New studies say that music download has declined in the past few months. Recording industry analysts say record company lawsuits against downloaders seem to be having an impact. “Usage of Kazaa fell 15 percent from November 2002 to November 2003, according to comScore. Other peer-to-peer music-sharing sites also experienced usage declines. The drop at BearShare was 9 percent, while WinMX lost 25 percent of its audience and Grokster plunged 59 percent.”
Blog
Publishing Where Books Are Fun
How did a company named after a Marx Brothers movie get to be the biggest publisher in Canada? “The company was really based on whimsy. We would publish or distribute what we wanted to and what sometimes gave us a laugh and sometimes seemed clever or worthwhile. The Marx Brothers were always able to do that, they did everything on their own terms, but were always whimsical and funny. And we continue to do that.”
Euro Consumer Group Sues Big Music Companies Over Copy Protection
A European consumer watchdog group is suing major music companies over their copy-protection schemes. “Belgium’s Test-Aankoop said it was suing EMI, Universal Music, Sony and BMG in a Brussels court with the aim of forcing them to abandon the controversial practice of copy protecting CDs in order to prevent them being played on certain devices. It claimed that consumers are being illegally prevented from making back-up copies of their favourite CDs and that they are being deprived of their legal right to play CDs on computers and in car stereos.”
Musicians, UK Government Make Truce
British musicians have been fighting the government’s plans for new licensing of live music. But now, “in a move described by the Musicians’ Union as ‘unprecedented’, the arts minister, Estelle Morris, yesterday announced the formation of a task force whose sole aim was to safeguard the future of live music in England and Wales. Figures from the music industry, the Arts Council, local authorities, owners of small venues and the government will sit on the task force for two years.”
Subway Rap – Finding A Publisher On The A Train
Heru Ptah, 23, didn’t have a publisher for his book, so he took to the New York subway, selling copies at $10 a pop. Then MTV Books bought the book and sold another 25,000…
Independent Review Of WTC Plans
Plans for the World Trade Center site are being reviewed by preservationists. “As stipulated by the National Historic Preservation Act, the so-called Section 106 review requires that the site’s historical significance be officially evaluated before federal money can be used to rebuild it. For the first time, in other words, independent scholars will have the opportunity to address publicly the historical meaning of ground zero and its value to future generations. This is welcome news indeed. Not since the milestone Supreme Court decision that upheld the preservation of Grand Central Terminal has there been a landmarks issue of comparable importance to the future of urban America,” writes Herbert Muschamp.
Literature – A Battle For Hearts And Minds
“On the streets of Washington and across America, a war is being waged between popular novels and literary fiction. In this increasingly aliterate society – acrawl with people who can read but don’t – the battle for readers is a high-stakes campaign.” Publishers – and writers – are caught up in definitions of literary success…
A New Super-Museum For Thailand
Thailand has plans to build a large Smithsonian-style museum. “The project is intended to bring various kinds of museums under one roof – the new museum would have exhibits in eight fields _ science and technology, history, archaeology, art, anthropology, ethnicity, geography and environment.”
A Pirate Museum For Key West
An entrepreneur has announced plans to open a pirate museum in Key West (once the base to pirates). “The museum will feature items from his pirate collection, including a treasure chest from Capt. Thomas Tew and the last journal from Capt. William Kidd, a 17th Century pirate who was executed for his crimes. ‘I want people to say, ‘Wow!’ when they see it. We’ll take them back in time’.”
Artist Jailed For Selling Basquiat Fakes Finds Career Rolls Along
Alfredo Martinez was jailed in June 2002 for faking drawings by Jean-Michel Basquiat and and he’s serving a sentence of three years. “But that has hardly affected his artistic productivity: The work he has made in the pen has been in four shows, including solo exhibitions in New York and Paris…”