The Music Industry Has Given In

Three of the four major record labels (EMI, Sony-BMG, Universal) have announced an agreement with QTrax, a peer-to-peer song sharing company. This company now has contracts that cover 25 million songs, with several more million to come, pending negotiations with Warner Brothers.

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This might also harm the iPod in the short term, which has a library of only about 5 million compatible songs - apparently, QTrax songs will not work on the iPod. This will change soon, according to the executive in charge of the company.

Here's the thing: musicians make money off of songs and album sales. I get that. I'll never argue that point. But the vast majority of the income for musicians on the Big Four labels comes from concert revenue - not album sales. I'd wager that this is actually true for most artists, even (especially?) the little guys on indie labels. After all, music sharing is a very effective way for lots of new people to hear about an artist and get excited about seeing them live with no direct cost to the musicians, and relatively little work involved.

Album sales, however, drive the revenue of these record companies.

While the RIAA proclaimed to be looking out for artists, in reality, their aggressive actions against music piracy served only to alienate people, rather than encourage them to use different methods of getting songs. Their lawsuits, complaints, and efforts were merely hollow motions designed to protect the bottom lines of companies that continued to follow an outmoded business model.

I say that this QTrax thing is good news. It'd be ad-supported, which everyone can put up with. It provides revenue to artists (read: revenue to these same companies who trickle down 10 cents out of every album sale to artists, or whatever the going rate is). It provides a huge legal catalogue free of the danger inherent in all sharing methods not named BitTorrent. It signals a sea change in terms of business strategies for these companies - soon, perhaps they will become distributors and nimble creatures rather than slow-witted behemoths.

And, best of all, it's just plain smart.

This Banana is Loaded!

So I was picking Kirsten up today from a meeting (she's on the lay board at the Episcopal Campus Ministries), right? Anyway, her friend Rory used to call me "Car," as in, "Look, it's Car come to pick us up!"

So Kirsten repeated that when I came into the ECM building - calling me Car, not the whole identification speech. And for some reason, my mind flitted back to an old cartoon show I used to watch when I was a kid, called Turbo-Teen, where some poor teenager in a Camaro clone gets turned into a superhero. One of the characters was voiced by Pamela Hayden, who you may know from the Simpsons.

Anyway, here's the title sequence so you know what I'm talking about:



It's a real shame only 12 episodes were ever made.

And then, of course, Bananaman came up. That show was a real classic (and if I recall on the same broadcast network - maybe Nickelodeon?).

Short Shorts, Tank Tops, and VPL

So Kirsten and I are watching Bring It On: All or Nothing, the third film in the quadrilogy*, and I hate to admit it in a place where Kirsten could read it, but Hayden Panettiere does look pretty good in those tiny little blue shorts and white tank top.

Better than the eye candy, though, are the jokes. I hate to admit it, but this movie is pretty funny.

Good example: "Some of my best friends live next to black people!"

Really, I kind of want to watch more. I mean, could this movie actually not be that bad? Yahoo! Movies users gave it a B, which makes it more highly rated than Meet the Spartans (they gave it a C at the time of this writing).

Wisdom of crowds, man. Wisdom of crowds.

By the way, Ving Rhames is doing the voiceovers for the Quiznos Sammies commercials.

*not a real word

Oh, the Places You'll Go!

So, Kirsten and I installed a wireless network in our house right after Christmas, ostensibly to allow Kirsten to use her computer in places other than her desk.† This has so far primarily been the sofa, under a pile of blankets, constantly on the verge of sleep due to her crappy hours. However, times have come when we've surfed the internet from the house library, the bedroom, and once from the kitchen.

Currently, I'm using Kirsten's computer to update from Rory, Ryan, and Kate's house.

An aside: when they open a restaurant together, it should be called RR&K. They could also use that name for a railroad.

On-topic, I'd just like to point out how awesome wi-fi is. I feel the sudden urge to wear a turtleneck, nurse a cup of coffee for four hours, and pretend to write a novel. In reality, of course, I'll be scoping out chicks.

†Not true. In fact, I wanted to hook up the Wii and download old Nintendo games from the Wii Channel.

Wedding Singer Reference Ahead

Apparently, carnations are a "cop-out flower." Apparently, when a man purchases carnations for his ladyfriend, it's the same as saying, "I didn't bother to learn what sort of flower you really liked, so here're these pretty little doodads that cost me five bucks but I'm going to present to you as if they set me back three weeks' pay."

Nevermind that five dollars, for a Bangladeshi, really is three weeks' pay.

I really had no idea that that's what carnations meant. I sorta thought they meant, "Grok find flowers and kill them to give to you. I hit you with club now?"

But no, I was wrong.

(As an aside, I keep hearing that a man buying flowers for no reason is actually saying, "I slept with your sister." I have no idea what the best bouquet for that sort of occasion would be. Probably something with cala lillies. And a phone number for a divorce lawyer.)

Well, I guess this is lesson learned. But I suppose this is one of those things people could have told me yesterday. I probably wouldn't have heeded that advice (I actually like carnations), but at least I would have heard it.

And, for the record, I really don't know what Kirsten's favorite flower is. We've had the discussion before, and if I recall correctly, she's never really been able to settle on one.

So there.

WebSwinger

Apparently The Amazing Spider-Man is single again - it has to do with another one of Marvel's crazy story arcs.

Seriously, is it really that hard to keep thinking up good stories for these heroes? You have to invent alternate universes and kill heroes or render them paraplegic left and right? Jeez.

Anyway, maybe finally, finally, Peter Parker will start going out with Black Cat again. I do so very much miss her and her technologically-powered suit.

Objection, Your Honor!

Ok, so, this is based entirely on hearsay, but apparently when I'm sitting on the edge of the bed, drinking beer from a pint glass, with no shirt on, slouched, and with the beginnings of a gut hanging over the waistband of my khakis...

...Kirsten thinks I look a little bit like an alcoholic.

I don't want anyone jumping to conclusions, though.

That's just what the wife thinks. And I'm my own man, dammit!

Whoops...gotta go.

As If

Continuing the Guitar Hero theme from a few days ago (still awesome), I have discovered a hobby that could be both profitable and, in my case, far beyond my own abilities.

Some heavyset dude on the Internet (I assume he has a name, but I'm too lazy to look it up) has created a guide on how to build a Guitar Hero controller from a real guitar body, which seems pretty neat. Chat boards (of course there are GH chat boards) are raving about it ("LOLOLOLOLOL!!!!1!!!!eleven!!!").

Although nameless heavyset guy hasn't really pushed things as far as he can go. After all, he could be selling the things for a few hundred dollars a pop, which is undoubtedly good money if you can get it.

I have to admit I'm a little tempted to try to frankenstein something like that. The circular saw now in my "workshop" (read: basement room that Kirsten is afraid to go into because of the spiders) is a good start, but it's almost tempting to get remarried so's I can register for a router and a soldering iron.