned with a link to brucespringsteen.net.  I also learn that there's a big connection between Columbia and Sony Music.  Then, it's off to Sony Music: History, where I find this:

"The decades of the 1960s and '70s witnessed exponential growth for CBS Records. The company began its own direct mail order club, Columbia House Company, today a joint venture with Time-Warner Inc. and the largest direct marketer of pre-recorded music and videos in the world."

Whoa!  I knew there must be a connection.  So, now I'm off to find out more and end up reading a press release - AOL Music to Host The Exclusive Global Premiere of Four New Songs From Bruce Springsteen's The Rising:

"Bruce Springsteen is one of the most successful performers of all time, and we are thrilled to play such an integral role in the release of this eagerly anticipated record," said Kevin Conroy, Senior Vice President and General Manager, AOL Music. "AOL Music has established itself as the first place where music fans can hear songs from today's top artists before anywhere else, and we're very pleased to offer these significant recordings to our members."

So either I'm just thinking too much or I just uncovered something that proves those big media/entertainment conglomerates aren't playing around.  They're playing hardball with all us "criminals" out here who put the food on their tables.  Imagine using a news report on one the world's foremost news networks to sell records!  If I'm wrong, just chalk it up to my vivid imagination.  But, if I'm right, remember you heard it here first... 

Ass-o-tron.  Automatically moons a site of your choice. (Doesn't seem to work with Boing Boing, though.) Link Discuss (Thanks, Howard!)  [Boing Boing Blog]

Unfortunately, it appears to work with jenett.radio and look where it put the darn thing:



hehe (I think)... 

Feds Round Up Alleged Internet Scammers.  FTC says 19 civil and criminal actions target Midwestern fraud perpetrators accused of bilking the public for millions of dollars using the Internet.  [internetnews.com: Top News] 

Microsoft upgrade plan gets cold shoulder  [CNET News.com]

"Overwhelming customer resistance" 

Dane Carlson:  "Steve Pilgrim's weblog Rodent Regatta is back online after 9 days, 7 hours and 25 minutes down. Congrats Steve!"

Yay!  Glad you made it, Steve... ;~)) 

Britney's dad pulls gun on teenage fans  [MyFreePress.com] 

Yeah... I delete posts, too, especially when I find that I've linked to a site that uses pop-under advertising!  I would never intentionally subject my readers to that crap... 

"Entertainment and Software Cartels Strike Again, and You Lose"   [Adam Curry's Weblog] 

DRM, DMCA, RIAA, MPAA, and Palladium.  "What do you plan to do about it? Or do you not mind that someone could dictate what you do on your computer, as well as watch your activities?"  [The Snewp] 

July 2002

 


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