I've tried a number of different music delivery agents over the years. In the early 80's, I purchased a subscription to Wayne Green's, long gone CD Review magazine, which included as part of the sub, a complete CD. In the early 90's, I started purchasing CMJ New Music Monthly, a magazine and CD which I still get today, but which has lost the luster it once had. If memory serves, 9/11 disrupted the publication and delivery mechanism for this magazine, based in New York City, and it has never fully recovered in my view. Awhile back, I started an account on Amie Street (http://amiestreet.com) and since then I haven't looked back.
Amie Street has a great model for both the consumer and the publisher of music. It allows musicians to upload their songs (individual songs, EP's or long play CD's) as mp3 tracks. Amie Street keeps the first $5 of each songs profit, for bandwidth, storage and other fees, then the artist receives %70 of any future revenue on the song. Songs go up in value as they are purchased and downloaded, and as recommendations come in from people who have listened to the tracks.
Consumers of Amie Street music receive equal benefits. All music starts out as FREE and then moves upwards as it is purchased and downloaded. Recommendations from fans increase the value of the posting as more people are likely to purchase and download the music based on reviews that others provide.
This model provides a true supply and demand cost model that allows the cream to rise to the top, while music that is less stellar or not quite as accessible, languishes towards the bottom. Amie Street editors also provide their own input into music that is currently hosted on the site providing another boost for artists and another opinion for potential purchasers.
If you haven't yet tried Amie Street, I highly recommend that you do. Recent hooks into social networking sites, such as Facebook.com's Fantasy Record Label application, provide yet another avenue for consumers and musicians alike.
Monday, November 19, 2007
Monday, November 12, 2007
Is there still a chance for the chewy political center?
A person has to wonder, given the latest "benefits" of the carefully orchestrated group meetings surrounding senator Clinton's campaign, if the nation is slowly warming to the chewy center of the democratic party. We can't continue down the road of Rove/Bush, carefully orchestrating the crowds to serve our own agenda. This is a failed and flawed political policy, and one that deserves a sound trouncing-whether the party is Democrat or Republican.
So the polls show that Democrats are a lot more disgusted and troubled by the use of these tactics by Clinton than I'm sure she would have hoped. A solid lead in the polls is now tightening and 2nd place challenger Barack Obama seems poised to gain much of the lost percentiles. And why not? Barack may not have the experience of Clinton in some respects, but he exudes a quality that has been missing far too long in this country and in the political scene, a mannerism of calm, a pragmatic application of warmth and even handedness. Would we, should we, even consider replacing the corporate behemoth of Bush with yet another corporate behemoth in Clinton? I say no.
You can be tempted to deal it to the Republicans as they have dealt unto us for the last 7 years, but what does that gain the country? Not one thing. That is what we are buying into if we allow our hearts and votes to be lured into the Clinton camp. We can go for revenge, and likely lose the battle altogether; Or we can go for the center, where 90% of America is anyway, and try to bring this country back together through inclusion. I believe that this is the type of president that Barack Obama would be, and I believe that his soft-spoken yet firm nature will allow him to win against any of the Republican front-runners.
Unfortunately, the Republican hopefuls are shaping up to be more of the same-all cut out of some corporate or moral institutional model, that would give us another four years, minimum, of separatist hell in our nation. We can't afford more of the same. There is too much at stake.
Americans have an opportunity to end the extremist views of one party and replace them with either more extremism on the opposite poll, or moderation that heals. My vote is to heal the nation and bring Republicans and Democrats back together as they were meant to be. There is a soft and chewy political center, and he is Barack Obama.
So the polls show that Democrats are a lot more disgusted and troubled by the use of these tactics by Clinton than I'm sure she would have hoped. A solid lead in the polls is now tightening and 2nd place challenger Barack Obama seems poised to gain much of the lost percentiles. And why not? Barack may not have the experience of Clinton in some respects, but he exudes a quality that has been missing far too long in this country and in the political scene, a mannerism of calm, a pragmatic application of warmth and even handedness. Would we, should we, even consider replacing the corporate behemoth of Bush with yet another corporate behemoth in Clinton? I say no.
You can be tempted to deal it to the Republicans as they have dealt unto us for the last 7 years, but what does that gain the country? Not one thing. That is what we are buying into if we allow our hearts and votes to be lured into the Clinton camp. We can go for revenge, and likely lose the battle altogether; Or we can go for the center, where 90% of America is anyway, and try to bring this country back together through inclusion. I believe that this is the type of president that Barack Obama would be, and I believe that his soft-spoken yet firm nature will allow him to win against any of the Republican front-runners.
Unfortunately, the Republican hopefuls are shaping up to be more of the same-all cut out of some corporate or moral institutional model, that would give us another four years, minimum, of separatist hell in our nation. We can't afford more of the same. There is too much at stake.
Americans have an opportunity to end the extremist views of one party and replace them with either more extremism on the opposite poll, or moderation that heals. My vote is to heal the nation and bring Republicans and Democrats back together as they were meant to be. There is a soft and chewy political center, and he is Barack Obama.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Budget Bull
The right is so wrong when it comes to claims made over the last couple of years regarding the budget deficit and the value of bonehead Bush's tax cuts. They claim over and over again that the tax cuts worked perfectly to reduce the deficit, but the reality is that if you factor in war expenses, which have been tacked on outside of the budget process as earmarks; the entire amount of which has been borrowed from foreign governments, then the real "deficit" is climbing at an unprecedented rate.
When comparing budget deficits from last year to this year, the deficit has indeed been reduced by 48 billion. However, when you factor in the long-term costs, alternative minimum tax changes, and other costs that will hit in the future, the real story is more evident. (see "War Costs Extend Budget Deficit Gap")
War costs for this year alone are expected to top 600 billion-all borrowed and passed down to future generations as debt that must be paid. If this is good fiscal policy, then I've just sold some great swamp-land in Florida and made a small fortune!
When comparing budget deficits from last year to this year, the deficit has indeed been reduced by 48 billion. However, when you factor in the long-term costs, alternative minimum tax changes, and other costs that will hit in the future, the real story is more evident. (see "War Costs Extend Budget Deficit Gap")
War costs for this year alone are expected to top 600 billion-all borrowed and passed down to future generations as debt that must be paid. If this is good fiscal policy, then I've just sold some great swamp-land in Florida and made a small fortune!
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