Copyright Royalty Judges Release Details on Royalties

If you need a nice 2 hour read on the inner workings of royalty proceedings before the Copyright Royalty Judges, read this.

In sum, it gives you a description of the history, the respective parties' positions on the subject, then the logic in establishing rates. If you're a musician, songwriter, or otherwise interested in the industry, give yourself a crash course and read up.

Brock

Bloggers Beware - Another Lawsuit Storm is Brewing

I have serious doubts this case will make it very far (particularly since there's apparently a cross-complaint against the plaintiff alleging the identical wrongful conduct), but you should still watch it. In substance, when bloggers, news sites, etc., use headlines and leaders from third party sites as their own link points, it's now being called Copyright Infringement. Now if that ain't a crock...

First, I think it's fair use.

Second, I think it's inconsistent with the entire news-linking-web system of practice.

Third, it doesn't displace traffic to the underlying sites, it pushes traffic to those sites.

Fourth, simply because the linking party generates revenue from this business model doesn't mean it's wrong.

Fifth, I seriously doubt that the company filing the lawsuit has never done what they're complaining about.

Sixty, they will lose this case if it goes to trial.

Keep watch, my people.

~ Brock

Obama Exempts YouTube from Collecting Data

Apparently there's a long-standing rule that the federal government can't collect e-data on people that visit the Whitehouse (or other federal agency) website. Obama's team made a teeny-weeny exception...YouTube (owned by Google) CAN collect data (via cookies) relating to videos used all over the Whitehouse site. That's a pretty interesting little kickback, isn't it?

Among contractual lawyers, we tend to use "directly or indirectly" language as a means to avoid a primary party saying, "I didn't do it," when they allow someone else to do whatever it is they're not supposed to do. So the federal government can't collect data, but it can let someone else- Google- do it. Hmmmmmm. Here's a quote from CNET:

While the White House might not be tracking visitors, the Google-owned video sharing site is free to use persistent cookies to track the browsing behavior of millions of visitors to Obama's home in cyberspace.

Now I don't know about you, but that seems like a pretty powerful and important exemption. So on a purely objective level, I think it's pretty fishy.

But- and that's a HUGE BUT (ha ha)- I'm also a firm believer that our government should be at the cutting edge of technology usage, not years behind (as was recently reported). I doubt this little exemption directly relates to that goal, particularly since this isn't about a technical limitation. In the end, Obama so far is pushing the technology envelope in the Office and I hope he continues to do so.

~ Brock

Chocolate Bundt Cake with Cognac-Currant Cream Sauce

It's York's birthday, so I thought I'd bake him...I mean, Tammy wanted to bake him...a nice cake using some fresh currants I bought from Trader Joes and some Hennessy I have in the vault.

First, the chocolate cake. Because of timing, I needed to make a quick cake...something I could make with the ingredients on hand. I had a Pillsbury box of dark chocolate cake (which is great on its own), and chose that as my base.

My focus was on the sauce. Using currants as my focal point, I did the following:

1/2 Cup sugar
1/2 Cup whipping cream
1/4 Cup butter
1/4 fresh currants
2 tsp cognac

I place everything in a small pot and heat on low for about 15 minutes. Then, I mass some of the berries with a wooden spoon...some whole, some crushed. Then I bring to a medium-high boil for 4 minutes (without stirring) and remove from heat.

Here is a quick shot of the sauce after I used some...a lot of the berries left because I strained most of the sauce into a baster and on top:



Once the cake is cooled, I used a turkey baster and infused some strained sauce throughout the cake. Then I drizzled sauce over the top, and spooned berries (from the sauce) about the top. Shake some powder sugar over it all and viola!

Enjoy yourself.

~ Brock

Right Direction, Wrong Band

Hoobastank!? I hate to even say the word...horrible name and horrible band. But, I will say that they're at least progressive in allowing their fans to modify their music video. This is where things need to be...the 'remix culture.' I'm a fan of the culture and I believe it's a part of 2.0 (whatever that is).

Cheers to Boobastank, that sorry band that only stands out for its bad name.

Brock

Grilled Flank Steak Topped with Crispy Rum Onions with Spicy-Sweet Mashed Potatoes and Glazed Green Beans

Not exactly intended for long life, this meal is full of red meat, fat, starch, and rum. But, when counterbalanced by the green beans, it's practically fitting for a vegan (at least in my view).

Grilled Flank Steak:

Get your strip of steak out and slather olive oil
Grind up peppercorn, sea salt, cumin, coriander, garlic, and paprika into a fine powder. Coat your steak and rub it in with your fingers. Don't be shy on the amount of spices.
Let your steak come to "cool" temp, for maybe 1 hour out of the fridge. Heat your grill to high and cook 5 minutes on one side- flip and 4 minutes on the other. Take off the grill and don't cut it for at least 5 minutes.

Crispy Rum Onions:

Slice onion
1/4 cup rum
make a paste by adding cornstarch
add 1 tsp of baking powder
Mix onions in mixture well to coat. Drop in hot oil, turning often, until golden brown. Drain on paper towel

Spicy-Sweet Mashed Potatoes:

Boil large amount of water
skin 3 potatoes, cut into cubes, and drop in boiling water
skin 1 Asian pear, cut 1/2 into cubes and drop in boiling water
Boil over medium heat for 30 minutes. Drain.
Return to pot. Add 1/2 small carton of whipping cream, and 2-4 TSP horseradish. Use a potato masher, and mash those babies. Dollop some butter on top and return the lid. Keep warm. Stir before serving

Gravy:

Boil 1 Cup beef broth, add 1/2 sliced onion, and 1 TSP thyme. Reduce heat to simmer for 30 minutes. Add 1 TSP flour. Stir well, breaking up clumps. When you're almost ready for it, heat it up to a thick gravy, then use it.

Enjoy!

~ Brock

Wikinomics & The Tipping Point

I'm trying to catch up on some reading and these are the most recent: Wikinomics and The Tipping Point. For me, they were fascinating. At the core, Wikinomics is about the concept of crowd-sourcing...using people outside your walls...to further, better, or assist in your product/service development. It's a great read and interesting. The question left is if this is the way things are headed, is it true (as the writers suggest) that free will cannibalize value? Will Wikipedia put Encylopedia Brittanica out of business? If enough people are willing to do it for free, will there still be a market for businesses to flourish? These are the questions you'll be asking yourself.

As for the Tipping Point, the book in and of itself is really interesting. Aside from the topic, it is packed full of anecdotes, stories, and case studies. I found those as interesting as the core itself. For instance, everyone assumes Rudy Guilliani cleaned up NY. I've heard countless people say it. When you look closer, it started before he was in office. It started in the subway. His name is on 'clean & better' NY, but it was likely a wave he was able to ride. It's stuff like that.

Anyway, read them both. You'll be happy you did.

Brock

YouTube Killing the Music

YouTube hits the kill switch on unauthorized audio. Sure, it's logical...someone posts a video with music that wasn't cleared. Not worth suing. Probably won't respond if a cease and desist is written (and there would be millions of those, wouldn't there). What's YouTube's option? Mute the audio. It works, I guess, but it's stupid.

Over the past 5 or 10 years, anyone and their grandma can be an artist. The sea of talent just got stocked with millions and millions of mutated fishy-musics-suckers. Now, the trick is to rise above the trash. How can you do that when your music is MUTED...MUTE...MUT...MU...M... .... you can't. If a video goes off, then people here the music too. If they were 'smart' enough to use a song that gets muted, then the artist, label and publisher lose the influence.

YouTube, if you're listening, please be smart. Find a solution that allows people to use music, keeps the labels quiet, and allows fans to discover.

Last.fm Experiences Growth, but Woxy Dominates

Wired reports triple digit growth for Last.fm, an online radio property now owned by CBS. It's funny, because in such a sketchy economy and with such a grim outlook for the music industry, is triple digit growth really what matters? Whoopie!

Last.fm represents a switch from terrestrial to digital, but not a 20th century to the 21st century. It's nothing new for you. You can listen to the radio in your car. You can listen to the radio on your iPod. Is Internet radio that's the same as run-of-mill radio "cool"? Is it important? Relevant? Nope. Nope. And nope. Just 'cuz they got an "events" page, and a "video" page, doesn't make it any better. Burger King probably has videos.

Woxy represents the new era in radio. It's digital, of course. But that's just the surface layer. Peel back and you'll find that it's not run by the "machine." You won't hear top 10, top 40, top 100, or whatever conconction that Ryan Seacrest can come up with. You WILL find good music...new music...interesting DJs...interesting commentary...tastemaking in progress.

Don't be a dope and sell your soul for digital alone. Look for more. Want more and Woxy will deliver.

Is Singing Gone From Music?

I read a really interesting article about the lost art of singing. It's funny, because we hear so much music now, I don't think many people consider vocal ability in the same way we used to. I think back to bands like Journey, Dave Matthews Band, and others, and I always thought vocal ability factored in. I thought those guys had great voices. Maybe I was wrong, but at least I considered it.

Now I can't really say. When I scan through Billboard's top 200, can I say the majority of artists are "singers"? Who knows, because I'm not expert. But I will tell you this: the article got me thinking about it.