January 5, 2008

Jay-Z To Join...Apple?!

OTCS thanks its friends over at Tilzy.tv for bringing the following to our attention:

Jay-Z is launching a record label with...APPLE. Yes, that Apple, that brings you iPods, iTunes and iCantThinkOfAnythingElse.

News is sure to abound, and OTCS plans to watch this developing story closely.

Meanwhile, what does this mean in Apple computer's settlement with Apple Records (of The Beatles fame) over use of the "apple" trademark for a music distribution company?

January 4, 2008

And Then There Were None

With the announcement that Sony BMG will cease distributing music on-line with digital rights management (DRM), there are no longer any major labels using such technology to curb on-line copyright infringement. (See OTCS links to "Digital Rights Management", below.)

Though Sony BMG is making the move to DRM on less-than-its-entire catalogue, this marks the end of an era in the way media companies distribute content on-line. Following an old addage, as goes the music business, so goes the others. OTCS can't help but predict that in the near future, other media outlets (e.g., broadcast networks, who only recently distribute video on-line) will be forced to cut-back on anti-copying measures.

What does this mean for iTunes? Or its now-and-future competitors? All OTCS can do is observe that whatever effects this has to on-line distribution businesses, the inevitable elimination of all DRM is only good for the consumer, and similarly, artists alike.

January 3, 2008

Thanks to The Trademark Blog for calling this to OTCS's attention:

The RIAA is actually being defended after a columnist at the Washington Post erroneously accused the RIAA of calling anyone who uploads music from a CD to their computer a thief. The article is based on a brief filed in Arizona last month against an alleged unauthorized on-line file sharer. However, the brief clearly defines the unlawful act as uploading CDs AND FILE-SHARING, not mere uploading.

The Washington Post and the RIAA are now having a "pissing match" back and forth, arguing who is correct.

Toxic - Britney Spears an "Impossible" Client

Billboard reports that the legal team at Trope & Trope behind Britney Spears in her custody battle with ex-husband, "K-Fed", are seeking judicial permission to be relieved as Spears' counsel. The request is based on a communication breakdown between attorney and client, making representation "impossible".

Radiohead - Who's Buying

By now, news of Radiohead offering its latest album on-line at a price chosen by the downloader is old - news. Now the question remains: will anyone buy the album from physical retailers now that it "In Rainbows" is being released in physical formats?

Though Radiohead has not aired any information regarding revenue from the "you-pick" pricing scheme, speculation is abundant. Conversely, sale -- and thus, revenues -- of physical formats will be easy to track. In the end, does it matter?

Radiohead has amassed critical and public following - so let's wait until they go on tour and see what they charge for tickets (and how fast they sell out) before determining how "successful" both "In Rainbow" distribution methods were.