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Apple CEO Steve Jobs Shifts Blame On Music Industry

The Story
Steve Jobs is getting anxious. He knows that a host of European countries are concerned about iTunes music downloads and how they only play on the iPod. Apple is now officially in violation of consumer protection laws in Norway. Apple has refused to license Fairplay DRM to other parties (thus locking the user into the iPod.

Major record labels, online music stores embed software code into the digital song files they sell to restrict the ability to copy them. Apple uses its own system, the songs it sells can be played only on the iPod.

Rather than Apple engaging in Fairplay, Steve Jobs suggest that labels could shed digital rights management altogether.

Music industry executives said that if the music industry moved away from copy protection, it could potentially make it easier for competing music players. Mr. Jobs seems to be betting that anything that stimulates the sale of digital music can only help his company.

Others claim that Steve Jobs is calculated freak and loves his name in the press. These statement drew criticism from some competitors, who argued that he was simply trying to get in front of a shift in industry strategy and claim credit for it.

Armchair Cynics

Cutting Through the Noise.

Although most people never heard of the melodic rock 4 piece
Armchair Cynics, they are no strangers to Canada. They put out an EP on Nickelback Chad Kroeger’s label 604 Records in Canada and it is distributed in the two western provinces British Columbia and Alberta. The EP has sold well over 7,000+ copies in Canada which would be the equivalent of about 50-55,000 copies in the United States. Armchair Cynics have already been recognized receiving multiple M Power awards (Best Artist, Best Male Songwriter, and Best Producer/Engineer) for their debut album “Coffee Shop Confessions”.

Check out the track “Bang” which was produced by Chad Kroeger of Nickelback and Joey Moi, and is best testing song at Vancouver’s CFOX in recent history. Although the band is signed to 604 Records in Canada, they are free agents in the United States. For more information email Jared Sheer.

Kings of A&R is talked about in the February Spin Issue.
‘Why Myspace Won’t Kill the Radio Star”

Excerpt below:

“Without the help from the internet you might never heard of
the Red Jump Suit Apparatus. As frontman Ronnie Winter freely admits, the florida emo band wouldn’t have landed their record deal if not for the enthusiastic coverage their self released recieved on the website
Kings of A&R.”

In Other News..

Sweden alt rock group Kid Down who KOAR posted in Higher Learning has signed to Burning Heart/Epitaph

Producer and American Recordings chief Rick Rubin is weighing an offer to become co-chairman of Columbia Records, according to the New York Times.

Rubin who never held an executive position founded Def Jam in the 1980s.

He produced two major hit albums, the Dixie Chicks’ “Taking the Long Way” and Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Stadium Arcadium,” while his label had only moderate sales success with albums from Tom Petty and the Vacation. He revived the career of Johnny Cash, but struggled with Neil Diamond and Donovan.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Viacom Inc. has demanded that Google Inc.’s online video service YouTube pull down all of its video clips after they failed to reach an agreement, the company said.

About 100,000 video clips from Viacom-owned properties including MTV Networks and BET has been asked to be removed.

Viacom said its pirated programs on YouTube generate about 1.2 billion video streams, based on a study from an outside consultant. –Drudge Report