Recently in MP3 Players & Digital Audio Category

Apparently not much -- counter to the claims of the recording industry.

Check out this report entitled "The Effect of File Sharing on Record Sales: An Empirical Analysis," about a recent study that noted that illegal music downloads (you know who are are!) have less than a 1% affect on the sale of CDs.

In fact, there was a relationship between high downloads and high CD sales -- of course, depending on the artist.

All this goes to show that we still want our music -- whatever it may be -- and are willing to pay -- or not pay -- for it.

Just wish the recording industy would stop "crying wolf" all of the time about how bad things are ...

Everybody looked pretty good at the Grammy Awards the other night ...

Of course we're excited about Steve Jobs saying that he'd love to offer all of us free music on iTunes, but the record labels have his hands tied with their DRM schemes.

(All kinds of reports on that here and here.)

(Thanks for the image www.mccombs.utexas.edu.)

Easy to say you'd do it when you know you can't and you set up iTunes not to do it from the get-go.

Let's face it -- while everybody can take a very altruistic stance, we still live in a capitalistic society where people buy and sell goods and services.

Now this really won't get anywhere unless those who control the music (the records labels and some artists directly, sort of) decide that they can live with a smaller price for each song sold.

But it wasn't too long ago (well, maybe it has been a few years) that a single (but with a B-side) sold for 79 cents (so 40 cents a tune -- but maybe you didn't want that second song). So is 99 cents a song really that bad? (And even less bad a low low Wal-Mart?)

I'd be more juiced if CDs were priced at the same level for downloads as the physical CD -- will that day ever come?

Now I think I've heard everything!

Can you believe this report about a move to ban iPod use when crossing the street in crosswalks in "big cities" only across New York State?

The penalty: A $100 fine, if you please.

Now how about those savvy potential lawbreakers who decide to forego the crosswalks and jay walk instead. Is that safer? Is that smarter?

I like this idea even less the more I blog on about it. (Thanks newcopy.org for the photo.)

First it was radios on the beach (yes, loud, bad music is annoying), cell-phone-in-hand use in cars (yes, can be distracting) and now this (and the rationale is?????)

Don't the legislators have anything better to do than pick up gadget-loving citizens?

Is this law really going to accomplish anything?

Sure police officers will be particularly vigilant about enforcing this one ...

Three thunbs down would be a "strike out" in my book ...

What do you think about this?
 

Just in time for Valentine's Day, Apple Inc. (aka Apple Computer) and Apple Corp. (aka The Beatles) have worked out their long, long, long dispute about who owns the Apple trademark.

Now a glimpse of the details of the deal can be seen here,  but all we really care about is when is some of that vast trove of great music going to be made available for download -- like via iTunes?

Now that love is in the air, wouldn't it be nice if Valentine's Day was the day the dam broke? Nice idea ...

We'll keep it tuned ...

Well, it seems like the dreams and wishes of music fans around the world will soon come true.

According a report in today's New York Times, at least one major record label considering taking the copy restrictions off of its downloadable MP3 files. 

Now this would not make the MP3s free exactly, but would make them able to be copied and copied and copied from device to device to device ...

Obviously, this will put a dent into overall music sales, which have been treading water -- CD sales down, downloaded music sales up -- but the latter not up enough to make up for the fall in the "hard copy" sales.

Now, what's good for consumers here (the "gadget holders") isn't necessarily good for the record labels -- and why doesn't anyone ever talk about the recording artists in all of these discussions?

Seems they should be in the middle of this -- "Shouldn't I have some say in that decision?" as John Mayer would ask ...

I heard the news today, oh boy ...

Much buzz today about the apparent resolution of when and where (forget about if), the Beatles LPs/CDs will be available for download. More on that here.

Not too surprised that Apple (working with the Beatles' label, Apple Records -- nice coincidence, eh?) will apparently have a short, exclusive window to have the upcoming, newly remastered CDs available on iTunes.

(But am surprised about how often they can keep going back and remastering these albums over an over again ...)

Get those MP3 players (or at least iPods) ready!.

Let's see -- iPhone, Beatles on iTunes, Apple's year is off to a very fast start! What will the next act be ...

Looks like Pontiac is launching the 2007 Pontiac G5 on the Internet. I just saw a Google video ad on my blog stating that Pontiac is launching the G5 exclusively on the Internet. The images you see are snapshots I took of the Pontiac G5 video.






In the commerical they list off popular digital items, trying to market the Pontiac G5 as a "digital car". They list: digital watch, digital abacus, digital camera, digital phone, digital video, digital card, digital haircut (i.e. Photoshop), digital house, digital mouse, digital friends, digital planet, digital life (2nd Life), digital death (Pacman), digital mood, digital pet, and finally "digital car" - the G5. The ad explains the G5 has an mp3 jack for connecting your MP3 player, digital satellite radio, and even diagnostic emails. Not sure what the heck diagnostic emails are. Does that mean Pontiac will email you when it detects your engine is about to fail, or are they going to spam you with oil change reminders every 3,000 miles?

Apparently the Pontiac G5 is going to be nationally launched only on the Internet. I guess no one would pay attention if they launched this at the North America International Auto Show or the New York International Auto Show, when you have to compete with the likes of Porsche and Ferrari or even Vipers and Vettes. It's an interesting idea to launch on the Internet. Obviously this vehicle is targetted at tech-savvy youth who are looking for gadget-enabled digital cars to show off to their friends for the "coolness" factor. Obviously, with a base price of $14995, they are making it affordable for young adults as well.

I'll stick with my Viper and just add-on cool accessories and gadgets, thank you very much. Speaking of which, I still have a Kenwood 7" DVD player in the box I've been meaning to install.

Amid all of the excitement today about the Apple iPhone is an even bigger story -- Apple is now longer Apple Computer, but is now Apple Inc.

Nothing else could more emphatically underscore Apple's amazing transformation from a cool computer company into a full-fledged consumer electronics (or gadgets) company.  And not only underscore, but clearly point the direction in which the company is heading.

Check out Yahoo! News here for the renaming news.

Well, what are those two guys going to talk about now?

Well, this makes everything more and more curiouser ...

 

 

Everybody (including me) wonders why music downloads all cost 99 cents (or so).

(OK, Wal-mart is 88 cents per song).

Well, now we have an interesting article today about wholesale music download pricing -- a fancy term for how much music download sites, like iTunes, etc., pay record labels for songs. 

Well, does anyone out there care to venture a guess?

Times up -- it's apparently 70 cents per song, which gives the labels a nice piece of change and the download sites a nice markup.  That's apparently information contained in a lawsuit that the record labels don't want made public -- the better to see potential price fixing? A very bad, as in capital B, thing.

Did anyone come up with that number?

Without any physical items attached to the music (no CD to press, no jewel case to buy, no printing to be concerned about, no distribution costs), seems like 70 cents per song is a very nice payoff indeed for the record labels. 

And I bet the artists whose music is being downloaded will be very interested to know how much the labels are making ...