jshatt's posterous http://jshatt.posterous.com Most recent posts at jshatt's posterous posterous.com Sun, 20 Sep 2009 17:40:00 -0700 Review of Le Violon Rouge (The Red Violin) http://jshatt.posterous.com/le-violon-rouge-the-red-violin-movie-review http://jshatt.posterous.com/le-violon-rouge-the-red-violin-movie-review

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Directed by François Girard

Starring: Samuel Jackson, Jean-Luc Bideau, Jason Flemyng, and Greta Scacchi.

 

Is this “so called Red Violin” worth the hype?

Le Violon Rouge is the second award winning film written by François Girard and Don McKellar. Following in the footsteps of their first award winning film (Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould) they again created a patchwork of short stories held together by musical glue. It's no wonder they brought back veteran cinematographer Alain Dostie from their previous film but they also added François Séguin (La Rage de l'ange) to the roster. Between the four of them they have over ten Genie Awards! That being the case, can they bring this little 'ole Red Violin to life?

 

Le Violon Rouge is rich in haunting melodies, repetitive archetypes, and metaphysical undertones. Sweeping landscapes and powerful musical oscillations help build a bridge through time, connecting the life of an apparition and a fortune teller. It's the narrative of a sojourn taken by the perfect object. An object that is seen as a mother, son, and even lover. It must undergo a perilous journey and find it's way home just as any other lost soul. But in it's case this journey will take centuries.

 

The film begins in an auction house where bidding has just commenced on The Red Violin. The story is told through a series of flashbacks interwoven with the auction. The first flashback is the violin's creation in 17th century Italy but the last will not be for centuries later. The violin shall traverse continents; meeting gypsies, artists, revolutionaries, and thieves. This mysterious violin will be admired and sought by many but possibly never find a permanent home.

 

The cinematography and the art direction in this movie are beautiful. Slow pans and thoughtful scene planning bring much life to the film. Sometimes these shots feel a little drawn out but the lighting and the slow camera movements keep it from becoming to stagnant. It's evident a lot of thought was put into storyboard when you see their dreamy medieval Paris and the fairytale like landscapes of Austria. There is something very romantic in how well these scenes meld and flow with with Joshua Bell's striking violin playing.

 

This brilliant marriage of visual and auditory themes helps create the tempo that carries the drama in a profound manner. The music department deserves a lot of credit for this film. The repetition and theme variation in the music is alike that of classical sonata. Just as the auction scene repeats visually with slight changes so do it's musical counterparts. Anna's Theme is the best example of this; it's a powerful melody and very Wagnerian in it's attachment to Anna and the violin itself. These themes help build some of the dramatic tension needed to carry you and the violin through time.

 

The time line in this movie is tricky, if your like me you cling to the first character you really like. Luckily there are several likable characters in this film. The cast is rich in talent with actors such as Jean-Luc Bideau who plays Georges Poussin (violin teacher), Jason Flemying as Frederick Pope (virtuoso violinist), and Greta Scacchi as Victoria Byrd (novelist). Samuel Jackson also has a leading role in this film as Charles Morritz (instrument appraiser). Though Jackson seems like a strange pick, his stereotypical Jackson roll as the angry-loud guy was made palatable to me by the quality of the story.

 

In the end this is the story about a violin, so don't expect deep characters but it's not all bad news. Check out the interesting archetypes repeated, and the spiritual connections that may or may not exist between some of the characters. Some of the connections in this film are very thought provoking. You will be confused and amused as you make your way through the winding musical driven plot. You will find yourself touched and sometimes giggling at well written cliché. There is drama, romance, suspense, and even a tad of science fiction. This is a film worth watching with a little something for almost everyone.

 

Primary sources (online)

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Red_Violin

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fran%C3%A7ois_Girard

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_McKellar

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alain_Dostie

http://www.mediacircus.net/redviolin.html

http://www.cinemasense.com/Reviews/red_violin.htm

http://www.spout.com/films/The_Red_Violin/128822/default.aspx

 

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Wed, 05 Nov 2008 14:28:00 -0800 DRM (Digital Rights Management) within the value chain http://jshatt.posterous.com/drm-digital-rights-management http://jshatt.posterous.com/drm-digital-rights-management

I would like to address this topic from the perspective of a artist and publisher. I have been in the music business for about 10 years. Throughout the years I have chose to remain independent as an artist as well as a music publisher and distributor. I have pushed myself to learn much more than most people would need to about the basics of distribution, being mostly digitally but recently film licensing basics as well. I am by no means an expert but I have tried to learn as much as I can through the experiences I have had.

What are the pros for someone like me... I would be able to better control the flow of my content through the internet which is my biggest channel of distribution. This would allow me to collect royalties from internet radio stations, to better control access and distribution, better monitoring of statistics, and to insure quality of content. This of course also applies to non digital content but it’s my personal belief that physical media is not here to stay to much longer as a large part of the value chain.

So what about the cons for someone like me... According to the Insight Corporation, companies have already spent well over a billion dollars researching DRM technologies. As a independent artist not only can I not afford not to pay for that kind of research but I also don’t want to pay royalties for use of their DRM technology. Other problems include, computer instabilities caused by DRM, exploitation through Trojans and other malicious back door style scripts, and of course a lack of compatibility in consumer and industry equipment. There is also the question of new creative arts such as music and video remixing and how this would be effected when users could no longer manipulate content they already payed for. There is also not yet been a DRM script that could not be cracked by hackers and therefor probably would allow for much exploitation.

A value chain created by the author

We are swiftly approaching a new medium in the world when it comes to video and audio content. While the entertainment industry struggles to keep a strangle hold on the market they only open more avenues for independent artists to create new and innovative value chains. As the battle for data continues by the entertainment industry they only have only succeeded in further alienating the consumer and artists alike. Many artists are already finding better ways of controlling and being payed for their content. A large portion of independent artists I know tend to give away most of their music for free under a Creative Commons License and make their money from merchandise and playing live. For promotion you will find them fueling their popularity through P2P (peer to peer) networks as well as social networks. There are also similar options for video artists.

I believe a author should be able to restrict how his content is used and distributed but I think DRM will never be viable solution. I think once companies start to recover from some of these disruptive innovations a new value chain can be created. Though I do not see this happening anytime soon I see DRM free music services such as Amazon filling the gaps until then. I believe the future will hold a socialized style audio and video system, data tracking through something as simple as a plugin is already available. We as Americans will probably be taxed or pay for a service that will allow us different types of rights granted from the publisher. Depending on downloads, plays, and the medium in which the content was used will determine the stipend the artist will receive.


Sources-


http://www.artistshousemusic.org/videos/file+sharing+pros+and+cons+for+indepe...
http://dhdeans.blogspot.com/2007/03/pros-and-cons-of-drm-protection.html
http://www.insight-corp.com/reports/WWD.asp

Image source-
http://www.sevensheaven.nl/

 

Statistics for the number of unauthorized intrusions into computer systems last year.

I am very disappointed by the lack of information and the lack of statistics for this. With intrusion prevention software being a big part of IS market I find it ridiculous that no one seems to be showing any real stats or approximations based on facts. According to FBI this is the second largest type of computer attack with viral worms being number one. This was taken from a 2005 FBI briefing but there does not seem to be anything newer. Seems strange to me that every source says that these attacks are growing each year but no one seems to have a source. Sure, going on that there is more and more users every year this makes sense but I can’t find any facts about it.

According to what I could find on recent attacks, banks seem to be a big target but there are no stats of who is doing the attacking. According to the Computer Crime & Intellectual Property Section at United States Department of Justice most of the prosecuted case details are totally private. So I could not find much there of real use either. Maybe some real numbers can be released eventually, maybe it is due to fear from institutions coming forward to admit there are intruders in their systems.

Sources-
http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?arnumber=01501762
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/securityfix/2008/02/banks_losses_from_computer...
http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/cybercrime/cccases.html
http://www.gocsi.com/press/20050714.jhtml

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Tue, 14 Oct 2008 22:03:00 -0700 The Bailout And A Failing Economy http://jshatt.posterous.com/the-bailout-and-a-failing-econ http://jshatt.posterous.com/the-bailout-and-a-failing-econ

Image Copyright of Spooner

The Bailout And A Failing Economy

In the coming weeks the U.S. and the world are going to begin feeling further effects of a failing American economy. Wall Street is currently struggling due to issues involving a lack of confidence in the market which could help pave the road to a much quicker recession. This is also the case with the consumer market for if consumer spending keeps falling we will be seeing much more dramatic effects as well. Chairman of the treasury Alan Greenspan has predicted a 33% chance that we will enter into recession. Other economists are saying this is to conservative of an estimate due to the amount of debt we are already facing. One thing is for sure, businesses of all sizes will be feeling these effects shortly with the individual not far behind.

We live in a world of liquid assets and credit lines, there are many people such as myself who believe that credit is not being properly addressed in the bailout plan nor are they trying to save more houses from foreclosure. This probably is due to old schools of thought, such as economic policies derived after the Great Depression. It seems they are only trying to save big firms who were perhaps already doomed from the stress of a growing world market, a shrinking U.S. job market, and a declining U.S. dollar. According to the associated press, “This is the ninth month of straight job loss this year,” which no doubt helps account for lowered consumer spending. With so much paranoia in the marketplace this of course effects lending as well. If no one can borrow money the economy is not being stimulated and leads to a whole new slew of problems.

Symbiosis in the marketplace

The U.S. economy is based on a free market system which is a symbiotic system. It takes little to cause a chain reaction in the market and that is what the Bailout Plan is supposed to stop. As President Bush said, “We are trying to stop the infection.” Many economists believe the bailout might soften the blow to the economy but that it’s also going to get worse regardless. It doesn’t matter what the size of your business is in the end, everything will be effected just as it was during the beginning and throughout the Great Depression. We are already seeing major effects in the foreign market, look to the declining dollar, the EU and UK bailout plans, and of course the amount of debt the U.S. already has accumulated. The Bailout Plan might provide a little cushioning for foreign markets with mostly international banks in mind but it’s not a fix for the underlying problems in the U.S. economy.

This legislation will have little to no effect on small and medium businesses. The thought instead is to stop this trickle effect from making it from Wall Street into the general market being mostly big business. The Bailout Plan is perhaps as bad as the plan in1930 when the federal government bought securities. That plan failed because it was to little money too late, and a very narrow plan of action. It only ended up helping temporarily by lowering interest rates slightly and had no real effect on the individual or smaller business model. This time they’re putting a lot more money in to prevent everyone from bankrupting the banks by taking their money out and bank hoarding (includes banks freezing credit). So far none of the money in the Bailout Plan is to be offered to local banks, which once again displays very narrow thinking. The bottom line, a short term effect might be felt because of boosted confidence in the marketplace but in the long term this might just send the U.S. further into the arms of a deep recession.

Output From Bailout

The bill will not help with the already slowed growth for small to medium sized businesses. There is no legislation to support anything but big business and a further separation between economic extremes. Furthermore it does not guarantee any kind of aid to businesses whom need to borrow money because of the already stunted economy. That being said, there is also no guarantee that the banks who will be reaping the rewards will be under much oversight when it comes to whom they lend money to. Taxpayers are instead left to trust in these international banks and conglomerates at the insistence of U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. Mr. Paulson was quoted as saying, “These are healthy institutions, and they have taken this step for the good of the U.S. economy.” It might be added that Henry Paulson is the former CEO of Goldman Sachs who is receiving $10 billion from the treasury under the Bailout Plan. All in all this is not very reassuring to boost morale for a country who already has a 6% unemployment rate which is higher then it was at the beginning of the Great Depression.

One last thought

Billions of dollars and no one could come up with anything close to a solution to fix the problems. Instead they will now be feeding the companies that helped cause these problems and will continue to steroids, in the form of about a trillion dollars.

 

Source materials and other opinions-

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a4N8DULfg0Sw&refe...
http://www.huppi.com/kangaroo/Timeline.htm
http://money.cnn.com/2008/09/26/news/economy/bailout_impact/index.htm?cnn=yes
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27011002/page/2/
http://www.wgrz.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=61046&catid=13
http://www.charlottesvillenewsplex.tv/home/headlines/29961994.html
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation/bal-te.working29sep29,0,4023147.story
http://www.economicshelp.org/2007/03/is-us-economy-heading-into-recession.html
http://www2.hernandotoday.com/content/2008/oct/14/ha-why-the-second-bailout-b...

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Tue, 30 Sep 2008 16:23:13 -0700 Unique Advantage And Innovation Culture http://jshatt.posterous.com/unique-advantage-and-innovatio http://jshatt.posterous.com/unique-advantage-and-innovatio

Unique Advantage And Innovation Culture

I found the idea of creating a “Innovation Culture” within a company very interesting. There is a lot of information that could be applied in positive ways to any BC (business case). For instance, the statistics of how innovation has helped P&G (Proctor & Gamble)grow is great for highlighting innovations in a BC. Communication has also played a big role in success, which could be a huge help in pitching for a IS for better communication in a company for instance. The article also gives a interesting overview of some of the things it takes to survive. Such as steady growth, customer focus, teamwork, and a innovative nature which are all things that could be put into a good business plan..

In the Unique Advantage article it says, “Any new product must be difficult to copy or it will not maintain its value.” This is a great piece of info for a BC in which there is a uniqueness of the product. Furthermore it goes on to talk about the need for investment in “breakthrough thinking” which could work in a BC for the expansion of the research and development department. Both of these articles stress innovation and could be very helpful for a BC if emphasis is put on right parts of the model, even if that means exaggerating about the product. Using these concepts and their supporting data alone could  no doubt help a BC in general.

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Thu, 25 Sep 2008 22:45:00 -0700 Why is it important to look at industry factors when making a business case? http://jshatt.posterous.com/why-is-it-important-to-look-at http://jshatt.posterous.com/why-is-it-important-to-look-at

 

 

Why is it important to look at industry factors when making a business case?

In the next couple paragraphs I will go over a few topics about creating a business case. For this particular example I will go over a few basics to look at when creating a new business.

When making a business case it’s very important to examine all the factors of what the business will need to survive in it’s given industry. For instance, is there a market for the business, what kind of strategy will work, what is the overhead compared to what is being invested, and how does the business compare to others in the same industry. Secondly, who is the target for the business case, what is known about this person/organization, and what types of information are they going to be most interested in. Thirdly, think about specific arguments that can be used, such as those based on fact V.S. those based on fiction or industry hype.   

There are many more valuable angles for making a business case, such as arguments based on competitive advantage, a worse case scenario for the investor, and indisputable facts such as current market values. It is very important to view these factors when creating a business case. Not only will these few ideas help sell it to interested parties but will also help the business as a whole. Starting with the basic research mentioned above a new strategy can now be formed. Most importantly there is now factual data in terms of investment, profit, and strategy as well as a valuable information about who is being pitched to.

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Thu, 18 Sep 2008 20:37:00 -0700 A conversation with author Thomas L. Friedman about his book Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution--and How It Can Renew America. http://jshatt.posterous.com/a-conversation-with-author-tho http://jshatt.posterous.com/a-conversation-with-author-tho

A conversation with author Thomas L. Friedman

Not long ago I purchased Thomas Friedman’s book, The Earth Is Flat. While I was shopping for this title I noticed another called Hot, Flat, and Crowded. I was glad to hear Friedman speak about this other title because I thought it looked interesting at the time.

I enjoyed hearing the author speak about global concerns as well as those of our country independently. I agree with Thomas on many of his points about the need for ET (Energy Technology) polices so that we might turn around the economy as well as become a greener America. Solar, Wind, and new renewable energies are the future, I only hope to see the change he addressed happen in my lifetime. These technologies are tied into our future as a country, from quality of life and supporting a larger population to having a healthier planet in general. I did feel however that he left out a very big piece in his outline for the future, that being education.

Education I believe would play a massive role in the kind of change he talks about. I am not saying there are not educated people in this country, instead that these types of programs would have to be supported by government just as much as anything else. I think we can see the current model when we look at most universities in the US and how much money the government allocates a year to the pursuit of defense and weapon technologies. How much do you think they give to renewable energy research a year? Regardless I will have to read his book if I am to see if the topic of education is covered in any more depth. All things aside, I enjoyed his talk very much and will recommend it to others.

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Fri, 12 Sep 2008 21:14:00 -0700 Wal-Mart with Wal-Mart China http://jshatt.posterous.com/compare-and-contrast-your-loca http://jshatt.posterous.com/compare-and-contrast-your-loca

How does Wal-Mart China differ from your local Wal-Mart?

After comparing my local Wal-Mart Supercenter to those in China, I was surprised to find just how westernized the Chinese stores are. I am sure this has to do fully with the American corporate model they set in place. There are seventy seven Supercenters stores in China and two thousand four hundred and forty seven in US. Upon further investigation I started to find discrepancies in their recruitment process, though still nothing major. It turns out Wal-Mart managers in China are called “servant leaders” and that they recruit them directly from college. I did recently watch a couple documentaries on the treatment of employees in the manufacturing houses but the store itself was still eerily similar. I assume this is a world model they have set in place and China is not the only one that surreally similar to the US in the world.

Are the items sold in China the same as your local Wal-Mart?

Yes, of course they are. After all China produces most of Wal-Mart’s products, what they don’t produce is imported from Central America and elsewhere just like it is in the US. Don’t let the labels in Chinese fool you, they are mostly the same products with only a couple exceptions I found. I find it most interesting that there is such a lack of a Chinese influence in the store. Once again it’s probably the effect of globalization but I am used to even corporate stores having some kind of local flare.

 

Source-

[Wal-mart US and http://www.wal-martchina.com]
All images are copyright of original owners.

What Digital News media do you use to get your news?

I don’t own a television so I receive all my news from such online sources as Google, Link TV, BBC, Colbert Report, and the Daily show. I also keep in touch with news through emailing friends, newsletters, and blogging as well. Are you in-forming? I so describe how. I am in-forming by definition from general use of the internet as well as through web searches, browsing web databases, news sites, online music, as well as the content management systems I use that I am constantly sending info back and forth to. What other ways could you inform? Reading E-Books, checking movie times at your local theater, or learning how to build a car using the internet. There is a unfathomable amount of ways you can use information on the internet and in-form in about any way you choose.

Are you in-forming? If so describe how.

I am in-forming by definition just from general use of the internet. I in-form through web searches, web database queries, news sites, listening to online music, school research, as well as through the content management systems that I am constantly sending information back and forth to when I am working.


What other ways could you inform?

Reading E-Books, checking movie times at your local theater, or learning how to build a car using the internet. There is a unfathomable amount of ways you can use information on the internet and in-form in about any way you choose.

 

All images are copyright of original owners.

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Fri, 12 Sep 2008 17:10:00 -0700 How globalization 3.0 is fueling change in the auto industry http://jshatt.posterous.com/examine-how-cultural-differenc http://jshatt.posterous.com/examine-how-cultural-differenc

With “globalization 3.0" beginning around 2000, we saw a much more rapid acceleration of consolidation between companies. One of the first was the buyout of the American corporation Chrysler, by Germany’s Daimler-Benz in 1998. This purchase was the largest industrial merger in history, making Daimler Chrysler the fifth largest car producer in the world at the time. This merger was shortly followed by Ford Automotive and their buyout of Sweden’s Volvo A.B in 1999. These were but the precursors to a new automotive industry which is beginning to be seen and felt today. As globalization climbs towards “4.0" and beyond, companies will go from tiny to microscopic, and no doubt in the end there will be few.

On a personal note

Years ago my father predicted these company consolidations and shrinking borders between their international counterparts. In many ways those talks always kind of frightened me but I knew he was correct on many of his points. My father worked as a designer for General Motors and Ford in the early seventies. I have heard more than my fair share of horror stories from him about company policy for downsizing and trying to save money anyway they could. Most disturbing was their want to have him purposely take safety features out of cars, remove bolts that prevent wear, and many other things I would consider “shady” from my own moral beliefs. I believe that choices like these put them on the path for shortcuts and outsourcing that helped built some of the foundation for globalization. They like many other companies no doubt will experience what “globalization 3.0" will come to mean in the next few years.
       
Bellow is a list of shares companies hold in rival companies, which might be used for future merger forecasting

* Porsche holds a 20% stake in the Volkswagen Group (30.97% voting rights), as of 2006-12-31.[6]
 * The Renault-Nissan alliance involves two global companies linked by cross-shareholding, with Renault holding 44.3% of Nissan shares, and Nissan holding 15% of (non-voting) Renault shares.
 * Ford holds a 33.9% stake in Mazda.[7] and an 8.3% share in Aston Martin.
 * Hyundai Motor Co. holds a 38.67% stake in Kia Motors.[8]
 * Daimler AG holds a 19.9% stake in Chrysler Holding LLC.[9]
 * General Motors still holds a 3% stake in Suzuki. Suzuki is also partner with GM in GMDAT and CAMI.[10]
 * The Volkswagen Group holds 68.6% of the voting stakes in Scania.
 * Renault holds 20.5% of the voting stakes in Volvo Group.
 * Toyota holds a 51% stake in Daihatsu hence having a controlling interest in the company, and 16.5% in Fuji Heavy Industries, parent company of Subaru.[11]

Information above was taken from Wikipedia, copyright belongs to them and their rightful owners.
 

    Sources-

[Wikipedia.com]
[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9401E4D91638F933A05752C0A96F95...]
[http://www.wsws.org/news/1998/may1998/merg-m8.shtml]
[http://globalpolicy.igc.org/socecon/tncs/mergers/2499automergers.htm]
[The World Is Flat
| Thomas L. Friedman]

All images are copyright of original owners.

 

How cultural differences make it difficult to create a world car.

In a world so culturally different it’s hard if not impossible to build and market a global automobile. Every culture has it's own needs, wants, and aesthetics they will look to when purchasing a car. Perhaps it’s impossible now, but one day we might be culturally syncopated enough to where such a thing could come to pass. Examining every culture would take a lifetime so instead I will raise a few points. First you must examine the economics to see what a specific region can afford, how much they drive, gasoline prices, and then even the look and size of the car. It is hard to say how many of these requisites one must fill to appease one geographical location, but there are many people trying.

France for instance is working on a solution to the problem, which is supposed to be introduced next year to the European and Indian market. The first model is a small two door car, powered by electric, gas, and wind power. This model boasts 250 miles a gallon and is supposed to hit the European market at  €6,000. There is also a larger six cylinder version, if it does well in other markets it will also possibly be introduced to the American market. One must wonder how such a car would do in the American market with so much of America's infrastructure in oil, and it's people's love of large inefficient cars. None the less, it’s maybe as close to a global car as people may see for some time. After all it's small, fuel efficient, sleek, and inexpensive. These four elements might bring it close enough to a fair amount of cultural needs to at least be a runner up.

 

Other sources -

BBC America TV
Link TV

All images are copyright of original owners.

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Wed, 10 Sep 2008 00:48:00 -0700 Describing and contrasting the economic, cultural, and technicalogical changes occuring in the digital world. http://jshatt.posterous.com/describe-and-contrast-the-econ http://jshatt.posterous.com/describe-and-contrast-the-econ

There are many cultural, economic, and technological changes occurring every second on a world wide basis. One of the most powerful and often overlooked is art.  The scope of this paper will center around music.  Oscar Wilde once said, "life imitates art far more than art imitates life." Music is an inescapable force in modern culture and has been since the beginning of life on earth. Archeologists have found ivory flutes in Germany, dated between 30,000 and 37,000 years old. From instruments made from tusks to the modern flute made from metal.

Music is not new to us, but the many facets in which we experience it and shape it continue to change daily. You can see and hear it everywhere, it permeates modern society.  For instance, you would be hard pressed to find someone who has never heard a jingle for a commercial product or a Britney Spears song. Whether it be a commercial or a pop song, the recordings were made using software tools such as Protools or Cubase. The final product after the recording is marketed using popular online social networks like Myspace, Facebook, or Bebo.

Technology is rapidly changing how we make music, market it, and sell it. It was not so long ago that we were hearing horror stories from the recording industry and the RIAA, telling us that we were killing the music business with illegal downloading from P2P(peer to peer) networks and freeware programs like Soulseek and Napster. According to the 2007 statistics for album sales in the US, retail CD sales were down 17% and there was a 53% increase in online digital sales. Even Walmart has started phasing out their music section because of decline in CD sales. It is only a matter of time untill we see a new music industry because of so many new technologies. The proof is found in such services as Reverbnation, Sellaband, Amazon, CDBaby, Snocap, and others.  The music industry is approaching a new era.

It is no longer the case that an artist’s revenue comes from only CD and touring sales.   There are so many more options for a musician and likewise, a consumer, to exchange goods thanks to services such as Soulseek and iTunes. An example of the smart use of digital distribution is the band Radiohead, who were estimated to have made over 10 million dollars in online sales during the first week of their album release last year. In France there is a service based on a free licensing system called Dogmazic. Not only is this a software based on distributing music for free over the internet but they also exchange music in person. Several times a year they set up booths to have these large scale “information” exchanges.  The consumer has a chance to go to a booth where he is allowed to burn a CD for free, or even plugin a device such as a iPod and copy music at no charge. These types of services and others like them will not only help to change how we view music from an economical standpoint but eventually change the way it's seen and heard all together.

 

References-

Ice age flute - Achim Schneider [http://www.bioedonline.org/picks/news.cfm?art=1442]
Radiohead - AP[http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/services/2006-06-12-riaa_x.htm]
Kristen Nicole - [http://mashable.com/2007/10/19/radiohead-album-sales/]
Album Sales Decline - AP[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18220349/]
Amazon sells music -Michael Arrington - [http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/12/19/amazon-helping-to-change-the-business-of...]
Andrew Sorkin- [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE1D7123CF937A35756C0A9659C...]
[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18220349/]
Walmart [http://www.alleyinsider.com/2008/8/want-the-new-ac-dc-album-head-to-wal-mart-...]

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