What "In Rainbows" Means for the Earth | EcoGeek | Music, Album, Their, Physical, Radiohead

This story is a confluence of Music, community economics, and eco-friendly distribution methods... a true EQ worthy post and link.

"I've always been confused by physical packaging for digital goods. Why ship hunks of plastic all over the world when I can click and download an identical product without anyone having to leave their homes?

"Well, obviously, digital music (and video) has taken off in the last few years. But still, the recording industry is intent on relying on those antiquated slabs of plastic as their premium product.

"Well, when Radiohead finished with it's 6 album contract with EMI, they decided to change the system a bit. Their most recent album (the first in two years) was recently released in pure digital form. The band made the download available for whatever cost people are interested in paying. Apparently the average price paid has been roughly $8...significantly more than a band gets from a cut of traditional album sales.

"It's a fascinating experience. The recording industry has long believed that people, in the end, want to purchase something physical. As if the plastic and paper of the product is more impotant than the actual music. Radiohead, however, is asking people what they think the music...and only the music...is worth. The answer, it's worth more, as long as the record companies don't take their cut.

"More money for Radiohead, less money for us, and less physical crap existing in the world. That's good news for everyone, right? Oh...except the record companies....it's not good news for them."

Convenience Wins, Hubris Loses and Content vs. Context, a Presentation for Some Music Industry Friends at FISTFULAYEN

This is an interesting article, both for what it is saying about the music industry (and content providers as a whole) as well (and perhaps more importantly) about illuminating the role that vested interest plays in stifling creativity and technological development in order to protect current position.

Imagine, for example, what cars would look like today if only we used our inherent ability as humans to create rather than protect, rather than the DRM-like struggle that was illuminated in the movie Who Killed The Electric Car? I know, the standard answer is that the market would encourage it if it were economical, but read this article (and watch the aforementioned movie) for an insight into the greater story, beyond the dogma of Econ 101.

The viewpoint of the author is very refreshing, and may point to a greater trend emerging in our approach to exchanging our creative potential.

"I’m here to tell you today that I for one am no longer going to fall into this trap. If the licensing labels offer their content to Yahoo! put more barriers in front of the users, I’m not interested. Do what you feel you need to do for your business, I’ll be polite, say thank you, and decline to sign. I won’t let Yahoo! invest any more money in consumer inconvenience. I will tell Yahoo! to give the money they were going to give me to build awesome media applications to Yahoo! Mail or Answers or some other deserving endeavor. I personally don’t have any more time to give and can’t bear to see any more money spent on pathetic attempts for control instead of building consumer value. Life’s too short. I want to delight consumers, not bum them out.

"If, on the other hand, you’ve seen the light too, there’s a very fun road ahead for us all. Lets get beyond talking about how you get the music and into building context: reasons and ways to experience the music. The opportunity is in the chasm between the way we experience the content and the incredible user-created context of the Web."

Laptop With a Mission Widens Its Audience - New York Times

Laptop With a Mission Widens Its Audience - New York Times

A nice write up on the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) initiative. Beginning in November (for two weeks) you can Buy 1, Give 1 for $400.

Earth2Tech’s Eco-Tour of Google Earth � Earth2Tech

"[Google Earth] is being used by environmentalists, concerned citizens, and yes, eco-bloggers, to map the effects of climate change, tag renewable energy plants, and point out environmental degradations of the land. Scientists, such as Dr. Jon Blower from the University of Reading, even use Google Earth to visualize multiple scientific geo-data sets, which can lead to new conclusions. Google (GOOG) has more recently pulled together the Global Awareness layer and Google Earth outreach, where nonprofits like the World Wildlife Fund and the Global Heritage Fund can create location-based data points to highlight and promote their respective initiatives. "