Gerd Leonhard's Blog on The Future of Music, Media & Entertainment

TIME SHIFTING is the next big thing

yet another step is covered here
"This year the buzzword is 'place-shifting' and Orb and Sling Media make the content portable," said analyst Barrett, referring to two Bay Area companies providing on-demand products...."

MSNBC: The idea of sitting in front of a box in your living room is becoming obsolete...

good article on what digital technologies are doing to the TV business.  "Sending television over the Web—so-called Internet protocol television, or IPTV—is already big in Japan, and gaining steam in the rest of the world. Britain's largest telecom firm, BT, recently launched its own entertainment division with an eye to sending video content over its phone lines. Internet companies like Google and Yahoo are developing video search engines, which might one day allow you to find your favorite TV shows on the Web as easily as you search for a customized cat collar...."     Sounds familiar if one thinks of the music business. I think this will be a boon for TV producers - but once again, letting go of the CONTROL will be a big challenge.   "And, most important, digital video recorders—TiVo-like devices that sit in set-top boxes—allow viewers to record their favorite shows and watch them whenever they want, skipping commercials along the way. These devices are much easier to use than their Precambrian predecessor, the VCR, and they've given rise to so-called time shifting—a concept that is threatening the entire notion of advertiser-funded television...."   THAT is the bottom-line. imho.

K7! launches 'no copyprotection' campaign

German Indie Pioneer Horst Weidenmueller of K7! Records has launched an interesting "No COPY PROTECTION" campaign: "!K7 abandons DRM – experiments – Trust is the best copy protection"
Copy protection kills customer relationship." From the beginning of 2004 on all !K7 CDs you’ll find the logo “NO copy protection - respect the music”. It is a sign saying that we believe in a two-way loyalty between consumer and label. It is a sign saying that you can do with the CD exactly for what it was made: You can listen to it, every time and everywhere. For this the consumer paid for it – and should do it in the future..."  says Horst.

Go!

Phil Leigh Report on Podcasting

Future Developments in Podcasting
April, 2005.  Inside Digital Media, Inc. is a place where you can see and hear
interviews with thought leaders in the Digital Media industries. There are
two formats. First, is audio-only, which is much like talk radio over the
Internet. To hear the interview streams at your computer you will need the
RealPlayer. If instead you choose to download the interviews, you may burn
them to blank CDs or transfer them to portable devices like the iPod. For
example, with the dot-MP3 downloads you can hear our interviews in your
car. The second type of interview is a synchronized PowerPoint
presentation with voice-over of the conversation between me and my guest.
The first time you watch a show you will be asked to authorize a thin
WebEx client to install automatically on your computer thereby enabling
you to watch the programs.

RoundUp: The Future of Radio

good reading here

Die Zukunft der Musikindustrie SVMV Fuehrigen (CH) May 20, 2005, in GERMAN

Schweizer Musikverlags Symposium Keynote by Gerd Leonhard (pdf, 2MB, in GERMAN).Download gerd_leonhard_future_of_music_svmv_2005_in_german.pdf

Cringely on The Future

good read here

Nokia Visual Radio

good definition at Wikipedia.  Imho, this is a huge step for radio, but it will take time... a lot of time, and who will do what - will Nokia be managing content, and will the radio guys do the marketing...?  More info at   

The BBC: wikiproxy remixes BBC news

Wikiproxy takes the BBC news feeds and connect every noun to a WIKIPEDIA entry - news remixed. Wow!  Wired News and Cory Doctorow comment

Reversal of fortune for TiVo

Good feature explaining what's wrong with TIVO, touching on time-shifting issues... "Sling Media hopes to pioneer “space shifting”—i.e. consumers watching TV where they want—along the lines of how TiVo pioneered “time shifting”—i.e. consumers watching TV when they want through the use of a digital video recorder (DVR)..."