July 24, 2006

'Pirates' Thriving, In Spite Of Pirates: from the file-sharrrrrrring dept at techdirt It's being pointed out that the new Pirates of the Caribbean sequel not only is the top movie at the box office, it's also atop the P2P file-sharing charts. This isn't the first time a movie's been widely downloaded and still done well at the box office, and it won't be the last, either. So despite what movie execs say, their films can "compete with free" -- and do pretty well. Whether it's offering something more convenient, offering moviegoers a better experience, or using free content as a jumping-off point to sell people other stuff, there's lots of ways movie studios and theaters can thrive in the face of file-sharing. But to do that, they've got to own up to the obvious, and quit blaming piracy instead of changing how they do business. 1:30:22 PM

Chart Attack Cohl famously anonymous Toronto Star - He started out as an 18-year-old strip club owner and today commands the biggest grossing rock tours in music history. Michael Cohl may very well be "the most famous man you've never heard of" "If you say to any American: `Did you know that the man who controls the rock 'n' roll industry, the man who controls the Rolling Stones, the man who the Rolling Stones don't make a move without ... operates out of Canada?' (That's) quite staggering." 11:10:26 AM

Somali Islamists say told by God to fight Ethiopia. MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Somali Islamist leaders told protesters on Monday that God had commanded them to fight Ethiopian troops sent to defend the Horn of Africa nation's virtually powerless interim government. [Reuters: World] 9:45:47 AM