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The Internet ... Once Again, Blame Al Gore
January 23, 2009
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"While you've been blustering and bumbling through the computer age ... your whoopee-like seven-year old can remote the Space Shuttle to land on the 405 freeway. When it comes to computers, your kids are MavGyver and you are a Hasidic Amish guy. And when your complete lack of knowledge becomes painfully obvious to your children, they will take the same condescending tone that Alex Trebek takes when he corrects somebody on 'Jeopardy.'"
-- Dennis Miller, 'Computers' from his book "Ranting Again"Back in April 7th issue of 2006 I wrote a commentary titled "Blame Al Gore ... He Invented The Internet ... Not."
It was the Nobel Peace Prize Winner Gore who said in an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer back on March 9,1999, "During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet."
Perhaps when ALL the scientists are listened to one day (not just the ones siding with Gore), Al can one day rephrase that to say, "Back when I was doing nothing after I lost the election, I had plenty of spare time so I took the initiative in creating a great PowerPoint slide show on global warming and how we only have 10 years left before the planet dies. Maybe my data wasn't all that complete or accurate, but I was sincere in my efforts to alert the nations of the world that our 'carbon footprints' were all too large."
Al should have installed a First Alert Carbon Footprint Alarm in his own house because his own home uses more than 20 times the national average. ( Source: http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/gorehome.asp )
While big Al (and he has gained a ton of weight, have you seen him lately?) flies around in private jets (more carbon footprints big time) with his PowerPoint presentation, hundreds and hundreds of scientists with just as much credibility as those he mustered to scare us all with, now say that global warming is not occurring because of man, it's part of a weather cycle that's been going on since the planet was born. If you don't believe me, do the research online, it's just as equally overwhelming as all the hype Gore put out there.
Don't get me wrong here. I'm not against going "green" for the planet. I just don't want to go green while Al uses up all my carbon footprints.
But, I digress. Back to Al's dastardly creation, the Internet.
This week a report came out labeling today's youth as "the toxic web generation" that spend as much as six hours a day in front of their computer screens. ( http://tinyurl.com/9zmg7g )
The report says that kids are reading less and spending less time outdoors as they hit their computer keys faster than you can shut down those pages you don't want your boss to see while you "surf the net" at work.
"Children as young as five are turning their bedrooms into multi-media 'hubs' with TVs, computers, games consoles, mp3 players and mobile phones all within easy reach," the article says. Is this news to any parents who have bought those very things for their kids so they can keep them happy and occupied while they watch whatever they want on that new big screen in the family room?
The danger in the report is that some fear "the next generation will struggle to compete in the adult world because they lack reading and writing skills."
Really, is that a danger? Aren't those same kids READING stuff online? Okay, much of what they are reading about is how to download free movies, music, and dare I say it ... porn? But they are reading.
More from the article: "Almost a third take a games console to bed rather than a book, while a quarter never read in their own time. And instead of kicking a football around, more than a quarter of boys regularly meet in an online games 'environment' where they discuss tactics and technical problems."
Discussing "tactics and technical problems." Gee, sounds to me like these kids will be well-prepared for finding work in the tech arena whether they can toss that pigskin around or not. With jobs in the information technology sector paying a whole lot more than the private sector average, they'll do fine.
And this: "Parents justified Internet access on the grounds that it would help with homework but the survey found education had become an 'afterthought', with only 9% of youngsters looking up information for schoolwork the last time they went online."
So the parents realize this and do nothing? Whatever happened to parenting? Oh yeah, that went out the door when they gave their kids the computers, iPods and cell phones and told them to play in their rooms so mommy and daddy could do whatever they wanted and not be bothered. (Geez, this isn't the 'Oprah' show ... sorry folks)
If all these parents want to blame somebody for all the time their children are spending on the Internet (and away from TV, and how can that be a bad thing?), then they can blame Al Gore. Blaming anybody is always better than taking personal responsibility for something isn't it?
Now, if you'll excuse me, it's time for me to go. My YouTube videos are loaded and ready to watch.
And Now This...
Whether or not it's a result of programming, "Softening ratings for MTV may exacerbate the effects of a weak TV advertising market for parent Viacom, says Barclays analyst Anthony J. DiClemente. He estimates MTV's ratings were down about 24% in the fourth quarter, as younger viewers moved online." (Source: http://tinyurl.com/9a979c )
Maybe it's because music videos are available online 24/7 at a whole bunch of websites. Maybe it's because the MTV audience is burning out on the "reality" shows that take up so much of the schedule. I put reality in quotes here because when there is a film crew standing a few feet away from you when you are allegedly going about your daily business, how real can it all be?)
And maybe again, it's because the "M" in MTV used to stand for "Music." Now that "M" could stand for "Mundane."
Music Industry Needs To Learn From Web's 'Dark Side'
ReutersA new Reuters report claims that the music industry needs to learn about the "dark side of the Internet" if it's ever going to gain the upper hand against piracy. At a conference in Cannes, France, music executives sounded upbeat about the industry's chances. For example, recent partnerships with the likes of Nokia, Amazon and News Corp.'s MySpace represent a step in the right direction.
However, according to Reuters, in 2008, some 95% of the music downloaded from the Internet, or more than 40 billion files, was illegal, leaving the overall music market down around 7% compared to 2007. (Yet further evidence the RIAA should have stopped suing people years ago, they wasted millions, and the lawsuits did nothing )
Michael Robertson, the head of MP3Tunes, who is engaged in copyright infringement lawsuits in the United States, urged the industry to go even further with their online music experiments. "When you sue a new technology, you lose the opportunity to channel that into a positive direction," he said at the conference. "There is innovation happening but it's coming from the dark side of the Internet, from pirates, from the underground. And that is showing where the industry is going to be. You have to look underground, to see what people are doing and then give them commercial outlets that mirror that."
Read more about it by clicking here.
eMusic Sales Data Supports 'Long Tail Theory
One of the world's largest digital music retailers has reported that it sold 75% of its five million tracks in 2008, contradicting the idea that only 20% of songs on the Internet ever sold a copy
The debate over music's "long tail" is shaping up to be an epic fight, with new data contradicting recent claims about song sales. eMusic has reported that 75% of its tracks were bought at least once in 2008, offering a counterpoint to the MCPS-PRS report that only 20% of songs on the Internet ever sold a copy. eMusic, which sells DRM-free songs through a subscription system, is one of the world's largest digital music retailers. Despite dealing only with independent labels, it has sold more than 250 million tracks since 2003.
The company has waded into an argument between Chris Anderson, editor of Wired magazine, and Will Page and Andrew Bud, who authored a recent study into the sales of songs on the internet. Anderson coined the phrase "long tail" in a 2004 article, writing that a digital world would see the growth of niche products at the expense of mass-market items. "The future of business," he wrote, "is selling less of more."
Read more about it by clicking here.
MySpace Music Adds Indie Labels
Advertising AgeMySpace has beefed up the catalog of available music on MySpace Music, adding five new independent labels and indie music distributors. According to Billboard, the new partners are Nettwerk Music Group, INgrooves, IRIS Distribution, RoyaltyShare, and Sony Music Entertainment's Wind-Up Records. MySpace Music now has seven total indie label partners.
However, Billboard notes that the service still lacks a licensing deal with indie giant Merlin, a collection of 12,000 total labels. Merlin has been particularly vocal against the terms MySpace Music offers its partners. One of its main complaints is that the major labels are given equity stakes in the joint venture, while indie labels were not. As a result, Merlin argues that the indie labels are effectively being asked to license their music to a service operated by competitors.
Meanwhile, independent music is still a major part of MySpace Music, which is focused on music discovery and sharing." These important new partnerships will allow the MySpace Music community to access even more of their favorite independent music while enabling monetization opportunities for the newly licensed artists," said MySpace Music president Courtney Holt. "We are thrilled to have our new partners on board and will continue our aggressive content acquisition efforts."
Read more about it by clicking here.
House Approves Funds For Broadband Expansion
In hopes of boosting broadband access, the House Appropriations Committee approved awarding $6 billion to build out networks in rural America. Broadband access advocates largely cheered the news, but also urged lawmakers, including David Obey (D-Wisc.) and Daniel Inouye (D-Ill.), to attach strings aimed at ensuring the new networks are speedy, affordable and adhere to net neutrality principles.
Read more about it by clicking here.
5 Ways The Cellphone Will Change How You Listen To Music
The portable music revolution has only been with us for a few years, but we may already be on the cusp of the another paradigm shift: With smartphones becoming commoditized -- and with so many excellent music apps being designed for them -- it's becoming viable to leave your mp3 player at home and tune into the cloud.
This change will not be driven by cellphones that act like mp3 players, dishing out music that must be organized by the user. It won't even be about software that streams you your own music to your phone -- that's too hard. Instead, the next great thing in music technology will be smartphone applications that replicate the experience of listening to interactive, customized radio stations at a computer.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Survey: Web Video Beats TV Among Respondents Ages 18-24
Coveted 18-24-year-old consumers now spend more time watching Web-distributed video than broadcast television, according to a new survey released by online video ad network LiveRail, which polled over 400 respondents online via popular social networks such as Facebook and MySpace.
Read more about it by clicking here.
RIAA Objects To Webcast In Downloading Case
The recording industry is appealing a judge's trailblazing decision authorizing the Webcast of proceedings in a file-sharing lawsuit. Late Friday, the Recording Industry Association of America asked the First Circuit Court of Appeals to stay Judge Nancy Gertner's ruling allowing the Courtroom View Network to Webcast the next hearing in the lawsuit against grad student Joel Tenenbaum.
Gee, I wonder what the RIAA is afraid of?
Read more about it by clicking here.
Video Games Becoming A Mainstream Choice
Of the estimated 114 million regular video game players, 22% are over the age of 55 and 40% are over 45. Not only are more adults playing video games, but women are at parity with men when it comes to playing them, according to Packaged Facts' Robert Brown. Women and older adults are expected to fuel much of the segment's future growth.
"You essentially have a cultural phenomenon where video games are becoming a mainstream choice for family and adult entertainment," Robert Brown, an analyst with Packaged Facts, tells Marketing Daily. "It's striking how broad the penetration is in the adult population."
(Editor's note: Yet more reasons more artists should try and create alliances with game makers who produce Guitar Hero and Rock Band.)
Read more about it by clicking here.
Apple Earnings Strong On International iPod Sales
BusinessWeekOne way for Apple to get investors' minds off of Steve Jobs is to deliver a banner quarter, which is precisely what the consumer electronics giant did on Wednesday. Thanks to much stronger than expected iPod sales, Apple delivered fourth-quarter sales that rose 6% to $10.17 billion, while profit increased to $1.61 billion, or $1.78 per share, beating the average analyst estimate of $1.39. As BusinessWeek says, "Headlines like that could make it easy to forget temporarily that the U.S. is in the throes of a recession and consumers and companies are reining in spending on consumer electronics."
iPod sales were actually down in the U.S., but overseas demand more than made up for the domestic drop, as Apple moved 22.7 million units in the quarter, beating analysts' expectations of 18.6 million. iPhone sales weren't great, however: Apple sold 4.36 million units versus a consensus estimate of 5 million. On the conference call, stand-in CEO Tim Cook admitted that the iPhone's service pricing, at $80-$100 per month, was too expensive for many consumers, especially in a recession.
For the year, Apple sold 13.7 million iPhones, beating the company's conservative goal of 10 million units for the year. Apple expects to have the smartphone selling in more than 70 countries by the end of the first quarter.
Read more about it by clicking here.
MUSICARES HONORS DIAMOND
Neil Diamond will be honored as the 2009 MusiCares 'Person of the Year', on February 6th, before Sunday's Grammy ceremonies. Among the performers scheduled to perform and pay tribute are Jennifer Hudson, Adele, Coldplay, Foo Fighters, Josh Groban, Raul Malo and Tim McGraw. Recording Academy Pres./CEO Neil Portnow and the MusiCares Foundation Board's John Branca will serve as dinner chairs, with Irving Azoff, Marshall Gelfand, Tim Leiweke and honorary chair Rick Rubin. Diamond, who will also perform that night, is being honored for his artistic achievements as well as his philanthropic work, including making significant contributions to the hurricane relief efforts in Texas for areas ravaged by Hurricane Ike. (All the proceeds from Neil's merchandise on sale at his concerts was donated to victims of Hurricane Ike in Texas)
MORE GRAMMY PERFORMERS ANNOUNCED
Jennifer Hudson and Carrie Underwood have been confirmed as performers on the Grammy Awards. They join the previously announced Kenny Chesney, Coldplay, Jonas Brothers, Lil Wayne and Katy Perry. All six are nominees this year.
NO OSCAR NOD FOR SPRINGSTEEN
In news that was surprising to almost all who watch and predict Academy Award nominations, Bruce Springsteen's "The Wrestler" didn't even get nominated despite his winning the Golden Globe for "Best Original Song" from a film.
ALL THE OLD DUDES GETTING TOGETHER AGAIN
Mott the Hoople the British band that had a huge hit in 1972 with "All the Young Dudes" (written and produced by David Bowie), are reuniting to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the band's 1969 birth. Mott has scheduled two shows, October 2nd and 3rd, at London's famed HMV Apollo (formerly the Hammersmith Apollo).
LIFE IMITATING ART THAT IMITATED LIFE
One man was shot and four were stabbed in two separate incidents related to the new Biggie Smalls film biography "Notorious'" that opened this past weekend. The shooting took place in North Carolina, while the stabbings went down at an after-party falsely billed as "official" in Brooklyn.
IDOL HOTTER THAN OBAMA IN PRIME TIME (DRAW YOUR OWN CONCLUSIONS)
Fox's "American Idol" scored primetime's biggest numbers Tuesday, as the TV viewing audience seemed to tire of inaugural coverage. ABC did solid numbers for its coverage of the inaugural balls, but news specials on CBS and NBC were not competitive with entertainment programs in their time periods. According to preliminary nationals for Nielsen, "American Idol" dominated Tuesday's opening hour with 22.4 million viewers overall.
DITTO ON ZEPPELIN NOT FLYING
Echoing Jimmy Page's manager, Alter Bridge singer Myles Kennedy confirmed he would not be replacing Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant, but said he was "very grateful " for the opportunity: "Alter Bridge will go on, and that's that. [The audition was] surreal."
METALLICA GUITAR HERO
The Metallica-themed version of the video game juggernaut Guitar Hero franchise hits stores March 29th for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles (Wii and PS2 versions will follow later in the spring).
SATELLITE RADIO HIKE
With its shares of stock worth little more than a dime, Sirius XM will reportedly impose a rate increase on March 11th. The company will seek an extra $2 per additional subscription per user, plus charge $2.99 to stream Sirius XM online. The latter fee comes with an upside: All Internet subscriptions will stream with a 128k "premium" feed. According to customer support reps, current Sirius XM users can lock in at their current rates for the next three years if they re-up before March 11th.
YUSUF/CAT BACK
The artist formerly known as Yusuf Islam, who is actually the artist formerly known as Cat Stevens, has recruited Paul McCartney, Dolly Parton and many more to lend a hand on his upcoming, still-untitled album, due out in the late spring. The first single from the new album is called "Boots and Sand," and will feature contributions from both Macca and Parton. As if the single needed any more marquee name star power, Jesse Dylan, Bob's son, will direct the song's video.
NO FACES YET
A spokesperson for Rod Stewart has denied reports that Stewart and Ron Wood have written an album's worth of material for a new Faces LP that was to proceed a reunion tour.
Quotes of the week
"I'm really convinced I'm not talented at all, and I'm sure that people are just about to figure that out."
-- Lily Allen, in a new interview. Well, now that you've told them, those same people aren't likely to rush out and buy your next CD."He knew that we had an advantage over almost everybody live, because we came from that old school: Our job was to make people dance. And if we didn't make people dance, you were fired. You didn't pay the rent. In the early days, we had an apartment together down in Asbury Park. There was no mommy and daddy paying the rent. We had to do the right thing -- and that meant making people dance, just like the Stones did, just like the Beatles. That creates an energy -- there is no substitute for it. By the time we broke through, forget it -- that energy was unstoppable."
-- E-Street band member Steve Van Zandt in Rolling Stone, talking about his "boss" Bruce Springsteen and the way it was in the beginning."It was one of the worse cacophonies I've ever heard in my entire life. Just horrendous."
-- Jeff Beck, reminiscing about being involuntary dragged onstage at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to play "Satisfaction" and "Like A Rolling Stone" alongside the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, George Harrison, the Beach Boys and countless other A-listers, 21 years ago."It just didn't go with the dress."
-- Jennifer Lopez, telling 'In Touch' why she didn't wear her wedding ring to the Golden Globes. Uh-huh ... sure. Since when doesn't a wedding ring not go with anything?
The B-Side - 'Blips'
THE ONION (www.theonion.com) STORY OF THE WEEK:
Obama Inauguration Speech Ruined By Incessant Jackhammering
WASHINGTON-President Barack Obama's Inauguration Day address-a speech that many believed would jumpstart the healing process of an ailing nation, foster hope and goodwill across the world, and serve as the ultimate stamp on the Democrat's historic win-was ruined Tuesday by nearly two hours of nonstop jackhammering.
According to D.C. officials, the jackhammering interrupted the landmark address on 30 separate occasions and came from the nearby U.S. Botanic Garden, where it was being used to break up pavement for a new Heroes of Horticulture exhibit.
"My fellow--," began Obama, who then stopped when he and the 2.5 million citizens present, some of whom had traveled thousands of miles to experience the once-in-a-lifetime event, were startled by loud, metal-on-concrete banging. "My fell...my fell...my-."
Read the rest here: http://tinyurl.com/7sh8cg.
THE RADIO INTERVIEW on 'THE AMERICAN PERSPECTIVE' - From newsblaze.com
"Steve Meyer is on the front line of global music sales and distribution which he expects will soar to pocket-bursting levels. What's more, he shares his insight and ingenuity with us. Steve gives us both historical perspective and futuristic vision as he chats with Judy about the love of his work, trends of the business and his personal points of view about success, happiness and blending life with the lust for life. Steve joins Judy and helps us discover the thrill of having it all with a sense of balance and purpose. "
You can listen to an interview I did with Judy Piazza of 'The American Perspective' by clicking here: (It runs about 15 minutes)
http://www.thesop.org/index.php?id=10306.
The Blogs
Check out a great blog by Jerry Del Colliano, the Director Executive Programs, Clinical Professor Music Industry & Recording Arts, at the Thornton School of Music,University of Southern California, by clicking here: http://www.insidemusicmedia.blogspot.com.
Website
Check out attorney Ray Beckerman's website at: http://recordingindustryvspeople.blogspot.com where he prints news about the RIAA's ongoing activities
TinyURL
Check out www.tinyurl.com where you can make a smaller URL that will work for any webpage you wish to link to or reference. (As you can see, I'm using it in my news stories above!)