Collaborative Music Ranking

How would you go about finding cool new music to listen to?

Probably, in the two-dot-something world, you would turn to a trusted source. Or an aggregation of trusted sources.

I’ve been turning to wHen kiLLeD liKe roosTeRs and their albums listing.

WKLR Top Ten albums screenshot

Combined with another unique type of social networking chart, you can bend some personal choice on the problem and come up with at least a few hours’ worth of music and an understanding of what the cool kids like.

Understanding the market is an important step to take towards engaging with that market.

iPhone for the iWin

Given that I now will work feverishly to obtain one on launch day, they have obviously got the mix right.

iPhone front-on, and side-on

It’s equal parts widescreen iPod, PDA-computer hybrid and phone with an operating system that doesn’t suck.

My previous forays into PalmPilots with GSM jackets, Newton MessagePad 2100s with GPRS cards, and Symbian Series 60 have all been leading to this point.

As long as they don’t count Australia as Asia, which means a 2008 launch date for the masses, I can see a lot of people dropping Windows Mobile smartphones quick-smart.

Revenues flat due to DRM MP3s

No, of course not.

But REUTERS, the esteemed organisation that it is, used a Billboard article by Antony Bruno to propose just this (second paragraph, even).

In 2007, the majors will get the message, and the DRM wall will begin to crumble. Why? Because they’ll no longer be able to point to a growing digital marketplace as justification that DRM works. Revenue from digital downloads and mobile content is expected to be flat or, in some cases, decline next year. If the digital market does in fact stall, alternatives to DRM will look much more attractive.

At least the article has a good look at the 1Q2007 market we’re all returning from holiday periods to face, reviewing:

  1. Amazon
  2. Limewire
  3. MySpace
  4. eMusic
  5. Yahoo! Music

By volume, I think MySpace has a chance of driving demand for liberated MP3s.

By quality, possibly David Goldberg’s deals with Sony BMG and EMI Music could influence the marketplace.

Leaks of new songs difficult to plug

…and some in industry don’t care | Chicago Tribune

In some cases, industry people are leaking music online, such as the recent incident in which tracks from a Mastodon recording were released by a retail worker, who was subsequently fired.

Or, as I experienced in 2001 to 2003: some label managers paid to have “studio burns” of albums released onto filesharing networks to gauge reaction in advance of the release.

You can use the community to your advantage; the corollary is that it is not piracy if it is endorsed by the label.

LOVE (The Beatles album). Crank up the home theatre.

Just grabbed a copy of this yesterday, and started listening to it today on DVD-Audio.

LOVE cover

I agree with Giles Martin’s quote:

What people will be hearing on the album is a new experience, a way of re-living the whole Beatles musical lifespan in a very condensed period. [Source: NME]

It’s faithful to memories of The Beatles, and is a respectful mashup. The work that has gone into the Dolby Digital, DTS and 96kHz 24-bit mixes is clearly evident. Why bother with the CD when you can even use the disk in a normal DVD player and rattle the windowpanes with surroundaliciousness?

Well worth a listen even if Cirque du Soleil is not your thing. Strawberry Fields is the standout for me after my first listen.