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You can use the feeds in this mix as the basis for a new mix - create a new mix from this mix.
Windows Live Writer Beta 2 Released [New Window]
Microsoft have released a new version of Windows Live Writer, thedesktop application that makes it easy to publish rich content to your blog. Having created this post immediately after a smooth upgrade installation, first impressions are good. Some of the new authoring features include:Comprehensive table creation and editing tools Auto spell checking as you write Improved hyperlinking and image insertion Full synchronization between online and offline applications Paste Special- Plain Text or HTML (Embed Tags, YouTube etc) Support for categories, Blogger labelsandback-dated posting Excerpts and extended entries Writer cannow publish to Windows Live Spaces, Sharepoint, WordPress, Blogger, LiveJournal, TypePad, Moveable Type, Community Server, andother weblog services. Customization With just a mouse click the feel and look of the application can be changed instantly to any color you like using the new colorize button on the menu bar. New image editing options allow rotation and contrast adjustment and it's now possible to automatically link to a previous post via the insert hyperlink menu. Other useful Writer capabilities includeback-dated posting - you select any date for the post to appear, easy insertion of maps from Virtual Earth, and rich media plug-ins like audio and video tools available from Windows Live Gallery and reviewed at Windows Live Writer Plugins. Just Select Add a Plugin from the app sidebar to launch the Live Gallery site. Good Things Coming... Having been nine months in the making,this is aworthwhile update for existing users with a range of very usable improvements. The open plug-in platform and API-drivenbuilding toolsmake further customization ongoing and easy to implement. Judging by developments at Popfly the future looks very promising indeed,watch the video below. The above video wasinserted using Paste Special. If you're upgrading from a previous installation remember to update your account settings to ensure you're getting all the latest features (Tools/Accounts). As usual withbeta software releases, reporting and solving application problems is part of the processso don't expect perfection. Further details ofthis release and developer information can be found at theWindows Live Writer team blog - Writer Zone. For more Live news, free applications and Vista resources see Windows Live Tools. Technorati tags: blogging, live spaces, web publishing, tools, windows live writer
Fri, 01 Jun 2007 17:54:09 -0400 Videos of Harp Guitar Performances [New Window]
Three videos of harpguitar performances by Andy Mckee, Don Alder and the late Michael Hedges. Andy McKee - "Gates to Gnomeria" Don Alder - "Sayonara Calm" Michael Hedges - "Because It's There" More Recordings YouTube hasaselection of harp guitar performances byseveralexponents of the instrument. Recordings of these performancesunder Creative Commons licenses are rare but Swedish composer/guitarist Thomas Almqvist( right) is sharinga cool live recording of a 16-string harp guitarat MacJams.comcalled Embla. Thanks Thomas! Albums on Amazon Andy McKee - Art of Motion Michael Hedges - Aerial Boundaries Reference Guitar Tools Lens Wikipedia: Guitar Performance Techniques Tags: acoustic guitar, Andy McKee, Don Alder, harp guitar, guitar, guitarists, Michael Hedges, music, videos, YouTube
Thu, 17 May 2007 14:26:37 -0400 Free Cartoons and Webcomics from XKCD.com [New Window]
xkcd is awebcomic created by former NASA roboticist Randall Munroe. His drawings are published under a Creative Commons licenseand you need no permissiontoreuse them for non-commercial purposes, just provide attribution to xkcd.com. New comics are published on the siteat midnight every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Here aresome samples from the collection archives, click on the images to visit the source. Digital Rights Management "If you think the purveyors of DRM simply want to protect artists, check out chapters 13 and 14 in Free Culture, by Lawrence Lessig. Their goal is the elimination of all culture they don't control." Content Protection "How Big Media Uses Technology and the Law to Lock Down Culture and Control Creativity" Lessig. XKCD Linkage There'smore infoabout the characters, themes andcontent style (Nerd/Romance Humor) at Wikipedia xkcd You can also find lots of interesting things to see and do in the Forumsincluding other artists sharing works under Creative Commons. Here's theComic Feed:http://xkcd.com/rss.xml Here's the Blag Blogand check out the Store for things that you can wear or put on your wall, like this Map of Online Communities--> "I'm waiting for the day when, if you tell someone 'I'm from the internet', instead of laughing they just ask 'oh, what part?"Resources for Drawing, Cartoons, and Webcomics Comixpedia: the Webcomics Encyclopedia Drawn! The Illustration and Cartooning Blog Wikipedia Category: WebcomicsTechnorati tags: art, cartoons, comics, creative commons, copyleft, drawing, illustration, webcomics, xkcd
Wed, 09 May 2007 23:02:31 -0400 Ourmedia Relaunches with Channels of Creativity [New Window]
Ourmedia has relaunched with a minimalist look and new focus on media channels. There is now more emphasis on the social interaction around media and ways to draw attention to the good stuff. Here are some of the features available. Channels @ channels.ourmedia.org Channels are media streams categorized by subject or interest that include content such as music, podcasts and video. People can highlight media hosted anywhere on the Web and group media together into themes. Ourmedia members can now easily create their own social broadcast networks and post items to their channels using the special browser tools mentioned below. Each item is a bundled document of media data; on posting you simply enter the relevant details into the template fields and click submit. The fields include: Media URL Media Page URL (source) Thumbnail URL Screen Shot URL Artist Name Artist Homepage URL Comments URL License (option menu) Player (type) Here's an example that took just a few minutes to create: Chill Channel RSS Feeds Available feeds are split across two domains with the new user-created channels residing at channels.ourmedia.org. Ourmedia.org Has four main channels that are currently enabled for media streaming: Audio Images Text Video Channels.ourmedia.org All user-created channels have RSS feeds although at the time of writing these were not media-enabled for streaming files via widgets. Hopefully this will change as the new features are rolled out. You can also view related news feeds using the aggregated News Reader. Browser Tools Toolbar Buttons - Let you post and view channels from within your browser. Two bookmarklets can be dragged to your browser bookmarks toolbar: Post to Ourmedia Channels - This button allows you to post your current page to your Ourmedia channels. My Ourmedia Channels - This button allows you to quickly view your Ourmedia channels. These provide a useful way to populate your Channels with media just discovered or when revisiting favorite sites. Open Media Search Located at the top left-hand corner of all ourmedia.org pages is the new Google powered search engine. This makes it easy to search for 'open' media by source, media type and license. Searchable domains include: ourmedia.org archive.org blip.tv spinxpress.com Creative Support The Learning Center provides help with key aspects of media creation and distribution through a series of how-to guides and tutorials. Everything is published under Creative Commons. The Open Media Directory is a list of free and legal media hubs, highlighting cool sources of audio, music and video that's safe to share or remix. The list may be republished under the CC license terms, an example being the recent Creative Commons UK Mix and Mash Film Competition which used it to provide support for Video Resources. Putting Ourmedia to Work Along with the social functionality of Ourmedia, the features I've outlined above make it easy for people to create and share legal media in an open environment. The Search Engine and Open Media Directory both help you locate free and legal media which in turn can be posted directly to your Channels using the browser buttons. Overall a clean and tidy package without all the clutter and commercialization of other media sharing destinations. Related DISS Media Free Sounds - Legal Audio Samples, Loops, Software, Music and Video Downloads. OpenSonics - Open Music Community News and Copyleft Media Resources. Open Music Search - A Google Custom Search Engine for exploring the Open Music Ecosystem. Grab the widget and spread free music! Technorati tags: audio, channels, creative commons, creativity, images, multimedia, music, open learning, open media, ourmedia, podcasting, rss, search engines, social media, social networks, social web, text, video
Tue, 24 Apr 2007 14:45:43 -0400 Convert RSS Feeds to Banner, Javascript or PHP [New Window]
Blog Signature Generator allows you to create a dynamically updating news banner (signature) that links to the original feed source. It also generates a Gravatar connected to your email address -"an 8080 pixel avatar image that follows you from weblog to weblog appearing beside your name when you comment on gravatar enabled sites." RSSConverters.com has an online wizard that converts RSS news feeds and podcasts into Javascript or PHP code. The wizard can batch convert multiple feedsand applyblanket customization features for display options and style. Mash and GrabRSS Feeds You can find a good selection of RSS feedsvia the Mediaspheres Grazr- Right click on anylisttitle to grab the feed(copy shortcut). You can also grab a selection of pre-mashed RSS feeds via Dave's FeedRaider. Each single-page aggregator hasRSS, OPML and Embedoptions at the bottom of the page. The FeedRaiderRSSfeedscan be pastedinto the Grazr address field (open View on menu, choose Address Bar), then select the refresh icon on the right of the browser to view the combined feed mashup. For more RSS resources and web widgets see Feed Pitstopand Widget Finder. Technorati tags: blogs, feeds, gravatar, javasript, php, podcasts, RSS, tools, widgets
Thu, 08 Mar 2007 14:13:46 -0500 ccMixter Adds Dynamic Audio Playlists [New Window]
The state of online music remixing and Open Music distribution took a significant step forward recently with the release of ccMixter's new audio Playlist feature at ccMixter.org. A community-driven playlist tool for sharing Creative Commons sound samples and music. AboutThe application combines several key areas for creators that make it easy to find, share and promote legal audio and music works: Collaboration - It's about connectivity, creativity, distribution and interaction. Social media at the heart of Web 2.0 - Web4 Creative Commons Licenses - Open, flexible, copyright options designed to foster freedom of ideas. Ranging from some rights reserved to public domain. RSS Feeds and Social Syndication - Preview and create dynamic audio playlists - grab RSS feeds for your web-mashups, podcasts and social networking websites. Killer FeaturesThere are currently four tabbed views for managing Playlists:Hot Playlists - Create - Popular Remixes - New Multiple playlists can be opened simultaneously in the 'Hot' and 'New' browse modes. Create Dynamic Playlists In the 'Create' view you can quickly make customized, automatically updating playlists using the simple online interface. There's a choice of parameters to choose from that allow you to locate and filter media files for fine-tuning the list. These include: Playlist Types, Artists (users), Tags, License Type, Ratings, Time Period and more. Free Registration Registered users can save and share their playlists including individual list items such as songs and samples. Full integration between community lists make it a breeze to add media items from one list to another with a single mouse click. New playlists can be created on the fly instantaneously, for example when browsing and listening to audio, in a seamless listening environment. Each list you create is automatically added to your community profile area. RSS feeds are generated for all your playlists. You can also edit important elements in your list such as dynamic parameters, the order of list items, tags, playlist title and description. Simple html formatting is allowed in the description so you can include links to websites, contact information or the location of a web page widget that uses the playlist feed. The ability to dynamically create playlists/podcast feeds by licence type, combined tags and other key factors makes it easy to create hybrid audio channels including sound sample based feeds as well as music playlists. For example here's a dynamic RSS feed for a capella melodies based on user ratings: http://ccmixter.org/media/api/query?tags=melody&reqtags=acappella&type=all&limit=50&f=rss Click on this icon to view and listen to the feed in a Grazr widget There are also filtering options for Popular Remixes, which shows the audio media most frequently included in playlists. Further details and upcoming features can be found at How to use PLAYLISTS CC Music 2.0 Fueling Web 2.0Make no mistake, ccMixter is the complete package. No other remix site commands the same level of respect amongst musicians, producers and content creators. The tight social networking fabric combined with a philosophy of open media creation provides a truly creative environment for users of all levels and musical styles. In this community everyone works together; sharing, rating, reviewing, mixing, promoting, distributing, learning - Forums ccMixter playlists utilize the power of citizen DJ distribution, contributing to the growing culture of shared media networks and social tribes. Artists, bloggers, filmmakers, listeners, and podcasters can all interact to create collaborative resources and original compositions. Anyone can use these compositions to build new, derivative works, be they music, video or other media forms like web-mashups, in accordance with the licensing terms. Widgets, Pipes and Tubes are the plumbing through which these rich media creations can flow using URLs and RSS feeds. These intelligent crowdsourcing activities are becoming increasingly prevalent as the need for media filtering and recommendation prevails. Musically and culturally speaking, DJs have always provided the editorial factor so important to informing the wider music community. Todays web DJs are restricted only by the technologies they use and their knowledge of Social Media. To learn more about this topic read the online ebook What is Social Media? Given the emergence of social mediaspheres and widgetized connective tools, now anyone can be part Data Jockey - Data Carrier. Widget Action: Take a look at some of the ways ccMixter and CC music are connecting in the Web 2.0 world. ROYALTY FREE MUSIC DOWNLOADS: ATTENTION ALL METACAFE PRODUCERS - video powered by Metacafe How to create personalized ringtones using ccMixter Web 2.0 in Five Minutes Related SitesAudio 2.0 - List of music, p2p, podcast, sound, and radio sites. Opensonics - Open Music Community News and Resources. Swik Playlists - Open source projects wiki. Technorati tags: audio, ccmixter, creative commons, music, open music, playlists, podsafe, samples, social media, sound, remix, web 2.0
Mon, 12 Feb 2007 13:31:26 -0500 Creative Commons Video Sharing Sites and Social Media Tools [New Window]
A roundup of online video hosting services and related tools that support publishing under Creative Commons. These areservices for sharing documentaries, movies and short video clips that can be legally downloaded and freely distributed under the terms of license. Further resources fordistributing and finding CC video works and Public Domain films are also provided. The list of sites includes Catalogs, Search Engines, Open Source Software, Social Video Applications,Creative Commons Help and related video reference materials. All of the sites and tools are free to use or download. A wordon Terms of Service Video capture, storageand transmissionis gradually becomingmore accessible, enabledby low cost devices likecamcorders, mobile phones, webcams, free software and falling broadband/storage costs. The creation and distribution of social media has become widespread due to the abundance ofInternet technologies and new online media services (Web 2.0). However, thesites used to host and distribute video online differ widely in their end user agreementsand Terms of Service.Thereforesome video sites are 'friendlier' than others for content creators, depending on how the creator/copyright holderpermits the work to be used and whether or not they get paid for their creations. It's important to recognize that major video sharing sites like Google, Yahoo! and YouTube can sell or license uploaded videos to third parties without financial compensation to the creator. Thismay change in the future and YouTube founder Chad Hurley has hinted that YouTube plans to share revenue with original content creators. For people using Creative Commons licenses this is extremely important because their choice of license is often determined by requirements involving pre-cleared authorization, user flexibility, and various copyright protections, including non-commercial use. These copyrights can be supercededor nullified by agreeing to theTOS of the video hosting service. Superceded terms may be perpetual, royalty-free, irrevocable and transferable so it's helpful to know what the user may be giving up before accepting the terms (See links under Comparison Surveys below). Most video sharing sites have some kind of involvementwith commercial partners such as advertisers, licensees, sponsors, affiliates and the like.This includes aggregators and search engines that spider, index and display videos elsewhere. When choosing a hostit's often a case of finding a balance between thefeatures on offer and the Terms of Service, especially in the grey area of non-commercial use licenses. When using a third-party hosting service it's worth remembering the role partnership deals play in the financing of their operations. It's wise to read the TOS, privacy policy and copyright policyfirst to determine the reputation and suitability of the service. An alternative is to host the files on your own server or use a suitable paid web hosting provider. Embrace or Embargo? Frequentlypeopleshare media on popularvideo sites to gain high visibility for their works. For example, the independent record labelMagnatune encourages the use of musicin non-commercial,user-created videos uploaded tomost video sites, see 100% Legal Music for YouTube, Revver, Blip TV.All music available from Magnatune is licensed underCreative Commons and the label'sOpen Musicapproach is well suited to new media developments like podcasting, Second Lifeand viral video promotion(PureVideo search). By increasing the avenues of supply Magnatuneis making it easy for people to find and use their licensed music through a process involving ubiquity rather than scarcity. This flexibility is one of the main benefits of Creative Commons and the ability to legally share, reuse, and remixcontent embraces the idea of social media. On the other hand many indie labels using more traditional copyrights are very concerned about the illegal use ofcopyrighted works on social media sites like YouTube and MySpace. For recent developmentssee Indie music labels create Merlin to conjure licensing dealsand YouTube Indie Label Talks Falter. Cease & Desist Orders Fly. About the Resources Listed Here The sites and tools below have been selected for their open participation,support and recognitionof Creative Commons licenses. The list is designed to make it easier for people to locate video hosts, video content and useful resources for working with CC video materials. People interested in CC video resources fall broadly into twooverlapping groups: People releasing works under Creative Commons (content creators)You, artists, educators,indie-filmmakers, license holders, musicians, netlabels, production companies,VJs, etcPeople looking for works made available under Creative Commons (content users)You, bloggers, content distributors, educational departments, fans, podcasters, remixers, students, teachers,etcGenerally people are common to both groups - content creators and content users - although it's useful to differentiate for the purposes of categorizing resources for easier browsing. Similarly,most of the videohosts listedhere offer comparable and overlapping features but some provide specialized or notable options such as revenue sharing or educational materials and courses. As a rough guide the more general resourcesappear towards the top of the listwith the more specialized resources appearing towards the bottomin a loose, broad to narrow list structure. General Video Sharing SitesHosts, repositories and blogs for sharingall types of video content under Creative Commons. Internet Archive A non-profit digital libraryoffering permanent freevideo hosting for anyone wishing to share files in the Public Domain or underCreative Commons. Thousands of short films, documentaries, video clips and other footagecan be found in the Moving Images Archive. What's New at the Internet Archive A blog started by the Internet Archives Collections Teamto highlight new collections and interesting items from the Movies, Audio, and Education collections. Ourmedia.org A free repository and open media community supported by the Internet Archive which provideshosting and bandwidth foruploaded files. Thousands of user-created videos are available under Creative Commons licenses.You can browse content by media type or use the search engine to find videos.Created by volunteers, Ourmedia is an open-source project and to use the service you should be willing toshare your workswith a global audience. Payments to video producers is planned. Podcast Spot An audio and videopodcast host with support for showsreleased under Creative Commons.Browse Creative Commons Licensed Episodes. Limited free hosting is available for testing the service but users requireprepaid accounts for Storage or Professional levels. Videobloggers.org A free video hosting projectand vlogosphere content aggregator supported by ibiblio.org. Intended as a mirror service for existing videoblogs, only Public Domain/Creative Commons licensed media are allowed. The Videoblog Directory provides access to categorizedvodcasts for easy viewing. vSocial.com An online social networking service andvideo platform thathelps communitymembers to communicate and share content.Users canchoose from a number of Creative Commons licenses during the upload process. Revenue Sharing SitesThese are video hosting services that alsooffer creators the optionof earning money for sharing their videos. Blip.TV A free videoblogging, podcasting and video sharing service with thousands of grassroots videos, many of which are licensed under Creative Commons. There's an optional advertising revenueplan that offers a 50/50 split. Cruxy Allows content creators to upload, promote and sell media using widgetized distribution with support for Creative Commons. Primarily a digital content marketplace for buying and selling media. Lulu TV A video site where creators share their works under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs license. Videos can easily be embedded in blogs and web pages using the supplied code. Content creators may register a Shareholder account and get paid based on the amount of traffic a video receives. No advertising is used on the site or in videos. Revver A websitefor users to upload and share video clips. All videos use a Creative Commons Share-Alike license which permits redistribution. Clips can be embedded into blogs or websites using the automatically generated code. Short advertisements are attached to the end of videos as part of a revenue sharing model for users. Independent CC Video ProductionsSome highlighted projects and sources of indie video productions under Creative Commons. Hive - NTT ICC open archive A Tokyo based open video archive initiative dedicated to the fields of media art and informational arts. Archived video contentis provided tousers under a Creative Commons License. Internet Archive: VJ Loops & Performances Aggregates VJ video contributions by Archive users. LegalTorrents Provides a collection of Creative Commons licensed video by independent producers distributed via BitTorrent. Maker Faire VJ Clips (2006) A collection of short clips created for live video mixing. Shot on April 22, 2006 at the Maker Faire in San Mateo, they are now available under a CC Attribution 2.5 license. NerdTV A weekly technology show from PBS.org columnist Robert X Cringely. Featuring one hour interviews with leading technology experts. The NerdTV mpeg-4 video, mp3, ogg vorbis, aac audio, and text transcripts are distributed under a Creative Commons license so viewers can legally copy, redistribute, extract, edit and modify the shows. Open Source VJ Loops & Performances This is a collaborative collection of VJ clips and visual works hosted at the Internet Archive. Most of the works are pre-cleared for creative use or issued under CC licenses. A useful resource for VJs, DJs, musicians and artists seeking visual content and materials. PIXnMIX Candy Jar Acollection of video clips produced mainly by VJs for VJs. The clips are licensed for non-commercial use under Creative Commons. They can be used live but may not be sold in commercial productions. A Channel4.com microsite. Video.indymedia.org - Indymedia Video Distribution Network Allowsindependent producersto publish high quality videos under Creative Commons. WGBH Lab: Video Sandbox An online destination and initiative designed to help independent media makers. Selected video clips from the WGBH Media Library are being cleared for copyright and made available for people to cut, loop and mashup via the Lab Sandbox. All clips are made available in QuickTimes native .mov format under Creative Commons license Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 2.5. RecentHistory of Independent CC MoviesBBS: The Documentary Written and directed by Jason Scott Sadofsky, the 8 episode series was the result of over 200 interviews about all aspects of the history of the dial-up Bulletin Board System. Releasedin 2005 under a Creative Commons Attribute-Sharealike 2.0 license,the project took around3 years and $50,000 of investmentto make. This was a bold move at the time and you can read about Jason'sthinking on copyright and distribution in this inspiring essay that explains all: Why the BBS Documentary is Creative Commons. ASCII Jason Scott's Weblog IMDb Entry BloodSpellAfeature-length Machinima animated film from Strange Company. The magical fantasy, released in 2006under a Creative CommonsAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License, comes in aseriesof 14, 5-10 minute episodes.They are available for streaming online or as free downloadsin versionswith foreign language subtitles. Boy Who Never SleptA free full length comedy-romancemovieby Solomon Rothman released in 2006. Anyone can watch, share, edit anduse the work in their own derivative works (open source).The entire movie, including source files, is available fordownload under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License.CactusesA 2006 motion picture created by the Arc2 Project for a student learning scheme. The movie is available as an authorized and legal download under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 license. Project MySpace.For more like these see Wikipedia Open Source Movieand Wikipedia List of works available under a Creative Commons license. Open Learning and Education SitesThese are sites that offer free learning materials and online courses under Creative Commons. ADUni.org Offers course materials and lectures from a one-year, intensive post-baccalaureate program in Computer Science (See also the Internet Archive Collection). Berklee SharesProvides a library of free music lessons in audio, video, and print-ready formats including: MP3 audio lessons, QuickTime video lessons, and PDF text/graphic/notation lessons. All content is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs-NonCommercial license. It can be used, copied, or distributed only for non-commercial educational purposes. No modifications or derivative works may be made. Creative Commons Education Featured creators, tools, and works. Internet Archive: Open Educational Resources Provides file hosting and distribution for some of theresources mentioned here andhundreds of other educational videos. MIT OpenCourseWare: Video and Audio Offers complete video and/or audio for a selection of courses under Creative Commons. Video and audio formats are .rm and .mp3 respectively.You can learn how to save the RealPlayer video files to a disk or toyour hard drive.Course materials offered on the MIT OCW Web site may be used, copied, distributed, translated, and modified, but only for non-commercial, not-for-profit educational purposes that are made freely available to other users under the same terms defined by theMIT OCW legal notice(See also the Internet Archive Collection). MSRI Math Lectures: Show Talks by Speaker Name A list that gives you an alternate way to navigate through the many videosposted on theVMath Video Collection at the Internet Archive. Ourmedia Learning Center A personal media learning center with tutorials and guidesfor a wide range of user-generated media activities. Volunteers contribute to the open knowledge database and most materials are released under a Creative Commons license.Manycontributions feature video tutorials and documentation. University Channel A collection of public affairs lectures, panels and events from academic institutions all over the world. Audio and video materials are available to the public for viewing, listening, streaming and downloading under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Sharelike 2.5 license (See also the Internet Archive Collection). Related 'Open License' and Public Domain Video ResourcesInitiatives and organizations for Open Content videos. Creative Archive Licence Group A UK initiative, set up by The BBC, the bfi, Channel 4 and the Open University, that allows UK citizens to share and re-use content, under the terms and conditions as set out in the Creative Archive Licence. The open archives and collections can be found via the "For download" link on the side menu. Materials include clips from programmes and still images. Fifty Animated Short Films from the National Film Board of Canada The collection includes several animation classics and spans 65 years of animation at the NFB. Pre-authorized licenses allow the works on the site to be used for non-commercial educational purposes. Metavid Archives public domain senate and house footage under a free-document license, facilitating collective reuse and annotation of metavid archived content. You can search video metadata using text queries to find keywords associated with the recording. To view the clips in a web browser you need firefox and annodex. Public Domain Torrents Offers free and legal public domain movies for download via BitTorrent technology. You can choose from hundreds of classic films, animations and B-movies sorted by category. There are versions available for PDA, IPOD, PSP and some movies can be streamed via Google Video. Video Compilation on Free Digital Culture A collection of educational, promotional and public performance videos about Free Culture and Free Software. Wikimedia Commons Videos A repository ofanimations and videos distributed under a free license or in the public domain, suitable for educational purposes. Wikipedia: Open Source Movie Examples and links to films using open licenses. PDMovies Reference SitesInformation resources for public domain films. The Public-Domain Movie Database A Searchable DataBase of Public-Domain Movie Information, Episode Guides and More. Wikipedia: Public Domain Films Provides a list ofarticles aboutpost-1923 theatrical-released films that are in the public domain. Useful for finding movies hosted at the Internet Archive (See external links at bottom of Wikipedia entries). CC VideoDirectories and Search ToolsDirectoriesandsearch engines you can use to discover CC videos and related media. Common Content An open catalog of all types of Creative Commons licensed content. The site hasa category for movies including documentaries, narratives and stock footage, there's also a search engine for finding materials. Creative Commons Search Special CC search tools that allow you toscour the Blip.tv video database, Google and Yahoo web search, Flickr photos and OWL music search. Open Media Directory A clearinghouse for finding legal music and video content. Most of the sites listed distribute works in the Public Domain or under Copyleft style licenseslike Creative Commons. Good for finding audio and music for use in video productions. Podsafe Content Search A search Swicki for finding legal, podsafe music and video sources. Including: Public Domain works, Creative Commons licensed material, Copyleft works and other forms of licensed content. Another useful starting point for general CC search queries and unearthing related links. VlogMap Community A resource for connecting and finding video bloggers. Use the search engine to find CC related information. Creative CommonsHelp andPublishing ToolsDeep links to useful pages across the Creative Commons web site and associated domains. CreativeCommons.org Homepage of the main site. Choosing a Licenseand License your Work Learn how Creative Commons works. Creative Commons Frequently Asked Questions Provides answers to common questions. Content Curators A list of CC content curators and media archives (audio, video, podcasts, etc). See Film for a list of feature-length or otherwise highly notable films under CC licenses. ccLabs Featuredprojects currently under development at Creative Commons. CcPublisher A freeware application that allows you to upload Creative Commons-licensed audio and video works to the Internet Archive for free hostingwith the option of publishing to your own site. It alsoallows you to tag your audio and video files with information about your license. Podcasting Tools Provides links to podcasting legal guides,practical advice and mp3 promos to help podcasters inform listeners abouttheir use of CC licenses. Weblog The latest CC news, developments and announcements. Wikipedia: Creative Commons Shared community knowledge and useful links. Free Open Source Software and Social Video ApplicationsWeb-applicationsand downloadable software for all types of video requirements. Audio and Video edition of NGO-in-a-box A toolkit for DIY media makers that provides a collection of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) tools, documentation and tutorials. Celtx Software for making media - film, video, theatre, and animation. Celtx is a Media Pre-Production Suitecombining all the tools you need for rich media productions in oneapplication.Available in 20 languages on Windows, Mac and Linux, is open source, so available as a free download from the web site. Creative Commons Software Links to free and Open Source software resources. Ohloh - Open Source Directory Use the search engine to explore open source video projects. ProgrammableWeb A list of Web Mashups tagged video. Social Source Commons Tools taggedwith 'video'. SWiK Video A community driven resource for sharing open source software. Wikipedia: List of Open Source Software Packages Includes links to video editing software. Wikipedia: List of VJ Software Live video performance software for all platforms. Video Hosting Comparison SurveysUseful information and site feature comparisons. Comparing Terms of Service at Video Sites A comparison of popular video hosting sites compiled by J.D. Lasica of Ourmedia and Brian Satterfield of Techsoup. Provides a breakdown of what you get and give up by consenting to the TOS at some of the major video sites.There is also a TOS comparison wikifor new contributions and amendments. Sites that Pay for Web Video A chart listingWeb sites that enable independentvideo producers to make money from their work. Wikipedia: Comparison of Video Services Provides tables comparing general and technical information for a number of video hosts. Web 2.0 Video SitesThere are now hundreds of video sharing sites online all using different Terms of Service and user license agreements. Here are some lists you can use to explore them. Seethe comparison surveys above for an indication of how some of them differ. All Things Web 2.0 - Video 2.0- list of services. eConsultant: Web 2.0 Video Services- list of services also cross-posted to this Hubpage. Everything 2.0: Video 2.0- list of services. MoMB - The Museum of Modern Betas- cataloged items tagged 'video'. YouTube, Google Video and OthersThese sites do not specifically support Creative Commons but due to theirvast market share many users are uploadingfiles of CC licensed videos/music soundtracks to gain greater visibility. Here are some tools you can use totrackthis material. Complete List of Google Video Categories Includes Hidden Google Video Categories, Google Video By Ordered Country, The Unofficial Google Video Sitemap and Search Tips. Google Video: Link within a Video Explains how to add a time location to the end of a video URL to create links to specific points inside a video. Example: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1267626298712917200#35m24s Where #35m24s represents 35 minutes, 24 seconds. Useful for flagging CC music and conversations. Podzinger Allows you to search within the audioof videos on YouTube. Useful for digging conversations about Creative Commons. PureVideo A video meta-search engine that can pull in results from 100s of sites. Useful for finding CC content and generating search RSS feeds. YouTube Online Feed Reader Lets you quickly access and read all the main YouTube RSS feeds and search for videos. Also provides tools for easy subscription to feeds, bookmarking videos and tracking blog links to videos. Forums and GroupsCommunity sites and tools you can useto getsupport and answers to questions. Boardreader A forum search engine useful for tracking conversations. Google Groups Has recently updated the site look and features. Use the group search optionto find information. Videoblogging | Google Groups For videobloggers, vloggers, voggers, and anyone else creating video content for distribution online (Open).Yahoo! Groups Podcasters A group for podcasters and podcast listeners to share information (Free membership required).DISS-covered MediaMore complimentary media creations by Dave.Creative Commons Video Showcase- Learnhow Creative Commons licenses can help you avoid the problems current copyright laws create for the sharing ofinformation. Quickly access useful CC resources, news and developments for your own media projects.Free Sounds- Audio samples, freeware, legal audio and video downloads using Open Licenses. Opensonics- Open music community news and resources (Squidoo). Podcast Hosting Services - A guide to companies early to the podcasting market. Podsafe Content Lens - A guide to resources forlegal audio and video focusing on CC, copyleft and public domain works (Squidoo). Podsafe Music Resources - Where to find free and legal mp3 audio downloads (copyleft, creative commons, public domain resources). Viral Video Directory- A tool for tracking viral video clips and popular movies (Squidoo). Widget Finder- Connectivity accessories for social media applications. Othervideo items can be foundunder DISS Moviesand on the Media Distribution list. You can share related sites and info in the comments area below or email me at daveholmesprojects (at) gmail.com Technorati tags: archives, creative commons, education, film, google, hosting, learning, movies, open content, open source, podcasting, public domain, publishing recording, search engines, social media, tools, video, videoblogging, web 2.0, youtube
Sat, 03 Feb 2007 00:22:15 -0500 Music Legend James Brown Dies Aged 73 [New Window]
The "Godfather of Soul" James Brown has died today at the age of seventy three. He was admitted to hospital in Atlanta on Sundaysuffering with pneumonia. His contribution to musicis immeasurable and his influence on popular culture will continue to be felt long into the future. Having spent six decades inentertainment the singing star had 119 chart hit records,second only to Elvis Presley. He had a tough childhood living in the deep south of America, having to pick cotton and shine shoes to support his family. By the age of sixteen he was convicted of armed robbery and served three years in a juvenile detention center. His musical career found its roots in Gospel music but his ideas were outside of the usual norm for popular artists of the time.Confronted withsocial hardshipsand a music business based on "popular conceptions" he often funded his own recordings. Believing in his own sound and sticking to his guns, he went on to transform Gospel into R&B, then Soul into Funk.Thesedevelopments had profound effects, leading to new forms of music production and leavinga lasting legacy on what was to become the worlds biggest selling music genre, Hip Hop. James Brownhad also been a political activist with a strong social agenda, lobbying for poor Afro Americans and sponsoring food stamps. He believed in black capitalism and managed to move with the times by using his exceptional music catalog to remain at the forefront of developments in the music and movie industries.Along with his sound recordings he'll beremembered for his distinctive vocal style, part sung - part spoken, andhis energetic live stageperformances. As the most sampled artist in recorded history he continues to be truly inspirational and influential. Wikipedia James BrownYouTube James Browntags: funk, gospel, James Brown, music, obituaries, performer, singer, R&B
Mon, 25 Dec 2006 06:48:45 -0500 Pump Audio Helps Indie Musicians Pump Up the Volume [New Window]
Pump Audio is amusic licensing agent that connects independent musicians and labels with buyers in the mainstream media. This is a new kind of digital marketplace that makes it easier for artiststo make their music available to a wide range of media production outlets including television, radio, Internet,and film.Possible uses include: commercials, jingles, industry presentations, movie soundtracks, promotions, TV background music, video games, websitesand any type of production that needs audio enhancement. Thenumerous avenues forsalesmeans new music in every genre is required tomaintain a catalog suitable for all purposes. The 50/50 DealThe Pump agreement pre-clearsthemusic for potential licensing,full ownership of the music remains with the musician and the agreement is completely non-exclusive. This means musicians retain control over their original recording and publishing copyrights. A minimum 1 year commitment is expected. Musicians receive50% of the license fees received by Pump Audio and also performance royalties where appropriate. Pump acts as the Administration Agent for royalties collected through a performing rights society such as ASCAP, BMI or SESAC (see the FAQ for more details).Music SubmissionAll music must be submitted on a broadcast quality, 16bit, 44.1khz CD. No fees are required for submission. An A&R department auditions each song prior to acceptance in the catalog. Each CD sent is treated separately and requires a separate contract. Pump TechnologyPump Audio have developed a portable music delivery service known as the PumpBox. There are webware and hardware versions of the PumpBox that provide comprehensive search capabilities for findingmusic in the catalog.Thousands of creative producers can search by genre, mood, instrument and tempo for music that isinstantly available for use. Local desktop installations are placed with industry clients such as MTV, VH1, Comedy Central, the History Channel and some of the top ad agencies worldwide.Only thebest Pump Audio artists are selected for the PumpBox although the larger catalog is still accessible to clients in other ways. Music that makes it into the PumpBox has the greatest chance of being seen and used. Pump Audio and Creative Commons Partner on Commercial Licensing for Independent Artists- PR NewswireExcerpts from the above press release:"Pump Audio is offering a variety of Creative Commons copyright licenses to its independent musicians who want to allow various forms of non-commercial use of their music.""As part of the partnership, Pump Audio has introduced an online badge for artists, allowing them to designate on any Web page, artist blog or MySpace profile that their music is available for commercial licensing through Pump Audio. Artists can pair their new Pump Audio badges with similar badges for their Creative Commons copyright licenses, enabling them to promote both their commercial and non-commercial licensing preferences. (Examples can be found at http://www.lovetheory.com/listenbuy.html and http://www.myspace.com/garynewvision )""Creative Commons copyright licenses allow authors and artists to mark their works as free to copy or transform under certain conditions -- to declare "some rights reserved," in contrast to the traditional "all rights reserved" -- thereby enabling others to access a growing pool of raw materials without legal friction. As musicians select a Creative Commons copyright license from the Creative Commons Web site, they also will be prompted to join Pump Audio for commercial licensing of their music."This is part of theCreative Commons initiative to find and present ways that CC licensing modelscan be applied to commercial ventures.Via The Digital Music WeblogTechnorati tags: audio, audio licensing, advertising, bands, composers, creative commons, distribution, film, Internet, media, music, musicians, production, publishing, pump audio, radio, recording, television
Wed, 13 Dec 2006 13:59:06 -0500 Legendary Radio DJ Alan 'Fluff' Freeman Dies Aged 79 [New Window]
Alan "Fluff" Freeman the veterandisc jockeyand popular radio personality has died aged 79. Best known forpresenting the BBC Radio 1 Rock Show and Pick of the Pops, his characteristic style and quirky catchphrasesmade himone of the UK's top DJs. Fellow broadcaster, the late John Peel once said he was 'the greatest out-and-out disc jockey of them all'. I remember many Saturday afternoons spent listening toFluff's BBC Radio show from 2pm-6pm during the 70's. It was an eagerly anticipated source of rock album tracks thatwas voted top radio show in the NME Pop Polls for 1974, 75 and 76. The choice of music was progressive and adventurous, showcasing new releases by artists such asPink Floyd, Genesis, Camel and Caravan. The show opened with ELP's "Welcome Back My Friends..."and his colourful, lively approach was instantly recognizable, delivering a fast paced mix of wisecracks and classical music jingles. Towards the end of his career he broughthisenthusiastic style to classical music broadcasting at Radio 2. In 1996 he received the Music Industry Trusts' Awardfor his outstanding contribution to the British music industry and was awarded the C.B.E. (Commander of the British Empire) in 1998. He died peacefully at home in Twickenham yesterday, after a long illness. He'll be sadly missed. Audio Clipsof Alan and his Jingles Radio Rewind The Radio AcademyMore BBC ObituaryPhotos Wikipedia Alan FreemanTechnorati tags: Alan Freeman, bands, BBC, broadcasting, classical, dj, music, presenter, radio, rock
Mon, 27 Nov 2006 22:31:31 -0500 British Record Industry Loses Fight to Extend Copyright [New Window]
The British record industry has lost the fight to extend copyrights on sound recordings from 50 years to 95 years. Artists and record labels have been lobbying the government in an effort to bring copyright protection into line withUnited States copyright law. In December 2005, the Chancellor of the Exchequerasked Andrew Gowersto lead an Independent Review to examine the UKs intellectual property framework.Today,theTelegraph reports the Gowers Review has found little evidence to support record companies claimsthey will be deprived of profitsthat otherwise could be used to reinvest in new acts. The review will recommendagainst an extension of copyright terms butthe final decision rests with the government.Music industry insiders are callingit a "blow" to the record industry that willdetrimentally impact the income of artists in their old age. Recordings out of copyright will enter the public domainand be availablefor anyone to use or exploit for non-commercial and commercial purposes. To clarify: Copyright in Sound RecordingsSound recordings have an individual copyright that is separate from the copyright of the composition. Even if the composition is in the public domain, a specific sound recording of it may not be. Therefore, the two types of copyright that apply when talking about music copyright are: 1. The copyright that applies to the composition, musical score and lyrics of a musical work. This is signified by the traditional C in a circle symbol and remains in effect for 70 years after the death of the last remaining author. 2. The copyright that applies to the sound recording itself which is signified by the P in a circle symbol and remains in effect for 50 years from the death of the last remaining author or from when the work was made available to the public, by authorized release, performance, broadcast, etc. Excerpt: Release The Music: A guide to copyright in sound recordings. See the British Music Rights FAQfor general information about copyright and the music industry.Creative Commons The issues surrounding copyright restrictions and music are complex, especially in the areas of sampling and file-sharing. Many independent artists see traditional copyright as overly restrictive andare now choosing to make works available under Creative Commons licenses. These type of copyleft licenses generally provide pre-cleared permission to copy, distribute, display, and perform the workunder the terms of the license. Thiscan apply to individual samples, complete songs and other materials. The use ofCC licenses has enabled podcasters to produce and distribute shows using a legal framework, without the complicated conditionsassociated with Webcasting licensed music from the major record labels. Copyleft licenses are now widely adopted by netlabels like Magnatuneand dozens of other CC music distributors. A new music commons is being created and musicians can easily collaborate online using web-based tools like ccMixter, Jamglue and Splice. This open and flexible model is already commercially viable and it's only a matter of time beforeCC licensed music becomes ubiquitous. There is a shift across the board to allowpeople access to music in new ways that take advantage of digital technologies and the Internet. Creative Commons is a part of it, interactivity and connectivity are at the heart of it,remix cultureis a name forit. Real World Other websites like Peter Gabriel's Real World Remixedencourage "in-house" remixing ofworks licensed by Real World Records Ltd (under theEMI banner). Althoughuser generatedderivative works can only be made available via the website, the job of seeking copyright clearance is made easier with the online Licence Application form(both commercial and non-commercial). Sadly, Peter is pro copyright extension and I'minterested to hear his point of viewon the matter.I imaginethe decision is influenced by his strong position in the record industry and financial involvement with digital distribution technologies like The Filter. He believes artists should have more control over their careers and wants the record industry tobecome a service industry. "It is here, it is now" YourSpins is another site that lets people remix tracks licensed from artists, producers and record labels. These type of commercial venturesuse competitions and popularity charts to engage customers withmusic promotions and advertising. Champagne Socialism Holding Back the Years (a retrospective update) Much of the muddled thinking on the copyright extension debate appears to be coming from within the record industry. Millionaire musicians campaigningfor "copyright creep" include Sir Cliff Richard, Bono, and Mick Hucknall of Simply Red. Cliff's first hit recording "Move It!" is due to enter the public domain in 2008. Written by Ian Samwell, It was the first rockand roll hit to be created in Britain. Ian's lifelong contribution to the record industry ishighly significant and this recording will be an important addition to the public domain. This year Sir Cliff has recorded the song again. Incidently, Cliff's backing band were originally called The Drifters butchanged the name to The Shadows due to legalcomplicationswith the American R&B group of the same name, formed earlier by Clyde McPhatter. "They say the lights are always bright on Broadway. They say there's always magic in the air." On Broadway There are many of these early recordings from 50 years ago that are currently not made available by the record companies that own them. The era of rock 'n' roll has hit the public domain and specialist music dealers are able to makerecordings more widelyavailable. Rock 'n' Roll songs entering the PD in 2007 include : Elvis Heartbreak Hotel, Blue Suede Shoes, Love Me Tender Little Richard Tutti Frutti Chuck Berry Roll Over Beethoven James Brown Please, Please, Please Carl Perkins Blue Suede Shoes Johnny Cash I Walk The Line Lonnie Donegan Rock Island LineThispotentially provides income forthe original songwriters whoreceive publishing royalties on the sale of materials, radio plays, etc. As the law stands, the coming years will see populartitles byThe Beatles and The Rolling Stones enter the public domain.With the permission of the publisher these works can then be distributed and remixed freely. How much of the current CE lobbying is due to artists jumping on the bandwagon to promote themselves rather than awareness of the real issues is a matter of opinion. Theiranti-public ownership challengecan beconfusing to the public who's side of the dealtheyaim to breakby changing the law retrospectively. Mick's Mini Manifesto An example of this confusing woolly clothing is a recent piece by Mick Hucknallfor The Guardian: Fundamental Socialism- Copyright does not restrict the flow of ideas; it promotes it, and boosts the knowledge economy.Mick is a close friend of Tony Blair and a staunch supporter of the UK Labour party, hence the socialist stance. His handsome donations, have helped the Labour partyin the past when they most needed it (Leak ). However, donations to Labour have virtually dried up since the investigation into the cash for honors scandal and the party is now 23.4m in debt. See Red Star Research for information on friends of the New Labour Project and the Electoral Commission : Loans to political parties. "Any rock can be made to roll if you've enough ofit to pay the toll". In the Guardian article Mick says: "Copyright promotes artistic creativity and the free circulation of ideas. More than 20 years ago, musicians seized the opportunity for collaboration offered by new technology in the form of digital samples. Far from obstructing this exchange of inspiration, copyright facilitates sampling, and translates the creative debt into income for the creator of the borrowed work. Musical sampling is the perfect example of copyright's flexibility in fusing the ever-changing worlds of art, commerce and technology."Free circulation of ideas? Thiscontrasts sharply with his attack on the music industry in 2003. He told the Financial Times: "The contract was basically immoral. "Like many artists, my deal meant I paid for the cost of recording the music. I paid for the marketing. And I didn't get any royalties until those costs had been incurred. "But despite this the contract stated that the master recordings still belonged to the record company." "I don't know any other business where you pay for something and then someone else owns it."If not the tune at least thewords appear to have changed somewhat. I guess at the time Mick just wanted to get control over his own copyrights having signed up for a deal that made him 20m and the label 192m profit. Apparently Mick thought this was unfair (exploited?) and belatedly realized owning all your own copyrights is a better place to be. He's now worthmore than40m and apparently enjoys the benefits of copyright control so much that he would like to extend it retrospectively. Does this make him akind of public domain pirate? Sound Sampling Socialism As far as digital sampling and socialism are concerned, he seems to have missed the fact that digital drum machines and samplers were used both live and in the studio to replace drummers, bass players, horn and string sections, etc. Thereby eliminating the expense of paying musicians and arrangers in accordance with the rules of the Musicians' Unionand forcing many musicians into unemployment. The realisticreproduction of various musical sounds was revolutionary and instruments likeKen Freeman's string synthesizer were analog precursors of things to come such as Roger Linn's drum machine, a digitalrhythm sequencer which became widely usedin music productions. This situation provided little incentive for traditional musicians to pursue professional careers in the record industry. Fueled by new technologies and adeficit of real musicians, small groups of creative people began "sampling" the remnants of live playing that could still be found on old vinyl recordings. But mostly it was the sound of the recordings thatcreators were interested in, the unique feel created by the recording process at the time. Ironically therecordingengineers thatoften spent lifetimes conjuringthese sounds into existence were rarely if everpaid a royalty for their work. Even a credit on the sleeve notes was considered privileged at the time. Perhaps retrospectively we should track down all the engineers thathave contributed to these recordings and give them pensions! The process of selecting these disparate chunks of sound and recombining them intostructured compositionsbecame a highlyskilled and resourceful art form. Fromthe plundering ofrare and obscure sound sources to the editing and final musical composition itself, the art of noise had unlimited potential. Mick's correct that musicians didtry to seize the opportunity for collaboration using digital samples.However, due to copyright restrictionsthis was consideredstealing, an infringement of both the sound recording copyright and the original composition copyright. And so just when it mattered most, costly and complicated procedures were introduceddesigned to securecopyright clearance and deter unauthorized use of musical works. To summarize, copyright prohibits use anddeters creativity;infringement of the law is usually pursued in conjunction with themotivational word money - 'Where there's a hit, there's a writ!'. Still, by the time record company executives, publishersandcomposers realized how to make money from (wr)it, brilliant new derivative works hademerged andthe genie had escaped the bottle. For the first time it was possible to experiment musically by isolating and combining the greatest musical performances, compositions, lyrics, and sounds ofhistory.Having stood on the shoulders of giants and been inspired by the vision before them, the creators of music embarked on agreat journey to explore the wealth of world culture. They quickly rediscoveredthe forgotten treasures of the esoteric arts, counterculture, tribal traditions and the hidden meanings locked within previous struggles.The artistic creators, scattered into diverse communities, started to manufacture hybrid forms of music from their eclectic plundering. These hybrid musical forms inevitably lead to social commentary and a reappraisal of the human condition. Each community finding its own voice and identity. Had the public domain vaults contained more recent sound recordings even more creativity would have been unleashed. None of this was dependant on obeying the laws of copyright and much was achieved through the process of dissent coupled with a healthy dose of entrepreneurism.Is Mick suggesting that the inventors ofHip Hop music are irrelevant because they infringed copyright? Art is at the heart of culture, it's shameful to deny it and painful to the artists that are persecuted for making it. True Colours - Paint It Black - Fade to Grey Mick says: "Allowing valuable sound recordings to pass into the public domain does not create a public asset: it represents a massive destruction of UK wealth, and a significant loss to the UK taxpayer as exploitation moves offshore or into the grey market."So he's against replenishing the public domain on the grounds that it destroys UK wealth. Would that be your wealth or his? Grey market? I assume he's talking aboutDanger Mouse's Grey Album, aremix of music from The Beatles' White Album and rapper Jay-Z's Black Album. The production used unauthorized samples of The Beatles recordings. EMI the copyright holder ordered Danger Mouse and associated retail outlets to cease distribution. In response, Downhill Battle,activists for musicindustry reform, organizeda protest. Grey Tuesday was a day of coordinated electronic civil disobedience on February 24, 2004. For 24 hours, participating websites adopted grey tones and posted copies ofThe Grey Album for free download on their sites. And when the fat doggy shakes its tail: "OVER 1 MILLION SONGS IN A DAY After a survey of the sites that hosted files during Grey Tuesday, and an analysis of filesharing activity on that day, we can confidently report that the Grey Album was the number one album in the US on February 24 by a large margin. Danger Mouse moved more "units" than Norah Jones and Kanye West, with well over 100,000 copies downloaded. That's more than 1 million digital tracks."Doubtless, the huge public interest mustbe doing nothing to stimulate interest in The Beatles' musicandis obviously damaging theUK economy (minus the bandwidth providers). That is why this illegal art must be crushed for the benefit of the public.History has shown EMI's attempts to silence the protest and curtail downloading of the Grey Albumare futile. In the past,revolutionary digital developers and pioneering producersinvented new toolsand broke many rulesin the pursuit of their grey arts.As these pioneers pushedthe frontiers of possibility forward, a vacuum was created behind them to be filled by the artists of following generations. The same fundamental social traits are being played out today on a much grander scale. The meaning and influence ofmusical sampling is best told by the samplists themselves and the copyright criminals documentary This is a Sampling Sport iswell worthwatching if you'reinterested. Fundamentally Flawed - Let It Bleed The Guardian article is fundamentally flawed andMick's partisanposture on copyright extension reads more like an ill-advised,self-serving, charm offensive.Testimony to the public's distaste for his ideas are the number of weightycomments posted in opposition to his discourse.The rush of hot air has rapidly spreadflamingdissent like wildfire from column to post. Granted, some of these comments are possibly due to Mick's poor public perception; he ranked 43 in a Channel4 poll to discover the 100 Worst Britons We Love to Hate. Cliff charted atnumber 29 and Tonyshimmied straight to the topon his ascent up the greasy pole of pub-politics. Politicians are not held in highesteem by the British public (There's an ongoing police investigation into Labour funding and MPs are currently asking for a 66% wage increase). Rebuttal In relation to Mick's piece the Guardian's online editor Vic Keegan was quick to publish a rebuttal. Excerpt: "Talent is now starting to come spontaneously from below and being judged by its peers around the world rather than having to go through the rusting filtration plant of the quasi-monopolistic moguls of the music or publishing industries. The new digital giants, Google, YouTube, MySpace, Bebo, Flickr and the rest, are operating in a different space and we will have to adjust. It goes without saying that artists should be properly rewarded, but surely 30 or, at most, 40 years is enough to milk what is there before letting the rest of the world have a go at remixing or improving on the old songs (which British artists would be good at)."Grassroots - Let It Be I'm inclined to agree withhis point of view, grassroots productionflourishes in an "open" space, Creative Commons is a useful copyright tool andthe public domain is a valuable source of material. British artists are indeed very good at remixing and improving songs. Building on the past adds cultural value. Mick mentions this here: "Copyright extension is partly about equality for performers, with other creators and with those in the US and elsewhere. It is also about maintaining the cultural value of works by controlling their exploitation. But, most of all, it is about nurturing the development of a truly revolutionary explosion in small-scale grassroots creative businesses."So the UK should unilaterally extend copyright in line withthe USand give it's citizensthe equal benefit of losing access to hundreds ofclassical works made available at resources like the European Archives? No thanks Mick. Now, in relation to record companies, copyright and ownership, I've highlightedtwo words in the excerpt above that seem to make more sense once exchanged. Advocates of copyright extension claim the relatively small amount of moneyinvolved, 143m over 10 years according to a recent IPPR estimate, would be vital for investing in new acts.Consider: "Extending the copyright period would mean that record companies have no incentive to discover new talent. When Cliff Richard signed to EMI in 1958, the company wasn't relying on the smash hits of 1908 to fund the deal." Private Eye issue 1157.A recorded work paid for by a record company is owned by the company (copyright) and is a company asset. Most commercial record companies invest in sound recordings for thepurpose of developing (nurturing) a return on that investment. This can mean exploiting the product to it's maximum potential. A record company's most valuable assets are the acts that sell the most. In a large corporation the most popular acts form a minority. It's no coincidencethis call for copyright extension comes at a time when the biggest acts are falling out of copyright: Elvis, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan etc.Without this safe income the record companies will be forced to invest in new acts to remain competitive.It's easier for them to keep singing the chorus lineto Elvis's "Got My Mojo Working, Keep Your Hands Off of It" P2P Distribution Research shows that unknown artists, the ones selling the least albums at the grassroots level,benefit from P2P file-sharing. Conversely, popular artists with higher sales are damaged by file sharing. So although P2P file sharing depresses music sales overall, the effect is not even. To protect their most valuable assets it's in the interests of therecord companiesto reduce (control) the amount of file-sharing. "File sharing is reducing the probability that any act is able to sell millions of records, and if the success of the mega-star artists is what drives the investment in new acts, it might reduce the incentive to invest in new talent." - For an explanation see The effect of P2P file-sharing depends on popularity.Either way the case for investment in new talent by major record labels looks tenuous. At the other end of the tail, unsigned bands are very happy to be able to share their music online. Manynew artists actively distribute media files under Creative Commons licenses across P2P networks. What about their copyrights? Hundreds of these acts are now carving out their own niche in the wider music business outside of the record industry. "In a traditional market, hit products often get 80% of the revenue. In a long tail market, hit products get 50% of the revenue while the other 50% is shared by a plethora of niche producers." (definition from Global Guerrillas weblog) - See P2P Foundation Long TailClosing down file-sharing networks affects these niche producers by inhibiting low cost distribution. Protecting the interests of the minoritypopular artists, that only benefitthe coffers oflarge private corporations, sounds more like reinforcing capitalism than socialism, although I'm awaredefinitions of the two are constantly evolving.Interestingly,file sharers get different treatment in Europe's courts. The Internet and mobile devices provide new opportunities for the distribution of media and there's gold in The Long Tail.However, if record companiesdepend on their most popular acts for profits it's probable that many older and important workswill remain unheard, lockedin record company archives. Copyright and the record industry is less about equality and more aboutrarity, as in restricted, infrequent, unavailable,scarce.There are many examples of how copyright has been used to suppress creativity and freedom of speech. Recently we saw claims of corporatecopyright infringement over the stolen Open Source code used in the Sony Rootkit spyware scandal. And what's this I hear? Is EMI profiting from Beatles digital piracy?- Artist exploitation? Never! Rather than say any more on Mick's piece here I'll simply point you to Simon's amusing and witty decoding of it in We'll keep the red-head flag flying here. Formore aboutflaws in reasoning and argument see:Thirty-eight dishonest tricks which are commonly used in argument, with the methods of overcoming them taken from "Straight and crooked thinking" by Robert H. Thouless. Buffalo Bill's Wild West- Presents- The Silence of the Lambs In response to the leaked findings of the Gowers Review, the chairman of the British Phonographic Industry, Peter Jameison claims: "There can be no rationale for discriminating against performing artists..."On that note and keeping with the theme of whistle blowers,perhaps signed artists should investigate Some intimate details on the Google YouTube deal.It would appear the big media companies have done a deal that avoids musicians and actors getting a cut of themillions exchanging hands in thesettlement payouts. I have no idea as to the validity of the claims buta couple of the paragraphs contain information sure to wet the whistle of many a musician. Thanks Victor. If any ofit is true the lawyers will already have their sharpened claws thrust firmly into the tender meat and the hungry wolves will be licking their lips at the thought of lengthy litigation. When it comes to copyright and big business, what goes on behind closed doors, in thedarkened smoke-filled rooms of private corporations, God only knows. Is it any wonder we find it difficult to trust wealthy business men andpoliticians that consort secretly?When aChristian musician more popular than the pope, and lobbying for copyright reform, provides the Blairs shelter for their summer holidays as agesture of kindness, people are bound to ask questions. On thatcliff hanger, a few final thoughts. It makes me wonder if the 8000 about to be slaughtered are justsacrificial lambs... a forlorn hope... redshirt characters dreaming ofred wine... Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil... for I am blissfully ignorant...baa. Cartoon courtesy of gapingvoid- blog homepage "All this takes place without a single sunset, without a single bell ringing and without a single blossom falling from the sky. Yet it fills everything with its mysterious intoxicating presence. It's over to you."This andvarious other quotes - Peter Gabriel, The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway - see annotated interpretation. The Writing's on The Wall This video has been removed at the request of copyright owner Warner Music Groupbecause its content was used without permission "It's only knock and know-all, but I like it" Commentary Beatles music to start entering UK public domain in 2012? automatically generated digest of recent news stories. Charles Leadbeater: Too tight to mentionpersonal insights andcomments from the public. Louis Barfe: Music Copyright (slight return)a musician speaks. Conversations Lessig Blog SlashdotCopyright ExtensionNews Now AlltheWeb.com Google IceRocket Blog Search YahooOrganizationsOpen Rights Group a hub for digital rights issues.RelatedPodsafe Music Resources The Long Tail Manifestofree PDF download. What if The Beatles had used Creative Commons Licenses?WikipediaMick HucknallTechnorati tags: audio, bands, BPI, capitalism, copyleft, copyright, creative commons, digital rights, downloads, Gowers Review, file sharing, IP, labels, leaks, long tail, music, musicians, p2p, public domain, publishing recording, record industry, releasethemusic, remix culture, sampling, socialism, social media, sound, TreasuryDo You Read The Bible?Free Culture Flag
Mon, 27 Nov 2006 02:11:27 -0500 What if The Beatles had used Creative Commons Licenses? [New Window]
A collection of news and views across The Beatles universe, in no particular order; from politics to parody, paradigm to paradox. Blue Meanies Spotted in Japan I read the news today oh boy... About an old man arrested for performing Beatles songson his harmonica: A 73-year-old bar manager who illegally performed copyrighted tunes by the Beatles and other artists on the harmonica was arrested Thursday on suspicion of violating the Copyright Law, police said.More onthis story at the Mutantfrog Travelogue.And though the news was rather sad... Ifeelfine 'causeMr Martin made amashup with a Beatles thing called "Love". Love is all you need Original Beatles producer Sir George Martin and his son Giles have spent the last two years remixing the Fab Four's music at Abbey Road Studios. The Love album combines previously separate songs intoa 1.5 hourmusical medley,mixed and available in 5.1surround sound. Love samples 130 songs to create 27 musical pieces. The songs are mixed into a soundscape wherethe lyrics and instrumentation from one song merge with the next. The project was commissioned for the Cirque du Soleil's Beatles show of the same name that is currently showing in Las Vegas. The show by the world-famous circus troupe is a lavish biographical interpretation of The Beatles story, written and directed by Dominic Champagneand performed in a theater production costing around $150 million. It's the first time Apple Corps Ltd. haspartnered in a joint venture, permission for the production being granted from Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Yoko Ono Lennon, and Olivia Harrison (the latter two representing John Lennon and George Harrison, respectively). When I'm Sixty-Four Earlier this year on June 18, Paul McCartney turned 64 years of age. According to The Sunday Times Rich List, Sir Paul isBritain's second richest music industry millionaire, thought to beworth around $825m. Former Zomba Records owner Clive Calderis the first, with an estimated fortune of 1,300m (Britney Spears and 'N Sync). In an ironic twist tothe famous Beatles'song lyrics of "Will you still need me, will you still feed me,when I'm Sixty-Four ", he separated from his wife, Heather Mills McCartney just one month before his 64th birthday.There's a French tribute sitecalled When I'm 64, where you can listen to different renditions of thepopular song. IrecallCherie Blair performing her own rendition ofthe songfor her husband Tony duringadiplomatic mission to China in July, 2003. Moments earlier the prime minister had faced a hostile grilling from students at Tsinghua University over the death of weapons expert Dr David Kelly and the war in Iraq. (BBC)- Details can be found at Wikipedia David Kelly.Media copies of Cherie's performance are widely available on the Internet but inher case I assume no copyright laws have been broken (fair use?). TheBlairs are lawyers and know all aboutavoiding illegalities before any spinis put onthe record. Perhaps Tony could have reciprocated such overt signs of affectionby singingMy Cherie Amour. Mrs Blairwasn't the only one contemplating a career move at the time. Alastair Campbell, "Prime Minister's Director of Communications and Strategy"aka chief 'spin-doctor' resigned his position on29 August 2003. There's a movie about political spin-doctoring calledSpin that you can watch on Google Video. Can you feel the sting of nostalgia yet? Can yousee the Real Me, doctor? The UK Hall of Fame Last night I watched the UK Music Hall of Fame induction ceremony on TV.Musicians ofall nationalities are honoured for their lifetime achievements in music. Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown was given the role of inductingthe legendary Beatles producer Sir George Martin, now eightyyears of age,into the Hall of Fame.UnfortunatelyBrown's rise to the podium took an unexpected turn, asmembers of the audience began to boo and heckle him. Although he bulldozed on with the introduction, the damage was done and the stalled PR exercise descended into the classic, spiraling nose-divemaneuver, so dreaded by politicians, known as negative spin. Given John Lennon was an anti-war activistwho wrote the song"Give Peace a Chance", was it ever going to be any different? Did Brown really expect toblag a room full of Bon Jovi fans?Isn't that Tony's job? God only knows. The Mashup Hall of Fame Which brings me to Brian Wilson, who was also inducted into the hall of fame, this time by David Gilmour of Pink Floydwhowere inducted in 2005 byPete Townshend of The Who, previously inducted by Ray Davies of The Kinks who were inducted by footballer Geoff Hurst! TheBeatles were to cite Wilson's workas a major influence andaccording to Paul McCartney,the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds albuminspired the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Indeed The Beatlesand many of their British peers haddrawn heavilyupon themusical ideas coming out of Americaduring the 1950's and 60's. You can find out more about their early influencesand listen to the oldest known recordings at Before They Were Beatles: The Quarrymen. Bye the way, Paul McCartney owns the publishing rights to Buddy Holly's music and the Beatles covered his songs (see MPL Communications). Sadly this freedom does not extend to Clayton Counts and his Beachles creation Sgt. Petsound's Lonely Hearts Club Band. His treatment by EMI lawyers has been more along the lines of the Spanish Inquisition. Clayton joinsthe 'most wanted' list of other 'outlaws'hounded by EMI in the Mashup Hall of Fame, including Danger Mouse (Grey Album) and dj BC (Beastles).For more info on mashups and sampling see the following: Bannedmusic.org-Distributes music that has been the subject of lawsuits. Copyright Criminals: This is a Sampling Sport- Video documentary about sampling and book "Freedom of Expression". FleetwoodMash- Mashup links, downloads, articles, forum, home of the "Fleetwood Mash" sample band project. Good Blimey!- Stream and download 2,747 mashups. Wikipedia Mashup- music, video, web applications.Remember kids, (all you need is cash) to ask for permission beforeusingcopyrighted music. Copyright Life Extension Sticking with intellectual property and copyright issues, lets move on toinformation publishedon the BPI website. The BPI = the British record industry's trade association = RIAA. Firstly: Gowers Review "In December last year, the Chancellor of the Exchequer asked Andrew Gowers, formerly the Editor of the Financial Times, to launch a review into the UKs intellectual property framework deadline for submission of evidence was Friday 21 April 2006. The BPI, the UK record companies trade association, submitted written and oral evidence."And this recent statement: 'British consumers demand fair play on copyright for British musicians'. "New research shows a majority of British consumers support the record industrys battle for extended copyright protection for UK artists. 62 per cent of those polled agreed that UK artists should be protected for the same number of years as their American counterparts, by extending the term of copyright for sound recordings from its current 50 years to 95 years."Peter Jamieson, chairman of the BPI, says: We are hugely encouraged that the majority of British consumers agree with us that UK musicians should receive as much copyright protection as their US counterparts. "Our unique and internationally renowned industry would use a term extension to continue to invest heavily in the creative economy for future generations and consolidate the rights and works of our cultural ambassadors.If this was a Monty Python sketch itmight be funny, however, No Rock&Roll Funhassomeinteresting thoughtsonthe fiascothatmakes the BPI poll sound more like Cash for Questionsor Cash for Peerages rather than a mandate from the British public. Although the BPIprefer to give the impression of a record industry that's an organized and unified whole, in reality it's not. It's acompetitive and chaotic market with hundreds of record labels, publishers, artists, management,etc, fighting for a piece of the cake, who frequently disagree and constantly negotiate. Many deals are fought out aggressivelyon the back of ownership rights and disputes likethe current American caseof Universalvs MySpace. Take a look at the legal issues and copyright lawsuits littering the landscape, it's not a pretty picture. Former Clash and Pink Floyd manager Peter Jenner, lifts the lid on the music business in a recent interview for The Register - Big labels are f*cked, and DRM is dead. Contrary to what manycopyright holderswould have us believe, the notion thatartistsalways get paid andtreated fairly is unrealistic. For example The Beatles are currently suing EMI, who hold the rights toThe Beatles sound recordings in perpetuity, for 30 million in missing royalties, and here'smore:Beatles to sue over royalty claim.It's quite commonformoneyget lost in a highly complex financial system. For us lesser mortals, how manypeople working in the record industrywill have adequate pensions in retirement? How expensive and risky is it for musicians toaudit a record label's accounts? How can artists disagree with their 'bosses' in avariable price systemand survive the 'bargain bucket'?How many artists and consumers know about the Sony rootkit? How much damage is being done by the Sample Trolls?For many people in the music business it's like working in a bubble that's about to burst. Anextension on traditional copyrightwill effect all types of sound recordingsandwould potentially lockthe recordings out of common culture. How?Instead of being abundantly available in the public domain they will remain restricted, privately ownedand therefor scarce. Anyone wishing to use the material runs intoproblemstrying to get permission fromthe copyright holder/s. In a world oflimitless circumstances, the difficult process of finding the copyright owner becomes prohibitiveand the creative incentive is lost.Where would Walt Disney be without the ability todraw upon the public domain? Bear in mind some works that are already in the public domain may become re-copyrighted. In the UK, over 40 years of copyright free music will be forced back into private hands. Due to copyright infringement, what was once plentiful may suddenly vanish including, websites with movies, audio and MIDI files, guitar tabs,lyrics, photos, etc. Most songs are owned by businesses and not the original composer/lyricist, soany financial benefits to copyright extension are not necessarily passed on to descendants. The Open Rights Groupis an organization based in the UK raising awareness of digital rights issues.Release The Musicis a campaign focusing on how themusic industryis lobbying to change the duration of copyright on sound recordings from 50 years to 95 years. It providesinformationabout intellectual property rights and the debate surrounding copyright extension. In particular I recommend listening to the audio filesof Jonathan Zittrains excellent overview of what intellectual property and copyright is, and the recent public debate chaired by representatives for and against copyright extension.If you want to Get Involved you can support Release The Music by signing the online petition or blogging to raise awareness. As this is a public ownership issue that affects everyone, opposition to the record industry's stanceis useful for stimulating public debate. It's important to listen to the arguments both for and against copyright extension. If key people in the record industry believe public perception to be irrelevantthis could have serious consequencesfor record labels in the future. A recent IPSOS European blog surveyof 5000 people reveals a quarter of Europeans trust blogs. Negative spin impacts buying habits to the degree that "39 million people have not bought a product or service in the past because of comments read on the Internet from other customers or private individuals". The large growth in social media means issues of trust will become increasingly crucial to economic success in the future.See also: Head to Head: Music copyright- Both sides of the argument are put forward with insightful comments from the public.Why the Public Domain Is Not Just a Mickey Mouse Issue- A concise overview of the fieldfrom a museum professional's perspective. MySpace or Your Space? The problem the record industry has is one of poor public perception. In the real world, what counts iswhat people feel and believe but much of what we've been told in the past has turned out to be hype.The boundaries are dissolving and in the disintermediated era of New Mediaalmost anyone can become an artist, label, publisher, distributor. In thereal world, Grey Tuesdayworks and the unleashed dog is happiest when it's wagging The Long Tail. Teenagers need friends, music, bands, lifestyle, andthese things arereadily available online, nothing will ever stop that type of impulse, just look at the rise of MySpace and YouTube. Telling kids not to download musicillegally is about as effective astellingmusicians not tosample other people's recordings with a digital sampler.Reinforcing negative messagescan be counter productive. In the presence of such tools we're like the apes reactingto the monolith in Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey.Some see these tools as weapons of mass destruction but in reality it was the so called 'illegal' downloading of music thatopened the flood gates to selling music online. Copyright was the barrier used to stem the tide of illegal file-sharing, DRM was the secret weaponand iTunes became the gatekeeper. The Beatles have yet to make their music available online, although it came to light in the Apple vs Apple court case,once The Beatles catalog has been digitally remastered it will happen. The absence of Beatles music online haslikelyencouraged illegal file-sharing of their music. When Universalthe world's biggest music groupgoes up against the world'smost popularsocial network the outcome is sure togenerateinterest.Young people don't really care about the businessbut the businessrelies on them and it's dangerous for corporations to alienate their customers. Youngsters just want somewhere to hang-out, chat, evolve. That's where MySpace is successful, it can bring the street corner into the home. It alsoprovides a solution for parents and children of a certain, critical age, to engage; a social tool and common ground where parents can witness the way youths connect in the real world.MySpace hits precisely at the intersection of culture where parenting issuesand teenagers converge.This is hot territory for advertisers, promoters and marketers. If you ever need to understand the phenomenon, watch a group of teenagers multitasking ina Web 2.0social space (instant messaging, MySpace, etc). Young people instinctively get it, Rupert Murdoch and others have it, the record labels want part of it. This is the Day of The Longtail. What If? I wonder what The Beatles legacy would have been had theyreleased music underOpen Music licenses; a future-friendly, flexible system thatprotected the artist's commercial/non-commercial rightsbut provided the opportunity forothers to freely share and build upon their creations.It's easy to imaginehow the movie and soundtracktoour lives wouldbe very different visually, audibly and musically; fueled by an open, abundant and sustainablereservoirof creative ideas. But can such a sytem ever really exist? In an imaginary copyleft worldmany ofthe thingsI've mentioned would nothappen and the spin on world events wouldtake anotherturn. The Beatles were arguably the most influential band of the twentieth century. Their iconic statusand music reverberated throughoutthe chambers of society and culture globally; including the arts, business, technology, politicsand religion.They were the first band to be globally transmitted on television, in front of an estimated 400 million people worldwide. Just like The Beatlesand other bands of the time,musicianstodayare using the latest media technologies to promote their ideas. Of course the Internet andCreative Commons licenses didn't exist back in the 1960's...but they do now. Amen. As Alexander Graham Bell once said: "When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us."When it comes to intellectual property, controversy is never far away. Bell was generally accepted as the inventor of the telephone, havingobtained the patent with financing from his American father-in-law on March 7, 1876. He managed toget the patentbefore other developersthat were working along similar lines did atthe time. However, a century later, on September 25, 2001, the US Congress declared by resolution that it was the Italian American,Antonio Meucci, that actuallyinventedthe telephone. That 95 year copyright extensionrings a bell. "Music is everybody's possession. It's only publishers who think that people own it."John LennonAssorted Beatles Booty Abracadabra: The Beatles: Revolver- A free e-book telling the story of the Beatles 1966 album Revolver. Published under a Creative Commons license.The Beatles Complete Songbook andThe Beatles MIDI collection - Chords and tabs to thewhole Beatles Discography.Beatles on Film YouTube - A compilation of all of George's scenes during his appearance on Eric Idle's RWT Christmas special, December 26, 1975. YouTube - John Lennon 1980 interview- Sitting in studio control room, talking about musicians making music.YouTube Monty Python - Ringo, Lulu and the Its man on episode 28.YouTube The US vs John Lennon-trailer to themovie. Website.Beatles Parody Bands, Mashups and Spoofs Beatallica MySpace- "Like a crazy edition of Marvel's "What If?" comic, Beatallica takes the beautiful songs of The Beatles, changes the lyrics and mixes them with the never-ending thrash of Metallica." Digger Digger Dogstar's Beatles Album Covers Wikipedia All You Need Is Cash (The Rutles) Wikipedia The Rutles - Apparently The Beatles Loved The Rutles - A Ruttle Remembers: Talking with Neil Innes The Rutles MySpace The Rutles Tragical History Tour YouTube - The Rutles as they appeared on Rutland Weekend Television on November 12, 1976.Birth of the Prefab Four. YouTube - The Rutles Intro - post Monty Python, Eric Idle introduces the phenomenon and shows some of their highlights. 'A Film, an Album, and a Lawsuit' excerpt from BBC - h2g2 - The Rutles - the Band"At the time that All You Need is Cash and The Rutles were released, the rights to the Beatles' back-catalogue were owned by publishing company ATV. Missing the point by several miles, the company sued the producers of the Rutles' music for infringement of copyright. Rather than fighting the case, the decision was made to hand over half of the rights to the Rutles' songs to ATV, instantly halving Innes's income from his music. As a final insult, Innes was obliged to add the names of Lennon and McCartney or George Harrison to the writing credits on his songs."Britpop Ask MetaFilter Britpop and New Labour - About the relationship between'Britpop bands' and the Labour Party. Britpop Mainstays & Requisites - A LaLa.com Internet radio channel of various British bands though not necessarily Britpop era. Wikipedia Britpop Wikipedia List of Britpop musiciansFree Culture and Copyleft Links Creative Commons Videos- Watch the videos and support the Commons. Free Culture by Lawrence Lessig A Musician's Take on File Sharing, DRM, and Copyleft Licensing The Creative Anti-Commons and the Poverty of Networks Wikipedia The Beachles Sgt. Petsound's Lonely Hearts Club Band Wikipedia The Grey Album Boing Boing: EMI wants millions and your IP address in revenge for Beachles Further Resources 59 Amazing Sketches of the Monty Python- A collection of videos on YouTube.Artists' earnings and copyright - A review of British and German music industry data in the context of digital technologies. EMI Group plc results for the six months ended 30 September 2006 Wikipedia Concept album Wikipedia Mashup (music) Wikipedia The Beatles Wikipedia The Beatles record sales, worldwide charts Internet Archive - BeatlesMashupBands, DJ'sand Song Cover Vesions Copy, Right?- An MP3blog devoted to cover versions of all kinds.Kleptones- Internet only mashup albums.Second Hand Songs- A cover songs databaseThe Who Boys- Various mashups in different styles. Quick Links to Videos inthis Post When I'm Sixty-Four: Spin - A surreal expose of media-constructed reality. W.A.S.P. The Real Me- A cover of The Who song. The UK Hall of Fame: Give Peace a Chance- John and Yoko at the Montreal bed in. "Elected" - a 1972 Top 10 UK hit for Alice Cooper. The Mashup Hall of Fame: Monty Python - The Spanish Inquisition Copyright Life Extension: "Encore"- A Beatles video mashup for the Grey Album. MySpace or YourSpace?: The Long Tail Party and Day of the Longtail- promo videos for the book. Copyright Criminals: This is a Sampling Sport- documentary about the art of sampling and creating music.What If?: Amen- "This fascinating, brilliant 20-minute video narrates the history of the "Amen Break," a six-second drum sample from the b-side of a chart-topping single from 1969. This sample was used extensively in early hiphop and sample-based music, and became the basis for drum-and-bass and jungle music -- a six-second clip that spawned several entire subcultures. Nate Harrison's 2004 video is a meditation on the ownership of culture, the nature of art and creativity, and the history of a remarkable music clip." Technorati tags: artists, awards, bands, Beach Boys, Beatles, Bell, Blair, Britpop, Brown, celebrities, Cirque du Soleil, copyleft, copyright, creative commons, downloads, famous, George Martin, love, mashups, Meucci, open media, public domain, Monty Python, news, record industry, remix, Rutles, releasethemusic, satire, songs, sound, spin, video, war
Fri, 17 Nov 2006 17:58:49 -0500 Media-Convert Free Online File Conversion and MIDI Ringtone Sequencer [New Window]
Media-Convert is a free online application for converting media files between various formats. Simply select input/output formats and submit the form tostart the conversion. The input format can be detected automatically and file sizes up to 50 Mb are allowed. You can also enter the address of any website to automatically create a screenshot. There's a WAP / GPRS uploader fortransferring files directly tomobile phones via a generated URLthat looks likehttp://media-convert.com/wap (code=abcdef).As an example, when converting a WAV file to MP3,you have a choice of conversion options including encoding bitrate, method and basic info to guide you. Once the conversion is successful you willgeta downloadURL - http://www.media-convert.com/convert/?xid=abcdefwhich you can use for 6 days with the ability to send the link to a friend, plus the mobile URL - http://www.media-convert.com/wap code=abcdef to download via WAP / GPRS.Types of formats supported include:Documents, text Archives/Zip Movie Image Sound Music, monophonic & polyphonic ringtonesMedia-Convert has a Free on-line MIDI sequencerthat lets youcreate and share your own tunes and ringtones.Once you've created a MIDIfile you can use the conversion utility to convert it to most mobile phone formats. Ifyou prefer tograb a tune from an existing music collectiontryHarmony Central MIDI File Sources. I've included the sequencer in my Sound Toys collection.This is a useful tool for situations where you need a universal file converter but are unable to use installed software. Most popular formats are available and the service provides a temporary method for sharing files with many people via the URL. Suggestions forother conversionfunctions can bemade on the site's message board.More media tools in the Toolboxtags: audio, archives, conversion, documents, files, image, mobile, mp3, music, movie, phones, ringtones, sound, text, tools, utilities, wap, zip
Thu, 09 Nov 2006 18:41:56 -0500 Social Media Buzz Tracking - Web Buzz Explorer [New Window]
From humble beginnings to hyperlinked hubs - the blogger'spath islong and winding.On the second birthday of DISS I thought it fitting to share some words of encouragement with today'snew blog babies beginning the ever evolvingjourney into the realms of cyber-punk-publishing.May all your blogs burn brightly in the blogosphere constellation of Sagittarius.Alternatively you canjump straightto thesection below headed Web Buzz Explorer for a window on the buzzscape surrounding social media.Blog Births (and deaths)Everyday thousands of blogs and spaces are created, manyquickly find their way into the blog graveyardbutothersgrow into vibrant hubs of activity. Whether your blog withers and dies orblossoms and flies is ultimately up to you. With blogging, what you put into it is directly related to what you get out of it - more or less? - it's a shared journey thatgradually tells your story.Fear of BloggingWhen you're new to bloggingthe linear time structure of blogs and the pressure to post frequently can be intimidating.Although it helps to be disciplined, setting artificial performance targets will make you a slave to your blog. It's better to aim for quality rather than quantity in your posts and let the process of growth come naturally. Unless you're already used to writing, gaining theconfidenceto express your thoughts and write clearly takes time. There are many stumbling blocks along the way from bloggers-block to information overload-paralysis, so it's good to know even the most experienced bloggersbattle with feelings of guilt over lack of productivity. Don't despair, you'll get there.However if you're unsure of the commitment involved you can always gather your ideas by creating a Hubpage or Squidoo lens first. These serviceslet you create webpages in a non-linear format where you can adddetailsbit by bit to build up a content rich webpage.They're a good way of focusing your ideas and some people prefer to create lots and lots of these pages rather than individual blog posts. I tend to usewhatever tool or service I think works best to get the job done. Wings of DesireWhen starting a blog the first few steps and weeks can betricky asyou begin to find your blogging feet. Onceup and running,your feet leave the ground and you begin to fly. If your desires and passions are strong enough you'll find your wings.DISS came into existence early December 2004 and the first post to the "soundblog" was on 6 December. Since that first step into the blogosphere I have made hundreds more posts with thousands of links and received hundreds of thousands of page views in return.One step is the first of many.Celebrity gossip blog PerezHilton.com claims to have up to 3 million unique visitors a day!(note to self : Britney Spears :)Evolutionary LeapBlogging is the most important driving force in social media and there are hundreds of thousands of blog posts daily. These posts contain the ideas, views and opinions of their authors and increasingly, other mediasuch as audioand video. Finding and contributing to these"conversations" is part of the fun and there are now lots of tools to help bloggerswith the business of digging forinteresting stuff and tracking the buzz on social networks.Knowing how and where to find theseresources is one of thebiggest evolutionary leaps a new blogger can take.Now jump!Web Buzz ExplorerWeb Buzz Exploreris a Hubpage with alist of tools and services for tracking social media. The hub sources allow you to scour online news, track personal projects, watch trends, discover new media and build your own social applications. Whether it's the best blog stories, music mashups or viral videos, these sites will help you find the most recent and most popular emergent data on social networks.The hub is an extension of the Web Zeitgeist list on DISS thatpeople have found useful for tracking news and web developments. Having a dedicated Hubpage means the new listcan supportmore resources that are better annotated and grouped into categories for easier browsing.The list is available under aCreative Commonslicense for anyone to share and build upon so if you want to grab all or part of it go ahead. People can also share similar buzz sites and tools in the comments area of the hub.There are currently almost 200 resources being sorting into topic areasand due to their nature there is obviously considerable overlap.The emphasis is on buzztracking tools and media aggregators that help you find cool and interesting stuff, quicker. The contents has been developing along these lines:Hub Definitions Apple Mac Blogs & Blogging Tools Bookmarks & Popular Media Crowds & Memetracking Digg Buzz Recent Digg Views Feed Singlegators Various Gaming Ideas & Intelligence Librarian Music News Aggregation Open Media Podcasting RSS& OPML Search Trends & Markets Software Video Web 2.0 Web Traffic Zeitgeist ToolboxThe hub is a good place to start a surfing session when you need a bit of inspiration or want to dig deeper for data. It's alsouseful forresearching onlineInternet phenomena and social media applications generally. If you're interested in building your own Hubpages, don't be put off by the minimal look, there's a design upgrade in the pipeworks which aims to make the pages look more attractive.Most bloggers have their regular watering holes but sometimes it helps to break out of the usual patterns and travel elsewhere.The resources listedin the hub provide aquick way to switch crowds and get towhat stories aremost interestingto the masses.*Creating Your Own Buzz Portal with FeedRaiderOnce you've discovered lots of blogs and new sources of information, you need to organize these into manageable ways of readingthem.You can use popular online feed readers like Bloglines or Google Reader and you can also use web-based applications to build your own news aggregators as mentionedin the "Zeitgeist Toolbox" at the Buzz Hub. FeedRaider is a relatively new web application that allows you to create and edit your own RSS feed portal similar to Popurls. These single page aggregators are also known as "singlegators".FeedRaider lets you organize and display your choice of news, audio and video feeds in flexible ways. Multiple pages can be created that display RSS feeds in a choice of Deck or River views. It's a fast and powerful way to aggregate the feeds you're most interested in. You simplypaste the feeds or import OPML into your "singlegators" and arrange the overall display of each page as desired. There are display control options for every feed you add including:text only, text plus audio/video buttons, thumbnails only, thumbnails plus title, video/audio player.Anypage of aggregated feeds can be linked to externally so you can build portals to fit your other online projects.Here's one I'm building now so you can seewhat it looks like unfinished! Dave's FeedRaider - CC Music. Choose from the menualong the top to view the variousfeed topics, I've added more feeds to some topics thanothers but once I have everything in place I'll post a link at the top of DISS homepage.Yoursinglegators can be exported as OPML or embedded in a webpage using JavaScript.You can also override the default CSS to style FeedRaider with your own graphics, colors and layout. Cool.FeedRaider was created by Jussi Vaihia, Blog.Check OutWell that's about it for the anniversary post,here'ssome new stuff to check outalongthe lines of media discovery and aggregation. Friends of ccMixter - Now bloggers focusing on Creative Commons music can get their news feed/fix on ccMixterthanks to Victor. A great idea and another reason to visit the premier CC music community on the planet.REPROMAN - A new pet projectwith a reprogrammable philosophy and a remix, reuse, recycle mantra (preloaded Grazr browsing).What's New at the Internet Archive- The Collection Team's Blog - another relatively new blog that highlights new collections and interesting items from the Movies, Audio and Education collections.* Finally on the subject of crowdsourcing and social media aggregation, as Seth Godin says in his Unforgivable Manifesto: "Mass taste is rarely good taste".Analysis and StatsState of the Blogosphere, October 2006State of the Blogosphere, August 2006Why The Wisdom of Crowds Fails on Digg300+ social network startups in less than 2 yearsBlog BeginningsStarting a Blog Part 1Previously on DISSBuzz Search Engines and Social ToolsTag Explorationhttp://del.icio.us/tag/socialmediaTechnorati tags: entertainment, technology, internet, music, news, books, marketing, games, movies, software, web, video, blogging, networking, blogs, rss, photos, media, search engines, search, apple, information, podcasting, links, cool, social networks, research, feeds, social media, bands, lists, buzz, audio, intelligence, bookmarks, web 2.0, mashup, open source, statistics, patterns, aggregation, explorer, Internet, collaborative filtering, coolhunting, collaborative intelligence, collective intelligence, crowdsourcing, Internet phenomena, memetracking, new media marketing, The Long Tail, zeitgeist, trends, aggregators, browsing, new media, library, open media, participatory culture, memes
Mon, 30 Oct 2006 09:49:21 -0500 Podcast Spot Hosting Service [New Window]
Podcast Spotis a new podcast hosting service launched by Paramagnus Developments.The serviceoffers a flexible, feature rich packagefor uploading and distributing audio and video files, includinga free account to test Podcast Spotandprepaid accounts for Storage or Professional levels. Free and Professional accounts include allfeatures, while Storage accounts arefor podcasters running their own websites. Features include: Location= yourname.podcastspot.com Flexible Storage Space that can be upgraded at any time. Unmetered Bandwidth. Automatic Media Conversionafter upload. Audio formats supported include:AAC/M4A, MP3, OGG, RA, WMA. Video formats supported include: AVI, MOV, M4V/MP4, MPG, RM/RV, WMV. Easy Organizationthat allowstags, categories and images. Automatic P2P with BitTorrents for any format. Powerful Syndicationfor your episodes (your default feed), categories, tags, comments, episodes for each category, episodes for each tag, comments for each episode. Support for iTunes. Implementation of Creative Commons license types. Private Episodes.Simple Payment Options using PayPal.PodcastSpotvisitors have a wide range of optionsfor exploring, playing, downloading, sharingand subscribing to content, including: Streaming audio and video. Choice of download formats, including BitTorrents. Easy sharing on popular social bookmarkingsites. Playlists, XSPF and M3U. RSS feeds. OPML outlines (a list of all podcasters using the service). Grazr View.Community Search Engine.Userscan browse community content by what's newtoday, new podcasts, new episodes or popular tags. There's also an option for exploring showspublished underCreative Commons licenses. There are further browsing options at the individual podcaster level to help visitors filter content by categories, popularity, audio or video. Pricing Options: A Free Account provides 25MBof storage per month. A Storage Account costs: $5 for 100 MB storage per month;$10 for 300 MB; $20 for 650 MB; $40 for 1400 MB. A Professional Account costs:$7 for 125 MB storage per month;$14 for 350 MB; $28 for750MB;$56for 1600 MB. Reserve Upload Quota costs: $5 for 100 MB additional storage with no time limits; $10 for 200 MB; $20 for 400 MB; $30 for 600 MB.Professional and Storage accounts are prepaid products. You can purchase 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, or 1 year at a time and you can upgrade or extend whenever you need to. See it in action with this welcome message from thecreators explaining the serviceand get the latest info via the Paramagnus Blog. tags: audio, creative commons, distribution, downloads, feeds, hosting, music, paramagnus, podcast, podcasting, podcast spot, rss, video
Thu, 28 Sep 2006 09:26:30 -0400 Indie Tube - A Mashup of YouTube and Last.fm [New Window]
Indie Tube is a collection of indie rock videos from YouTube with corresponding links into Last.fm music. The mashup lets you watch, download, vote and submit videos. If you discover a band you like, clicking the Last.fm link will provide you with more information and ways to buy the music. The idea is to target and promote indiebandsthrough the use of two large scale, mass media distribution networks.There's also a newer version that lacks some of the original features (pictured below). Via ProgrammableWeb which now has more than 30 YouTube mashups and over 100 total web mashups cataloged. Create Your Own Video Community NingVideois a newly launched service thatclones YouTube's core features, allowing you to create your own social web-application for hosting videos.Your free site comes with support for a range of community features including: content management,community rating, groups, site customization, tagging, video moderating and Web-widgets.Members can upload videos orshare videos from YouTube, Google Video and Metacafe. Video Download Tools Download YouTube & Google Video clips via bookmarklets- This all-in-one bookmarklet supports YouTube, Google Video, Metacafe, Myspace, Break.com, Putfile, Dailymotion, Sevenload, MyVideo.de and Clipfish.de. How to convert any movie file to .mp4- How touse the free VLC Media Player to convert video formats. iTube- A Windows program that will enable you to transfer any YouTube video onto your iPod video. Video Downloader-An online tool that allows you to download direct from most video sites. You can also record streaming video, convert FLV files to iPod and other formats, download a Firefox extension, download a free FLV player (Flash movies). More Web tools fordownloading videos OtherNew Video Services CleverMedia TV-A video podcast television network with a selection of entertaining and informative shows. Tubetorial- Free, step-by-step video tutorials for online success. Tags: API, bands, college-rock, downloads, free, indie, indie-rock, last.fm, mashup, movies, music, ning, punk, post-punk, noise, post-rock, programming, rock, shoegaze, grunge, neo-psychedelia, youtube, video, Web 2.0
Wed, 27 Sep 2006 23:33:49 -0400 Free Music Lunch 01 - I Got the Jazzy Blues [New Window]
This is the firstin a series offree musicpostsunder the title "Free Music Lunch".Throughout the seriesI'll be highlighting Open Musicprojects andindependent artists that offeroriginal musicin various flavours of free.Most ofthe musicwill be available undercopyleft licenses such as Creative Commons and someworks will be in the public domain. This is music you can explore on a deeper level,unconstrained by DRM and conventional copyright restrictions. In some cases, permission will be grantedby the copyrightholder tosample, remix and mashup the music.The raw ingredientsDon't expect hype about the latest free tracks frommajor record labels, or highly polished studio productions,that's not whatthis series isabout. The focus is on independent, grassrootsmusic creation; involvinglow budgets, accessible technologies, recycled culture and creative thinking.Aswe discover the artists, their musicand creative processes,we will also become aware of the tools they use to create and communicate.Observing the anatomy of digital musicsharing will hopefullyleadus to discover more new music and learn about the art of participation.Don't mention the J. wordIn light of the decision toscrap the award for best jazz act in this years MOBO awards(aah, the sweet smell of commercialism), it seems only fitting to bring to the table, some new music with strong jazz influences. The Music of Black Origin awards have courted controversybefore and it's sadly ironic, thatjazz musicians havetoprotestoutside the Royal Albert Hall venue to make their voice heard. Jazz is, after all, at the heart ofjust about allblack popular music.Last yearthe importantstylistic origin, Gospel, was rested, perhaps next year it will be Reggaeoranother serious genre.However,controversy brings attention and in a live TV broadcast from outside the venue, where jazz musicians were playing music in the streets,MOBO founder Kanya King MBE, lightheartedly mentioned how thesituation was helping protesters toraise the profile of jazz music. No doubt the musicianshad a slightly colder perspectiveof events.Given the popularity and demand for live jazz music in London, the MOBO decision is difficult to understand. Was the jazz catagory dropped due to the restrictions of broadcasting time and prioritizing for an intended audience? Are the Mobos good for black music?Theupcoming London Jazz Festival is the UKs largest annual celebration of jazz. In 2005 it was voted Best London Festival in the music category of the 20th Time Out Live Awards."In 2005 the London Jazz Festival reached over 60,000 concert-goers with 206 groups playing 165 events in 35 venues, presenting a fantastic programme of new commissions, special projects, education work and premieres. Across the capital the Festival achieved more sold out shows and rave reviews across more venues than ever before. Furthermore live broadcasts and recordings by BBC Radio 3 which reaches over two million listeners every week enabled a nationwide audience to enjoy the incredible music-making that occurred throughout this years Festival both on air and online." Serious.org.ukThe 2006 London Jazz Festival runs from Friday 10 to Sunday 19 November.Food for thought ..."Whether right or wrong, ...imagination is shaped by the pictures seen... Consequently, they lead to stereotypes that are hard to shake." Walter Lippmann, (Public Opinion, 1922, 95-156)via Wikipedia Stereotyping."It requires wisdom to understand wisdom: the music is nothing if the audience is deaf." Walter Lippmann WikiquoteAnd so, in support of thefree spirit of jazzandliberal copyleft tradition, here are someopen music projects anddownloads where jazz is still a main ingredient.Free Music Lunch 01 - MenuRevolution Void - collaborative nu-jazz releasesLucky 7's - modern jazz septetOpen Music Factory - independent musicians communityHeritage - Prince Albert Hunt's Texas Ramblers - Public Domain 4UJazz Juice - free music download sourcesRevolution VoidRevolution Void Records isa netlabelrun by jazz pianist andelectronic musicproducer Jonah Dempcy. Thelabel putsout remixes, collaborations and original music, byJonah'sRevolution Voidproject and other artists, in styles such as downtempo, electronic jazz (nu-jazz) and instrumental hiphop. Jonah uses Creative Commons licenses which make it easy for people to share and promote his work. Here's a video on YouTube which uses his track Weekend Amnesia as the soundtrack to episode 1 of Father Underground Returns.The latestoffering from Revolution Void is a10 track instrumental album titled Thread Soul.Itwas released on 7-25-2006under a Creative Commons Attrib-NonCommercial license which allows users to freely modify and distribute the album,for non-commercial purposes only. Thread Soul is the follow-upto the excellent Increase the Dosagealbum released in 2004."Whereas Increase the Dosage had a slew of guest musicians including Seamus Blake (Mingus Big Band), Matthew Garrison (Herbie Hancock) and Michael Shrieve (Santana), Thread Soul focuses more on grooves and soundscapes than live improvisation. Nevertheless, Thread Soul contains its fair share of jazz improvisation, thanks to guest performances by bassist Lucas Pickford (Brian Blade) and saxophonist Cochemea Gastelum (Fred Wesley, Robert Walter's 20th Congress). The end result is a mix of midtempo breakbeats, instrumental hiphop and ambient electronic with a penchant for jazz improvisation."Stream all tracks (.m3u) -Download via the Internet Archiveor via BitTorrent at LegalTorrents.comYou can also get Revolution Void albums and lots more jazz via Jamendo. Their streaming music widget lets you share albums directly on your webpage.If you're interested in learning more about Jonah's piano technique,check out hisinformative CastPost blog.You can play audio and videorecordingson jazz music and jazz lessons.Lucky 7'sLucky 7's are a septet of musicians from theNew Orleansand Chicago Jazzscenes. This is modern, improvisational Jazz,with a traditional acoustic sound. The lineup includes drums, double bass, vibes, trombone and tuba, cornet,tenor sax and bass clarinet.Theyhave somefree mp3 downloadsavailable under aCreative Commons Music Sharing License. Open Music FactoryThe Open Music Factoryis an independent musicians community where you can find all types of musical projects. Musicians collaborate by using the forums to communicateand post audio files which can be hosted at the Internet Archive or elsewhere. The site advises:Before sharing any original sound recording on the net, never forget to upload it to Creative Commons. That gives you a good anti-piracy protection on your creations. You can do this by using the ccPublisher tool. For information about copyrights, including CClicenses, see theforum section for Artists Protection. Other collaborative communities also use CC licenses, notably ccMixter and NINJAM (more on these in the future- here's a link to dozens of ccMixter projects tagged Jazz). There are currently severalcollaborationsat the Open Music Factoryfeaturing strong jazz influences.You can find all the projectsin thesection for Open Music Collaborations.It's interesting to watch the ideas develop over time and you can track the changing versionsby reading through thecomments ineach project thread. The influence of jazz is often seen in online collaborationswhere the role of improvisation and riffing on ideas comes to the fore.Here are a couple of drum tracks hosted at the Internet Archive, from a work in progress called MYAGOA - Flying High(New Age- Jazz Fusion style) Other versions at FoneticFreek on SoundClick. Two4/4 percussionpartsat 85 bpm in MP3 and OGG formats. No rights reserved - CC - public domain.myagoa drumsmyagoa tablaYou can find more jazzy breaks and samples at Freesound.Heritage It's impossible to talk about jazz without mentioning the blues, so here's something to wet your appetite...Prince Albert Hunt's Texas Ramblers - Blues In The Bottle (March 28, 1928)Duration: 3:26. Download and stream via the Internet Archive.Recorded on March 28, 1928 in San Antonio, Texas. This recording is considered one of the first of what would be later categorized as "Western" or "Texas" Swing, popularized later by Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys. The style is a unique amalgam of blues, ragtime, jazz and old time fiddle music. Michelle Shocked claims that Prince Albert Hunt chose to live "on the wrong side of the tracks." He was shot to death outside of a Dallas bar in March of 1931.Public Domain 4UHas a collection of around eighty, early blues recordings, converted to MP3 format. These are public domain recordings that are free to download and share. Jazz JuiceSources of freshly squeezed jazz, 100% pure copyleft .15 Megs of Fame - Songs in Jazzisa catalogof blues/jazz pieces free to share under a Creative Commons music sharing license.ActoGuitar and Berklee Sharesoffer free music lessons under Creative Commons licenses.Dogmazic Jazzhas a growing catalog of CC licensed jazz recordings for download in MP3 and Ogg formats. There are also thousands of streaming audio channels.Internet Archive Jazz Searchprovides access to ahuge collection of free media files andCC/public domainmaterials.Magnatune Jazz Podcastlisten to artists on the Magnatune netlabel.Oddio Overplay - Super Sound Sitesuse the search engineto findjazz related projects.Opsound: Genre jazz podcast on Odeolisten to experimental/electronicartists from the Opsound Community. The Odeo widget can be embeddedinwebpages.Open Media Directoryexplore dozens ofmusic and video sites, many of which offer jazzrelated music.Remix Commons Jazzfind unusual mixes underCC licenses.SoundClick CC Licensesearch the musicians community forfree jazz music.Starfrosch Jazzget the latest free mp3 downloads frommusicians and netlabels using copyleft licenses.The music mentioned in this post is generally podsafe, however, you should check individual licenses before using content in webcasts. Further resources:BBC - MOBO Awards 2006Rowolo Netlabel Lista source of websites offering free music releases.Western Union to Sponsor MOBOsWikipedia Free jazzprovides infoabout the termand goes some way to explaining what free jazz isn't.Wikipedia List of Independent Record Labelsand Netlabels tags: audio, blues, breakbeat, copyleft, creative commons, downloads, free, free music lunch, jazz, lessons, mobo, mp3, music, musicians, netlabels, nu jazz, open music, public domain,
Wed, 20 Sep 2006 17:01:11 -0400 Cruxy Digital Content Marketplace [New Window]
Cruxy the new digital content marketplace from ONTV is nowopen to the public.Anyone with original digital content can register for free and distribute their work using the pay-per-download model.Cruxy aims to provide aplatform whereartists, fans and promoterscan come together, interact and make financial transactions, built on community trust and without DRM restrictions.An Open Economy for Digital ContentCruxy is all about creating an Open Economy for artists and experts. It is a service that allows anyone to distribute and sell their content simply, without overhead, and without giving up any rights.Artist Pages and WidgetsEvery CruxyArtist Page is adigital downloadstorewith Distributed Marketplace widgets that can be embedded on websites.Original content can be soldthrough the Artists Page or through any website or blog using thewidgets. Artists choose the retail price they wish to charge and select standard copyright or Creative Commons licensing terms for their materials.Secure payments are handled by PayPal, see the Publisher FAQ for details of service/transaction feescharged by Cruxy and PayPal.Artists maintain complete rights and ownership over their original works.Features include:Openregistration to all digital artists and fans Artist's Page and store with its own address (https://mystore.cruxy.com), RSS feed, media previews Artist's Page may be customized with a logo, description, links,etc. File storage and deliveryusing Amazon S3 Non-DRM content throughout Provision for standard copyright or Creative Commons licenses Financial transactionshandled via PayPal Website Payments Pro Street Team (launch pending) allows fans and supporters topromoteartists and earn money for themselvesEasy to useCruxy makes it extremely easy for content creators to upload and sell media. The clean design and simple navigation are a big plus on the usability side. Most people will have no trouble setting up astore within minutes of registering, which means more time can be spent creatively on the business to hand.Copyrights and CopyleftsContent creators can choose to distribute their works under standard copyright licenses (all rights restricted) and Creative Commons licenses (some rights restricted). The latter are designed to be more flexible when it comes to sharing files online such as in podcasts and on P2P file sharing networks. There are so many possibilitiesfor the monetization of CClicensed contentthat I would expect to see rapid growth for these materials on Cruxy. For example, there already exists a huge amount of suitable material of high quality, that could be distributed throughthis platform, including netlabel catalogs, short movies, audio books and tours, podcasts, digital stories, photos, etc. Artists making their material available under CC licensescan learn moreonthe followingblog post: Selling Creative Commons Stuff on Cruxy?Street TeamsThis is a key marketing and revenue generating componentdesigned to motivate and drive the widgetized distribution model.Allowing 'fans' in on the revenue sharing is a good viral move although there's goingto be plenty of experimentation for all concerned to find a balancein terms of download pricing. The crux of the matterAll of the above features make Cruxy a powerful, flexible and open digital distribution platform.This opennessis reflected in the website Buyers Guide which states:"Some artists may have full previews available elsewhere on their blog page, website, or through a content sharing site like Blip.tv or Youtube, so its worth looking around if you want to learn more before buying."The Cruxy team recognize the benefits ofother media sharing resources, hence the widgets. Beyond free digital downloads, there areways of adding value to contentthatgivepeople the incentive tobuy.The browsing experience itself,qualitypackages, convenience,community buzz, choice offormat,DRM-free, are all thingspeople are attracted to.Cruxy distributes acomprehensive list of supported media types including various formats for audio, video, images, animation,design, multimedia and text documents. Potentially, all types of non-DRM contentcan bepurchased, from ringtones to Flash animations to text documentstopodcasts, all from one central community-style location. By combining choice with convenience, Web 2.0 style and looks, flexible licensing, revenue sharing, fast downloads, fair prices and secure transactions -Cruxy represents an exciting development for content creators and is sure to generate a lot of interest. tags: artists, audio, bands, content, creative commons, cruxy, distribution, downloads, flash, images, marketplace, multimedia, mp3, music, ontv, promoters, shopping, text, video, widgets
Wed, 30 Aug 2006 18:53:19 -0400 New Blogs for Open Content Discovery and CC Gems [New Window]
A look at new blogs for shared legal media and recent trends in opencontent discovery. Focusing on copyleftworks and touching upon the wider social implications associated with new media technologies.In a time when piracywars and P2P spy games continue to threaten the security of innocent people, it's always a bonus to find new sources of safe content. By sources of safe content I'm talking about services, tools and people that make legal content discovery possible.In this sense, legalapplies toany type of media file or data that's free ofmalicious intent, involvingsoftware or copyrightissues designed to harm or make it dangerous for a person to use.Here are two upcoming blogs focusing on discoveringopen media and podsafe material:The Best Media in Life is Freeis a recently launched blog focusing on public domain materials and works licensed under Creative Commons. It looks like being a great place forrecommended ebooks, audio books, audio content and free music downloads. Via Mugshot Search Via BoingBoing. RSS Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheBestMediaInLifeIsFree/Earhead is another relatively new blog "devoted to the discovery of good podsafe music".The postsrange fromrecommendedartists andnetlabel downloadsto interestingaudio news and cool entertainment sites. You canbrowseearhead link collections at http://del.icio.us/earheadand http://del.icio.us/earhead/coollist. There's also an earhead music and gadget news blog at Bloglines.OpenMedia Blog SynergyTheseand numerous similar blogs are providing an important platformfor copyleft content producers. Such blogs compliment each other and amplify awareness of works that can be shared safely and legally,without the annoyance of DRMand copyright restrictions. Blogging,podcasting and social networking tools have made it much easier to create an alternative, grassrootsmedia culture.The new generation of DIYmediablogs are becoming more sophisticatedasdevelopments like Creative Commons, netlabelsand widgetsprovide greater interoperability, connectivity and media circulation.BittyAn example of this isDJ Martian's use of OPMLand Bitty Browser to share the latest music blog updates.TheMusic Blogosphere mini-browser can be embedded in any "open" blog or Web page, including start services like Google, Live.com, Netvibes etc. I first mentioned BittyBrowser in July 2005,shortly after its launch. Since that time,music labelslike Magnatune andBeatpick, haveseen thebenefits ofusingbranded versions of Bitty to market their artists.The Bitty platform allows streaming of songs, podcasts and videos including media from popular services likedel.icio.us, Google, ODEO and YouTube.RSS - OPMLHere's a Bitty Browser for DISS that uses the site RSS feed.Windows Live Spaces RSS feeds include blog posts, photos and lists, so DISSin Bitty format providesaccess to hundreds ofresources.Bitty's OPML featurelets youbrowse powerfulkeyword based searches when used with OPML generators like TagJag and OPML Generator. For example,this Blog Search Bitty Browserlets you access Google, Feedster, Technorati, PubSub and Gada.be (TagJag). The OPML source is via Taskable, a very useful RSS and OPML browser tool that sits on the Windows taskbar. More gadgets and widgets can be foundvia Widget Finder.ArmyThere's an army of bloggers and podcasters actively engaged in the promotion of copyleftcontent which is good news for artists,writersand people generally. Here are a few examples ofcopyleft music blogs and open media resources.DJ Mixes: Deepindub, Sonic WalkerCitizensMedia: OurmediaCopyleft/CCMusic: Copyleft Music, IndieishNetlabel Releases: ACOWO, Britney, nwl,RUBoredRemix Community: ccMixterBlogCreative people are taking advantage of the situation to get their works promoted and distributed online for little or no financial outlay. A recent feature on the GarageSpin blog about the success of DIYmusician Jonathan Coultonis worth mentioning. Jonathan uses Creative Commons for his licensing which means others are free to use his songs in their own works. On the sidebar of Jonathan's blogthere's a list of podcaststhatplay his material.Icounted 119 podcasts, animpressive achievement considering how important it is for unsigned bands to get noticed. Here's his MySpace.Lightnet or Darknet?Ironically, the futureweb may become overly "wired" for some users.People wishing to remain anonymous or out of the "monitored" loopcouldlikely turnto Darknets in an effort toretain control oversome facets of their digital identities.Why would an individual,band or project wish to remain anonymous? Copyright laws are one reason.People using uncleared samples and chunks of copyrighted works in mashups and remixes can run into difficulties when makingthese materials available on the web. Some may find it advantageous to bypass the heavily monitored and overcrowded social networks (and Terms Of Service) by opting for completely private channels of communication and distribution. In the music underground, commercial gains are not necessarily the driving force behind creativity. There are other considerations that involve trust, sharing, freedom of information, security and privacy.Forfurther insight see Lucas Gonze's examples of Lightnet and Darknet.Pirate PartyOn August the 14th, the Pirate Party launched the world's first commercial Darknet - Relakks. Here's thedigg conversationand an excerpt from the press release:"Today, the Swedish Pirate Party launched a new Internet service that lets anybody send and receive files and information over the Internet without fear of being monitored or logged. In technical terms, such a network is called a "darknet". The service allows people to use an untraceable address in the darknet, where they cannot be personally identified.""But there are much more fundamental values at stake here than copyright," Rickard Falkvinge says. "The new technology has brought society to a crossroads. The only way to enforce today's unbalanced copyright laws is to monitor all private communications over the Internet. Today's copyright regime cannot coexist with an open society that guarantees the right to private communication."This Cultural ShiftNew media technologies are enabling theformation of tribes (colonies), wherelike minded people with similar interests and desires can gravitatefor new forms of interaction. Significantly, these technologies are fueling a re-evaluation of our cultural heritage. For example, if you're a classically trained musician waiting for employment with an orchestra, you may be waiting a long time. Usually until someone leavesa vacant position for you to fill.Consequently, many musicians will adopt a DIY approach to work, rather than wait for a position to present itself.Some musicians will inevitably step outside oftraditional cultural institutions, to create their own, new, independentbusiness opportunities.I'm thinking of projects like The Heritage Orchestrain the UK, a collective of trained musicians with a DIY attitude.These guysare questioningtheir so called cultural heritage and what itmeans to be a working musician.Why wait when you can collaborate?"The Heritage Orchestra is a pioneering cross-genre 40 - 60 member ensemble that ignores classical elitism, and refuses to be a part of the new glossy classical-corporate movement; both of which are diminishing the long-term integrity of orchestral music in the UK. So whilst the British music scene struggles between purest and popular representations, The Heritage Orchestra leads a defiant new musical direction fueled by daring reinterpretations, complex collaborations, fresh compositions, and the most exciting performances in town." Source.Thiscultural shift is occurring partly because it's now very easy for people to exchange information vianewmedia publishing tools.Contrary to ill informed opinion,platforms like Live Spaces, MySpace, YouTube etc, are not aboutrampantmasses ofteens craving their fifteen minutes of fame.Social mediatechnologiesare useful andappealing to all generations across all types of communities. They inform and help peopleengage with the world around them; friends, family, strangers,groups, communities, news, events, etc.Culturally diverseartists sitcomfortably side by side on MySpace, where they share certain commonalitieslike friends. For example,Daft Punk and the Master Musicians of JouJoukaboth have plots on MySpace, along with millions of other users.PeterSeventy-nine year old widower Peter, uses a home computer and Web cam to record his life story monologues,which he shares with the world on YouTube. Peter surpassed one million viewsofthe first video he uploadedwithin a week. His efforts have been reported on various news channels, web sites and newspapers. Theseinclude theBBC, Daily Mail, Daily Star, Sky News, USANews and other mass media outlets. Surely that level of exposure would bring a tear of joy to any self respectingmedia professional. As Peter says, it's addictive.Peter's a good example of the personal media revolution. We are the media and almostanything is possible.Open Content ResourcesOurmedia - Open Media DirectoryPublic Domain Works Database (Alpha)Wikipedia Open ContentTechnorati Tags: audio, blogs, cc, copyleft, creative commons, downloads, ebooks, free, media, mp3, music, open content, podsafe, public domainAdd to: | Technorati | Digg | del.icio.us | Yahoo | BlinkList | Spurl | reddit | Furl |
Mon, 07 Aug 2006 11:37:25 -0400 NO COPY - The Movie and Movies with Free Culture Themes [New Window]
NO COPY - The Movieis a short animated film depicting the history of digital piracy and the rise of Free Culture. Beginning with the first hackers and crackers leading to the development of "the Scene", through to file sharing, the entertainment wars and mass downloads, the movie tells the story of how industry mistakes created the need for a free culture movement. The producers were inspired by: Epic 2015 & Epic 2014.You can stream the movie via the site, download it for free in SWF-Format or as self playing files for Windows or Mac. The original voice-over is in German with an English subtitled version available.CreditsProduced by: Jan Krmer / Evrim Sen in corporation with Tropen Verlag.Idea & Screenplay: Jan Krmer and Evrim Sen.Narration: Denis Moschitto.Animation: Infospeed GmbH.Music: Jane His Wife, _Ghost, Gurdonark; from www.CCMixter.org.You can download themusic and find more tracks fromthese artists on the Sountrack page. All songs are licenced undera Creative Commons Licence.Licensing: "NO COPY - The Movie" is released undera Creative Commons Lizenz by-nc-sa 2.0.Movies with Free Culture ThemesAlternative Freedoma documentary about the invisible war on culture, exploring the issues surrounding copyright law and digital rights management from the viewpoint of the free culture movement. Trailer available for viewing.Day of the Long Taila short movieIn celebration of the publication of Chris Anderson's book, "The Long Tail," The old world of media faces an invasion from another planet. The horror. The horror. Produced By Michael Markman, Peter Hirshberg (Technorati), Bob Kalsey; for The Computer History Museum (via YouTube).Creative Commons Moviespromotional Flash movies and videos.Gimme the Mermaidis Negativland's tribute toDisney regarding intellectual property, lawyers and copyright issues(via YouTube).Net Neutralityan animated short from Public Knowledge explaining why discrimination on the Internet is a problem and will continue to be as long as net neutrality rules are not enforced (via YouTube).Released under a CC license. See also SavetheInternet.com.The Corruptiblesan animated short from the EFF about Hollywood's attemptto gain newpowers over your TV, radio, and computer. Released under a CC license. See it on Youtube.Trusted Computingan animated short about the computer industry and trust - If the industry doesn't trust you why should you trust them? Released under a CC license. See it on YouTube. Learn more at Wikipedia Trusted Computing.SatiricalVideo ClipsStephen Colbert Analyzes Wikipediain his popular The Word segment, Colbertanalyzes Wikipedia's Truthiness value and the application of Wikiality on ALL information (via YouTube). Here's the Wikipedia entry forsatire.The Daily Show Revisits Net Neutralitydiscussing super tubes, Chuck Norris, entertainment corporations and telecommunications (via YouTube).Where to Find Free Movies on Free CultureVideo Compilation on Free Digital Cultureis now building a handpicked collection of videos.Search for "Free Culture" on the InternetArchivefinds hosted moviesrelated to the keywords "free Culture".Reference MaterialsEyeballing a Brief Hacker HistoryFree Culture ManifestoWikipedia Citizen journalismWikipedia: Free Culture movementWikipedia: HackerWikipedia Participatory MediaLawrence Lessig - The Ethics of the Free Culture Movementvideos and transcript of Wikimania 2006 session.Technorati Tags: animation, cc, creative commons, downloads, film, free culture, drm, movies, no copy, piracy, the scene, videoAdd to: | Technorati | Digg | del.icio.us | Yahoo | BlinkList | Spurl | reddit | Furl |
Fri, 28 Jul 2006 18:35:47 -0400 Squidoo Lenses [New Window]
Mon, 08 May 2006 22:46:08 -0400 Web Zeitgeist [New Window]
Fri, 07 Oct 2005 10:50:41 -0400 Music Matrix [New Window]
Mon, 27 Dec 2004 21:56:21 -0500 Sound Toys [New Window]
Thu, 16 Dec 2004 15:50:45 -0500 Search Engines [New Window]
Tue, 07 Dec 2004 21:19:05 -0500 Audio Resources [New Window]
Tue, 07 Dec 2004 02:15:25 -0500 DISSconnections [New Window]
Mon, 06 Dec 2004 19:09:15 -0500 Toolbox [New Window]
Mon, 06 Dec 2004 08:35:41 -0500 Media Distribution [New Window]
Sun, 05 Dec 2004 15:45:49 -0500
RSS Mix Reviews [Beta]
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