John Robb covers his tale of woe with regard to XP and a re-install after a hard crash. He makes some good points about what the future may hold if Palladium takes off.

4:31:40 PM    

Can newspapers help make record companies obsolete?. - By Robin "Roblimo" Miller - I just downloaded Internet Porn from The Washington Post's Web site. It's one of the quirkier songs available from MP3.washingtonpost.com, a section of the Post's site that allows local musicians to self-publish their work online for free. MP3 download sections are not yet common in daily newspapers, but if enough of them pick up on the idea, newspapers could become as strong a promotional force in the music ... [Meerkat: An Open Wire Service

Wow. Way to completely sidestep the major labels for getting the word out. Since it's local news, the papers have an interest in promoting the bands, and the bands then have an in with a major media outlet in their area. Fantastic.

12:37:13 PM    

TiVo Use Might End Advertising, Free Up Our Airwaves. Jamie Kellner, chairman of Turner Broadcasting System, recently spoke to the Television Critics Association and warned them that free TV in the United States may be coming to an end. I for one think this would be a great thing. Let me explain why. [kuro5hin.org]

Interesting perspective on the role of advertising, revenue, and  an alternate plan for both.

9:21:13 AM    

Interesting, I was watching MTV2 last might and saw that The Red Hot Chili Peppers have their latest single, "By The Way" available as an MP3 for 99 cents. It seems to only be available via AOL though, as I cannot find a link from their site to it. Contrast this with the $9.99 price of the CD single.

Note to labels: Singles are supposed to be cheap. They are supposed to be a low cost way of getting people interested in your artists' music. Charging two thirds the price of a CD for one or two tracks (not counting remix/extended versions) is not just obscene, it's stupid. For that price it had better have MP3's (in low quality) of other tracks off the disc as well as some custom wallpapers and screensavers, not to mention super-sweet packaging.

8:40:57 AM