music – Tech Today w/ Ken May

Are Music CDs Dying? Best Buy Stops Selling CDs

An anonymous reader quotes Complex magazine: The future of physical music isn’t looking good. According to Billboard, consumer electronics company Best Buy will no longer carry physical CDs and Target may be following suit in the near future. Best Buy notified music suppliers that they will cease selling CDs at stores beginning July 1. The move is sure to hurt the already declining sales of CDs as consumers are switching to streaming platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music, and Tidal in large numbers. CD sales have already dropped by a sizable 18.5 percent in the past year, Billboard reports. Billboard also reports Target has given an “ultimatum” to music and video suppliers. “Currently, Target takes the inventory risk by agreeing to pay for any goods it is shipped within 60 days, and must pay to ship back unsold CDs for credit… Target has demanded to music suppliers that it wants CDs to be sold on what amounts to a consignment basis…” “If the majors don’t play ball and give in to the new sale terms, it could considerably hasten the phase down of the CD format.” Read more of this story at Slashdot.

View the original here:
Are Music CDs Dying? Best Buy Stops Selling CDs

Roland announces software versions of its 808 and 909 drum machines

The Roland TR-808 and TR-909 are iconic drum machines that powered a ton of the music from the ’80s and ’90s. While both hardware units were recently revived as the TR-08 and TR-09 , they haven’t been officially emulated in software yet. That changes now as Roland announces VST and AU plugins for both of the iconic rhythm modules (along with a new SRX Orchestra virtual instrument set) as part of the company’s Roland Cloud service. The TR-808 and TR-909 virtual instruments are full reproductions of the original hardware, according to Roland. The SRX Orchestra is the first one of the SRX series Expansion Library (from the 2000s) available as a software instrument. Roland Cloud will be a suite of high-resolution software synths and sampled instruments that musicians will be able to pull from while creating their own musical works. It sounds similar to what Adobe has done with its own photo and graphics-based Adobe Cloud . All three new additions are headed as updates to the Roland Cloud service starting in February of this year. Via: Fact Mag Source: Roland

More:
Roland announces software versions of its 808 and 909 drum machines

Apple’s iBooks to become “Books” in forthcoming reading app redesign

Enlarge (credit: Apple) Apple is reportedly tweaking its e-book offering to better take on Amazon, the current leader of the digital book market. According to a Bloomberg report , Apple will release a revamped version of the iBooks app for iOS, which will be dubbed “Books,” that will have an interface more like the iOS 11 App Store, a Reading Now tab, and a separate section for audiobooks. There’s no official date for the debut of the new app, but it’s reportedly slated to be released in the coming months. Limited details are known about the app, which is in testing right now. Bloomberg’s report describes it having a “simpler interface” that emphasizes books the user is currently reading. There’s also a new digital book store within the app that’s said to be similarly designed to Apple’s current App Store, which received a drastic redesign in iOS 11. That could mean that Apple plans to make discovering new books through the Books app easier, possibly with categorical tabs and book cover art throughout the digital store. Apple recently moved its audiobook offerings from the Music app to the iBooks app, but having a dedicated tab for audiobooks will make them more easily accessible for customers. Apple has also reportedly hired a lead executive from Audible, the Amazon-owned audiobook platform, to help reinvigorate its e-book efforts. The iBooks app remains one of the few Apple programs that hasn’t received a significant update in years. That is likely due in part to a 2013 ruling by the U.S. Department of Justice covering fixed pricing for e-books in Apple’s iBooks store. Apple was fined $450 million. Read 2 remaining paragraphs | Comments

View the original here:
Apple’s iBooks to become “Books” in forthcoming reading app redesign

‘Drive’ director debuts free streaming service for forgotten movies

Love him or hate him, you can’t deny that Drive and Neon Demon director Nicholas Winding Refn has an astute eye for style in his movies. He’s taking that and launching his own streaming service , dubbed “byNWR.” It’s different from Netflix in that its offerings will be tightly curated by Refn and others. Oh, and it’ll be free. The service describes itself as “an unadulterated expressway for the arts, ” and beta sign-ups are live right now. Per Indiewire , the website further states that “byNWR shares Nicholas WInding Refn’s passion for the rare, the forgotten and the unknown, breathing new life into the culturally intriguing and influential.” Each month will feature a different restored movie (thanks in part to Harvard Film Archive) that fits into a theme that’ll change every quarter. When it launches next February the theme will be “Regional Renegades: Exploitation Gems from the Southern USA, ” and the second will be “Restored and Rediscovered Classics of American Independent Cinema.” Vodzilla elaborates that the website will also offer essays, music and photos in addition to streaming video. Sounds a bit like what Apple wanted to do with Music at first . Want to watch the movies somewhere other than your computer? Apparently there will also be screenings for the restored films as well at select theaters across the globe. byNWR is one of the more niche streaming services we’ve come across, but if you’re a fan of obscure movies from Hollywood’s past, it might be your best place to watch them — all it’s missing is an app. Via: Vodzilla Source: byNWR

Germans are doing deep scans of ancient instruments to uncover their secrets

I don’t know if you’re into baroque music, but I can tell you that Germans sure are. So it’s no surprise that German R&D outfit Fraunhofer has turned its considerable resources towards learning about and conserving every little detail of the instruments for which the likes of Bach and Handel composed their music. Specifically, they’re putting them into an enormous… Read More

Link:
Germans are doing deep scans of ancient instruments to uncover their secrets

Equifax CEO Hired a Music Major as the Company’s Chief Security Officer

Susan Mauldin, the person in charge of the Equifax’s data security, has a bachelor’s degree and a master of fine arts degree in music composition from the University of Georgia, according to her LinkedIn profile. Mauldin’s LinkedIn profile lists no education related to technology or security. If that wasn’t enough, news outlet MarketWatch reported on Friday that Susan Mauldin’s LinkedIn page was made private and her last name was replaced with “M”, in a move that appears to keep her education background secret. Earlier this month Equifax, which is one of the three major consumer credit reporting agencies, said that hackers had gained access to company data that potentially compromised sensitive information for 143 million American consumers, including Social Security numbers and driver’s license numbers. On Friday, the UK arm of the organisation said files containing information on “fewer than 400, 000” UK consumers was accessed in the breach. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

View the original here:
Equifax CEO Hired a Music Major as the Company’s Chief Security Officer

Spotify removes ‘hate bands’ from its streaming library

You can add Spotify to the growing list of companies taking a stand against hateful, racist content. In the last few days we’ve seen Google and GoDaddy cancel a white supremacist website domain, Facebook and Reddit ban hate groups, Discord shut down racist accounts and GoFundMe remove a campaign in support of the man accused of driving a car into protesters this weekend in Charlottesville. Now Billboard reports that Spotify is removing “hate bands” from its streaming service. On Monday, Digital Music News published a story that pointed out 37 white supremacist bands that could be found on Spotify. Many of those bands were listed in a 2014 Southern Poverty Law Center report that named 54 racist bands whose music could be listened to on iTunes, Spotify and Amazon while others were found through the help of Spotify recommendations. A few months after the SPLC’s report was published, the center noted that iTunes had removed a number of the bands while Spotify and Amazon had not. A Spotify spokesperson told Billboard, “Spotify takes immediate action to remove any such material as soon as it has been brought to our attention. We are glad to have been alerted to this content – and have already removed many of the bands identified today, whilst urgently reviewing the remainder.” The company is also reportedly considering removing these sorts of bands from its algorithm-based recommendations and has put together a new “Patriotic Passion” playlist. We’ve reached out to Spotify for comment and will update this post if we receive more information. Via: The Verge Source: Billboard

Excerpt from:
Spotify removes ‘hate bands’ from its streaming library

Apple going all-in on original programming, to the tune of $1 billion a year

Apple Music on iOS 10, with Senior VP Eddy Cue. (credit: Andrew Cunningham) As the battle to create original content for online video services continues, we get a glimpse into Apple’s plans for the coming year. According to a report from The Wall Street Journal , Apple has a budget of $1 billion to spend in 2018 to “procure and produce” original content. The iPhone maker could acquire and produce up to 10 shows next year with this money, which will be largely left in the hands of new Apple hires Jamie Erlicht and Zack Van Amburg. Erlicht and Van Amburg are former presidents from Sony Pictures Television that moved to Apple in June to oversee video content strategy and production. The $1 billion budget signals how serious Apple is about boosting its original programming, the newest of which lives on its Apple Music subscription service. This is Apple’s first major push into original content, but $1 billion less than the money spend on content by rival companies. HBO spent about double last year on content (it reportedly costs $10 million to produce one episode of Game of Thrones ), and Netflix may spend upwards of $6 billion this year. Apple’s starting budget is similar to Amazon’s when it first got into original programming in 2013 with Prime Video; Amazon could spend $4.5 billion on original content in 2017. Original programming is the way to go, as it has proven to be a big driver in the growth of streaming services. Netflix’s business benefited immensely from original hits like House of Cards , Orange is the New Black , and Stranger Things . Those kinds of shows—scripted comedies and dramas—are expensive to produce, and we’ve seen Netflix’s annual budget for original programming increase over the past few years to accommodate that. Apple’s first original series, Planet of the Apps and Carpool Karaoke , both just became available to Apple Music subscribers, and critics’ reviews have been mixed. Read 2 remaining paragraphs | Comments

View article:
Apple going all-in on original programming, to the tune of $1 billion a year

Font Maker Sues Universal Music Over ‘Pirated’ The Vamps Logo

An anonymous reader writes: Universal Music Group is being sued by HypeForType, which accuses the record label of using “pirated” copies of its fonts for the logo of The Vamps. The font is widely used for artwork, promotion material and merchandising of the popular British band, and the font creator is looking for a minimum of $1.25 million in damages. The font maker has filed a lawsuit accusing the major label of using its “Nanami Rounded” and “Ebisu Bold” fonts without permission. According to a complaint, filed in a New York federal court, Universal failed to obtain a proper license for its use, so they are essentially using pirated fonts. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

More:
Font Maker Sues Universal Music Over ‘Pirated’ The Vamps Logo

Chromium To Get Support For MP3

An anonymous reader shares a post: Chromium, the open source project behind Google Chrome, Opera and several other browsers, is going to support MP3. This would enable users and websites to play MP3 files in Chromium browser. A Chromium contributor informed about this, “We have approval from legal to go ahead and move MP3 into non-proprietary codecs list.” The MP3 support in Chromium is targeted for version 62. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Read the article:
Chromium To Get Support For MP3