BusinessWeek dives into the unsurprising poor financial health of music retailers.
The continuing drumbeat of bad news has some predicting that the traditional music store will soon go the way of the eight-track player.
If the major labels seemed a little outmoded, that’s nothing compared to the specialty retailers. I usually sample music online and then either buy it at Best Buy (not a specialty retailer) or online. If someone will sell me appropriate downloads, I would go that route.
Music
Business 2.0 shows the breakdown of a $1 iTunes download. Most artists get about 12%. In the case of Aimee Mann, she probably gets 50% because she has her own label and publisher.
Music
Philip Greenspun writes that the stock market is climbing because the government is giving away public property.
Look around you at stuff that you believe to be public property. Very likely it will soon be given away to America’s largest corporations and consequently their stock will go up even if they don’t innovate.
This is only as likely as we make it. Never forget that we, as consumers and voters, hold the real power. If we (as consumers) put our feet down and purchase goods from companies we believe in, that will transfer significant power to those companies. And if we (as voters) put our feet down and don’t vote for politicians who disrespect the property that we own, there will be change on Capitol Hill.
Those are big “ifs”, though.
Politics
The NYTimes says that a Report by the E.P.A. Leaves Out Data on Climate Change, because of edits done by the White House before the release of the report.
Agency officials said it was tentatively scheduled to be released early next week, before [agency administrator Christie] Whitman steps down on June 27, ending a troubled time in office that often put her at odds with President Bush.
If she is at all effective as a leader of the EPA, it’s not at all surprising that she would be at odds with Bush. President “let’s drill Alaska” Bush has not been a very environmentally conscious leader, and has certainly showed huge support for the oil industry.
Politics
If this becomes popular, that will mean that video of just about any major (or minor) event will be readily available. A big boost for reality tv.
Technology
While looking at some JAAS related stuff, I happened across a JavaWorld article that offers Tips for solving common difficulties in Struts.
Software Development
It’s pretty introductory, but Tim Bray gives a nice little tutorial on how search engines work. This will be an interesting series to follow.
Software Development
Hoover’s Online has reposted a rather unfortunate article called Scoring Higher with Java talking about how Java has not “turned into the ‘Windows killer’ that it was once supposed to be”. This is clearly not an article from a technology source:
Not only has the impact on Microsoft been minimal so far, Java now faces a growing threat from the open source Linux operating system. Even IBM, a strong supporter of Java in the early years, is now focusing on Linux and was noticeably absent at JavaOne this year.
Err, yeah. This might be true if Java were an operating system, but it’s not. Linux has had huge growth on the server side and, indeed, Java use has grown right along with it. If Linux ever starts catching on in desktop computing, it is entirely possible that we’ll see an increase in usage of Java-based desktop apps. The rise of Linux only helps cross-platform application environments like Java.
It’s a real shame the publisher, New Straits Times of Malaysia, didn’t get a geek to look at this article before posting it. Who knows how many businessfolk might read this and get the wrong impression of the value of Java-based apps.
Software Development
Salon has an article about the new era of music brought on by single song sales:
How many times have you bought a band’s album for an overplayed song, only to discover that the more gratifying tunes are the ones you’ve never heard before? But now that iTunes and other online music vendors have finally arrived, don’t expect to experience that same epiphany in the future. iTunes is helping to usher in an era where songs are sold individually, thus putting an end to what I call “bundled innovations.”
I think it’s too early to predict exactly how the music industry will be shaped by online sales. It’s true that you’re no longer forced to buy an entire album to get the song you know you enjoy. However, part of what goes along with the online services is the ability to sample a great variety of music. Maybe an artist has had 4 albums with 10 songs each when you first encounter them. You can listen through all 40 of their songs. Some of those songs will hit you, some won’t. Maybe you’ll buy 10 of those songs in total.
In the scenario that Sahar Akhtar paints at the beginning of the Salon article, he bought that one Tool album and discovered some gems outside of what is played on the radio. In the scenario I describe above, you can buy 10 songs spread out over an artist’s catalog. Maybe one Tool album was all Sahar would buy, thus missing out on all of the other songs Tool has made.
The new music business is just starting to form, and there are still a huge number of possibilities in front of us.
Mea culpa: Sahar Akhtar added a comment to this entry and politely pointed out that she is, in fact, not a “he”. Sorry about that!
Music
