Amazon has begun “Amazon Connect, begun late last month to enhance the connections between authors and their fans – and to sell more books – with author blogs and extended personal profile pages on the company’s online bookstore site. So far, Amazon has recruited a group of about a dozen authors, including novelists, writers of child care manuals and experts on subjects as diverse as real estate investing, science, fishing and the lyrics of the Grateful Dead.”
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Indie Music Benefits From Tech
“Exploiting online message boards, music blogs and social networks, independent music companies are making big advances at the expense of the four global music conglomerates, whose established business model of blockbuster hits promoted through radio airplay now looks increasingly outdated.”
Italy’s New Art Recovery Strategy
Italy is negotiating with American museums over artifacts that may have been stolen. “The strategy is part of a broader offensive to crack down on stolen antiquities. Italy has gained additional clout – at least in terms of public awareness – from the current criminal trial of Marion True, a former curator at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, and of antiquities dealers with ties to top American museums. There has been a real change in the last year or so in how the Italians deal with the antiquities issue. They have become very creative.”
NY Attorney General Takes On Recording Studios Over Downloading
New York’s attorney general has filed subpoenas against music recording studios in an investigation of price fixing for music downloads. “Music industry sources said the current probe appeared to center on whether the Big Four music studios — Warner, Sony Corp’s Sony BMG Music Entertainment, EMI Group and Vivendi’s Universal Music — colluded to set wholesale pricing for song downloads.”
Mom Fights RIAA Downloading Lawsuit
A New York mom is standing up to the recording industry which wants to sue her for illegal downloading. She says she hasn’t. “The woman from Wappingers Falls, about 80 miles north of New York City, is among the more than 16,000 people who have been sued for allegedly pirating music through file-sharing computer networks. The industry is demanding thousands of dollars to settle the case, but Santangelo, unlike the 3,700 defendants who have already settled, says she will stand on principle and fight the lawsuit.”
Who’s Buying Recordings? Older People!
“The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) report found 59% of over-50s had bought an album in the previous three months and 29% bought at least six CDs a year. Favourite artists include Il Divo, Rod Stewart, Tony Christie, Katherine Jenkins, G4 and Ronan Keating. The BPI said older music fans were driving a growth in sales. Nearly a quarter of all albums are bought by older music fans, and that percentage is set to grow as the UK population ages.”
Better Dancing Makes Better Lovers?
Rutgers University anthropologists, for the first time collaborating with University of Washington computer scientists have linked dancing ability to desirability. The best dancers, they found, have the greatest body symmetry.
Fletcher Named To Run Aspen Music Festival
“Alan Fletcher, head of Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Music, has been named the new president and chief executive officer of the Aspen Music Festival and School.”
NY Transit Strike Hit Off-Broadway Hard
“In three chaotic days, the Transit Workers Union inflicted a lot of pain in Gotham. The realm of off-Broadway theater — which operates on razor-thin margins — felt more than its share.”
Hyperion Pays Out On Settlement
The beloved classical recording label Hyperion has settled its dispute with a musicologist who sued over copyright. “Hyperion last week settled costs with Carter Ruck, the firm which represented Lalande, Lionel Sawkins, after receiving an invoice for £758,000. The final settlement left Hyperion with a total bill of £950,000, which included their own costs and damages to Dr Sawkins – close to what Hyperion would spend on music-making over an entire year.”