5 Reasons Why the Performance Rights Act is a Bad Idea

Posted on 17. Jun, 2009 by refe.

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For those who aren’t familiar with the Performance Rights Act, it is a bill that was introduced in February that would require radio stations to pay performance royalties in addition to fees they already pay to songwriters. The RIAA, along with a few big names such as Billy Corgan (pictured), is pushing this bill under the pretense that [...]

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MySpace Lays of 30% of Employees

Posted on 16. Jun, 2009 by refe.

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There have been rumors floating around the web for several days now that MySpace was about to cut hundreds of jobs. Today it looks like those rumors were very accurate – about 480 employees are expected to be out of work by the end of the day. The news comes only a couple of weeks [...]

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Sufjan Stevens Gives Copyright to Fan Who Won’t Copy

Posted on 16. Jun, 2009 by refe.

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In November 2007 Sufjan Stevens announced that he would be trading the rights to one of his latest songs for the winning entry in a contest called the Great Sufjan Stevens Song Xmas Xchange. More than 600 fans submitted original compositions and a song called ‘Every Day is Christmas’ by Alec Duffy was chosen. Duffy’s [...]

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Deconstructing the Week in Music: 6.8-6.14

Posted on 13. Jun, 2009 by refe.

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Here’s a recap of what went on in the music industry this week. Make sure to check out anything you might have missed and leave your comments. Know something we don’t? Submit a story. Most Popular: Amazon to Torrent Site: Stop Letting your Users Buy our Music - Amazon.com refuses to let ‘pirates’ pay for music. Solid [...]

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BitBlinder Baits RIAA With Free Anonymous Filesharing

Posted on 12. Jun, 2009 by refe.

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The RIAA is not going to be happy about the newest evolution of file-sharing technology. BitBlinder is a free new service that claims to hide users’ IP addresses, allowing them to use BitTorrent anonymously. There is only one reason for this, of course, and that is to hide illegal activity from the authorities. In the [...]

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Video Pick: White Rabbits ‘Percussion Gun’

Posted on 12. Jun, 2009 by refe.

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Trent Reznor Quits Twitter – How Real is Too Real in Social Media?

Posted on 11. Jun, 2009 by refe.

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If you were on Twitter at all yesterday you probably heard the big news. Trent Reznor – often hailed as the most tech-savvy man in the music biz – has given up on Web 2.0. How could one of the most prolific rock star Twitter users (641,977 followers at time of writing) pull such an abrupt about-face?

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Video Pick: Carina Round ‘Backseat’

Posted on 11. Jun, 2009 by refe.

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Last.fm Founders Hand Over Keys To CBS

Posted on 10. Jun, 2009 by refe.

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The founders of music streaming service Last.fm announced this morning that they will be leaving the company they helped create. “This is the latest stage in a long journey for us founders, which began in a living room in East London in 2002, and took us to the headquarters of one of the biggest media [...]