Blues for Mai Cramer



Quote

"Our Congress gave the President the ability to respond to the tragedy of September 11. We licensed a response to those who helped bring the terror of September 11th. But we the people and our elected representatives must reserve the right to measure the response, to proportion the response, to challenge the response, and to correct the response.

The Reader
Vacation edition of Subterranean Homepage News
(Why"The Reader"?)

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July 10, 2002
New moon, fresh start

July 17 Public Workshop
on Digital Entertainment and Rights Management
comments page link: http://www.ta.doc.gov/comments/comments.htm
Go there and make your case.

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The Tip Jar: Non-coercive payments for artists: "The idea is that an artist creates something, tags it in such a way that s/he is identified with the work...and then scatters it to the four winds. When I subsequently discover this work... I dig the music, so now (a) I want to learn more about the artist, and (b) I want to give them a tip. $2...$5; maybe they suggest something. Whatever. Something small enough that I don't sit there and agonize over it; I just do it." -- Ken Kennedy (via Doc Searls)

Great idea, but how about 8 cents if you like the song? That's a fee I'd sprinkle around like M&Ms.

It's also the current royalty rate set by Congress to be paid to the artist / copyright owners per track; it's called a "mechanical license" (More info: Mechanical Royalties Today), Using Libby's Music)
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Sidebar: Maybe this is what really killed Internet radio. "So, the recording artists finally get a piece of the pie through a compulsory license that is meant to generate some modest revenue, and what happens? Everybody's screaming that the fees are too high, and that they should be set low enough to encourage the liberal development of new 'business models' for delivering music on the Internet." (Economic Justice: Copyright Owners, Performers, and Users, comments by Edward Samuels at N.Y. Law School, April 3)

Meanwhile, musicians fight with the record companies.
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Under pressure: NPR has a new linking policy. Over at OJR, Staci Kramer has background on the old, Draconian one and comments on the sequel. via Romanesko
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Jack Daniel's Hard Cola (NYT) is officially beer, and it's coming to bars and restaurants next week, shelves in September. The advertising opportunities open to beer, but not whiskey, will likely boost the granddaddy brand.
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Dennis who? Paul Andrews blogs, "Dennis Kucinich, the Cleveland congressman, is getting early attention from those who favor a true alternative. His widely Web-distributed "Prayer for America" is the most compelling declaration an elected politician has authored in years. You can read it here (excerpt at left). It led Studs Terkel to suggest that "Kucinich Is The One."

At Kucinich's website, I learned he introduced a bill to establish a Dept. of Peace -- a year ago. Great idea.

Anybody know more -- or have an opinion -- about Kucinich?
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Good guy, good idea: Griff Wigley (bad email link now fixed) sent email saying he hoped I was getting some vacation time away from the computer (thanks, yes, and I hope to write some thoughts about this unusual vacation this afternoon after I set in some plants around the new porch; they've been cramped in tiny pots for too long).

I'd known about Griff's Blog The Organization!, but the Real Joe site that's in his email sig is new: "Important stuff. Plain talk. Ordinary guys."

Griff's blog voice is real and open and both his written essays are terrific ("A Guide for Rounding the Bases" is straight talk to a teenage son, and "Why Women Don't Want Sex with Us: What we can do about it " begs for a way to add comments!) The "Affirmation Bullshit Generator for Sensitive New Age Guys" says this is no mini-Maxim.

I like this guy. He's on my blogroll now.
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Bloggers on eMusic: I wanted to hear what the bloggers say about eMusic's "you download it, you own it" offerings, not the rewritten press releases. There's a 14-day free trial, cancel anytime, with a 50-album limit. Daypop turned up just two personal experiences:

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Under pressure: NPR has a new linking policy. Over at OJR, Staci Kramer has background on the old, Draconian one and comments on the sequel. via Romanesko
Link •

Jack Daniel's Hard Cola (NYT) is officially beer, and it's coming to bars and restaurants next week, shelves in September. The advertising opportunities open to beer, but not whiskey, will likely boost the granddaddy brand.
Link •

Quote
"Watching the president unleash his newfound 'outrage,' coming after months of silence and ho-hum shrugs, conjures up the image of Louis, Claude Rains' police chief in 'Casablanca,' announcing that he is 'shocked, shocked!'" to find that gambling has been going on in Bogie's joint -- just seconds before picking up his winnings from the previous night. "
Arianna Huffington, July 8, 2002