Digital Trends
First there was the LP sleeve, with plenty of room for artwork and information. Then there was the CD – smaller, but with a booklet that could still contain all the liner notes and lyrics. But what do you get with the download?
Beyond the music, of course, the answer is nothing. But that’s about to change, according to Billboard and Reuters. The first artist-branded downloadable CD booklet will be launched for the new Fall Out Boy release on December 16, and it will be for the iPhone.
The Federal Communications Commission has been batting around the idea of authorizing a nationwide wireless broadband network, complete with content filtering designed to keep pornography and other adult materials off the public airwaves…and off of kids’ computers, PSPs, Nintendo DSs, phones, iPods, and other Wi-Fi enabled devices. However, some wireless providers have been skeptical of the idea, arguing that allowing operations in the AWS-3 band (from 2155 to 2180 MHz) would interfere with existing operators’ system in the AWS-1 band (from 2110 to 2155 MHz). Chief among the protesters was T-Mobile, although other major wireless players echoed the notion.
It’s 15 years since the rock band Guns N’ Roses released an album. For much of that time they’ve been threatening to issue another disc called Chinese Democracy, but it’s never materialized.
One fan, however, appears to have grown tired of waiting. On Wednesday Los Angeles resident Kevin Cogill, 27, was arrested by federal authorities on suspicion of copyright infringement for posting nine unreleased Guns N’ Roses tracks on his Antiquiet blog in June, the Los Angeles Times has reported.
They were removed shortly after, reportedly at the request of the band, but the site evidently received so much traffic it crashed.
In a proxy statement filed with the Security and Exchange Commission, game developer Activision has perhaps inadvertently revealed that its next planned full-band Guitar Hero installment is Guitar Hero: Metallica, no doubt focusing on the powerful riffs, double kick-fueled aggression, and sheer volume of the well known hard rock band. Although Metallica’s forceful music is perhaps a perfect fit for much of Guitar Hero’s male, teenage demographic, long-time fans may still be smarting from the band’s lawsuit-riddled reaction to Napster, reticence to make its music availabe via iTunes, and general resistance to the digital music world.
Game publisher THQ announced it plans to combine the rhythm and action game genres in a new title Band Mashups that will let players compete against each other across 150 musical tracks to decide who’s the musical heavyweight. THQ plans to launch the game for the Nintendo Wii, and take full advantage of the Wii’s motion-sensitive controller to offer a unique game experience as players battle it out in their preferred musical styles.
The British rock band Radiohead has always seemed uneasy with the business of music. For their new album, In Rainbows, to be released on October 10, they’ve declared their position – andit’s subversive. Fans will be able to download the entire album from the band’s site for whatever they wish to pay (although there will bean administration fee of around 90 cents). Or, if they prefer, they can pre-order the discbox, as the band is calling it. This will consist of In Rainbows on CD and also on two 12” vinyl discs,along with artwork and lyrics, along with another CD of extra songs, artwork and more. This, however, isn’t quite as cheap, selling for $80 including postage. This is the first releasefor the band since 2003’s Hail to the Thief, which fulfilled their contract with Parlophone. Once news of the release appeared yesterday, the band’s site crashed – but it wasdue to fans putting in orders for the discbox rather than those waiting for the free download. On the site, band member Jonny Greenwood wrote, “….it’s getting busy in there – busierthan they expected. So if you please bear with us, it should get cleared out soon. I sound like a bouncer. Get behind the rope. No denim. Thanks for your patience with the site & interest in therecord.” It’s certainly a grand experiment, letting fans decide the value of a band’s new work, but it seems to be creating a trend. The Charlatans are also giving away theirnew single and album as downloads available only through the radio station Xfm. Radiohead have a history of refusing to go with the flow. For several yearsthey refused to make their back catalogue available on iTunes, since the service allowed individual tracks to be downloaded, rather than insisting on theentire album. It’s only recently that their older material has become available on 7Digital.
Online music retailer eMusic yesterday announced they’d added 40 new independent labels to their growing selection of downloadable songs. They also said they’d passed over 150,000 subscribers and sold more than 9 million downloads in the last two months, reportedly making them second only to Apple’s iTunes.
eMusic’s new labels, the company said, cover nearly every genre of music, including rock, dance, blues, country, hip-hop, jazz, classical and more. Notable additions include the UK’s legendary Cherry Red, which boasts the punk band Dead Kennedys, and post-punk groups Monochrome Set and Felt among its huge and massively influential catalog. The Dave Matthews Band’s label ATO Records also joined the eMusic roster, bringing Mike Doughty and the North Mississippi All Stars.
“Sources close to the group say the U2 edition of the popular digital music player will come preloaded with the band’s new album, How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb, along with portions of the Irish supergroup’s 25-year catalogue. The iPods will be black and will be made available the same week as the band’s 11th studio album, which is slated to be released in the U.S. by Universal Music Group’s Interscope Records on November 23.”
This is pretty cool to see, although we have to wonder why Apple chose U2. Of course we love the band, but Apple has been very guarded about who they associate their precious iPod with.
In doing so, the agency found a new home
The No. 6 U.S. wireless provider has proposed moving its operations to airwaves in the 1.9 Gigahertz band, but the Federal Communications Commission is considering instead offering space in the 2.1 Ghz band because of opposition from Nextel’s rivals.
The FCC is trying to solve interference with critical wireless communications of police, fire and rescue services in the 800 Mhz band and has been considering plans for Nextel to move its operations there to the 1.9 Ghz band.
Read the full story at USA Today.
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