RIAA backtracks after embarrassing P2P defendant

When the RIAA filed a file-sharing lawsuit against a sergeant in the US Army earlier this year, it included thousands of files containing pornography that had nothing to do with the case. The Sgt. decided to fight back, by filing a counterclaim accusing the RIAA of violating his privacy.

read more | digg story

Led Zeppelin Finally Coming to iTunes

Veteran rockers Led Zeppelin, who have sold more than 200 million albums worldwide, are to enter the modern age and offer an album of specially selected tracks including 'Stairway to Heaven', 'Whole Lotta Love' and 'Dazed and Confused', to download on the internet. If you know much about Led Zep, you know how protective they are of their songs and have seldom allowed them to be licensed and have long opposed digital music...

read more | digg story

Google plans YouTube "Irrelevance" Launch for September

...or at least that's what the article SHOULD be titled...



Quick write up from Techspot:

"Google’s YouTube is preparing to launch
its long-awaited and much-promised recognition technology “hopefully by
September”, in an effort to stop copyrighted videos from being posted
on the popular video-sharing website, according to YouTube lawyer
Philip Beck."

So apparently copyrighted materials will be "fingerprinted" and content found to be violating copyright will be removed.

While I'm happy that GOOTube is policing itself, I'm still not entirely sure I love this idea. Other similar measures tend to break more content than it protects. Also I'm not entirely sure that the short clips of copyrighted content (especially of TV shows), don't serve to drive more sales of that content. Sort of analogous to the early days of Napster driving sales of CD's (until Metallica started suing their fans).

So what do ya'll think, does this drive Youtube out, or are we happy enough with skateboarding dogs to keep watching?

Here's the Techspot Article.
someaudioguy some audio guy voice over voiceover demo recording production mp3 animation

Really REALLY Tiny Audio Workstation

Gizmodo has the scoop on an ultra tiny audio "workstation" from the Trinity Audio Group.

It uses a custom touch screen version of Linux called Transmission, and the stats are a little weak (500MHz proc, 256MB RAM, 40GB hard drive), but when you're focused on ONLY audio, something like this could come in handy.
Anywho, it also comes with wifi, USB, XLR, and 1/4" inputs, nicely done there.

These were the kinds of devices I was hoping to see when UMPC's started coming out. Rather than try and compete against laptops as jack-of-all trades devices, why not go niche? If the pricing isn't insane, I might have found a decent reason to leave the Thinkpad at home...



Here's the Gizmodo story.

someaudioguy some audio guy recording voice over vo voiceover animation acting anime digital microphones daw

Why aren't you listening: The Onion Radio News

Just a quick write up here.

Trolling Digg, I stumbled upon a really quick and easy way to find all of The Onion's news bite podcasts. I'm really surprised that they aren't "Dugg" more.

Anywho, here's the Digg link to look them up. They're short, and really funny.

HELP! Replacement Shock Mount Bands?

Ok,

This is REALLY starting to drive me crazy. I've looked everywhere I can think to look, but I can't find replacement shockmount bands for EITHER my M-Audio solaris mount or my AT8410a.

Am I going to have to resort to hair ties and rubber bands?

Any help out there would be greatly appreciated!

***UPDATE 4/18/08***
Looking into this as a possible solution:
How to Silence Your Hard Drive
someaudioguy some audio guy voice over vo voiceover recording demo production microphones audio engineer equipment

Just Saw The Simpsons!

And it was REALLY good.
The plotline was just big enough that it wouldn't have fit into an episode. There were some classic Simpsons laugh out loud moments. And of course, the voice acting is PHENOMENAL.

It's a perfect matinée flick!

Inside the Actors Studio - The Cast of The Simpsons

Gotta love the YouTube!

In celebration of The Simpsons Movie, I dug up this great episode of Inside The Actors Studio.
Broken into 3 parts.

Part1

Part2

Part3

Enjoy!

'Reboot' is coming back??

I debated on the title "Reboot Rebooting?", but I'm not THAT much of a dork. No, really I'm not. No no really, my Mom said I was actually kinda cool. I know, I was surprised too, but there it is.



Anywho, it looks like Reboot is coming back to us. I have really fond memories of this show. Was it the best show ever, no, but I think most can agree that it was a pioneer for CG on TV.

That and our agency reps Bob (Michael Benyaer) which is just cool!

Here's an article about Rainmaker's plans to revive the series as a comic and possibly a trilogy of features (@canada.com).

And here's the Reboot project page from social networking site Zeros2Heroes. Apparently they're really looking for fan involvement for the comic...

Powered by ScribeFire.

UK government resists music industry pressure, caps copyrights at 50 years

Some of the earliest hits from the British Invasion will fall out of copyright protection over the next few years after the UK decided against extending the term of music copyrights.

read more | digg story

Reardon wins full AFTRA term

"Roberta Reardon, a New York-based TV, commercials and voice actor, has
been elected to a full two-year term as president of AFTRA.

Reardon, who was elected by unanimous acclamation
Saturday at the 70,000-member union's biennial convention in
Philadelphia, had been selected by AFTRA's national board in April to
complete the remainder of the term of John Connolly, now executive
director of Actors' Equity.

"I am humbled to be elected as AFTRA national
president," Reardon said. "I am also excited to be able to move
together into future with all of you to improve the lives of AFTRA
members."

Article also goes on to state that NY actor Holter Graham was elected to a 2 year term as a National VP. That's cool. I've worked with Holter and he's a good guy.

Read the rest here @ Hollywood Reporter

I can't tell if this is real - REALLY dumb singer

It's a good thing she's cute...

One more Youtube clip before I go to bed.
Honestly I can't tell if this is staged or not, but it's damn funny anyhow.



I haven't come across anyone like this in VO, but I have been subjected to some HORRIBLE booth etiquette.

A little love for your techs and engineers next time you record with them.

G'Night!

Million Dollar Voices

Little FOX news story about the biggies of VO posted up on Youtube from last year.

Really just any excuse to drudge up LaFontaine and Ben Patrick Johnson...

The Vader Sessions

Mostly just because I'm having a SHITE day, and this always make me laugh.

This is an oldie on teh intarwebs, so if you haven't seen it yet, well ... uh ... welcome to teh intarwebs ...



Tastey!

Home Recording Glossary

Great resource from About.com.

Ever wondered what an "overdub" is?
Confused about "headroom"?
Trying to finagle a Flanger?

Look no further:
Home Recording Glossary

Apple Store to Begin Charging Entrance Fee

Really? REALLY?!?!

"If you want to see the iPhone at an Apple store, be sure to bring some cash. Large crowds flocking to see the iPhone and next generation iPods have forced Apple to begin charging a $5 entrance fee for Apple stores. Many analysts anticipated the move, and expect a positive response from customers."

Who, WHO is "positive" about PAYING to get into an Apple Store???

read more | digg story

SomeAudioGuy Microphone Shoot Out!

I do quite a bit of business teaching people how to record themselves. Working in voiceover, this is becoming more and more necessary. Not that VO artists need to be full on recording engineers, but having a basic understanding of how to make their voices sound presentable is becoming more important.
At work we recently worked on a promo job where the budget was so low, that to pay for union talent they had to be able to record themselves, and send the audio back as quickly as possible. They didn't care about whisper rooms or ISDN, just a decent clean recording and a good performance. The job would've covered 30+ national promos.

Not a bad incentive to invest in some recording equipment!

My favorite setup to recommend is an external soundcard and condenser microphone. For newbies I tend to start low, say a USB MobilePre and MXL 770 (I can't say I'm a big fan of USB mics, as they don't give you anywhere to go, say you want to upgrade the mic or soundcard, you're starting from scratch all over again, not to mention adding a mixer, preamps, or monitors). Good flexibility, good sound, and all starting at under $300 (including stands and cables).

So, why not use a more expensive mic?

I get this question quite a bit. Every VO actor seems to have dreams of recording at home on a U87 or some vintage ribbon mic, and expensive mics are great, but an expensive mic wont make something sound "good-er". You get an expensive mic because it has a particular character that you are wanting to use. Personally I prefer the sound of an AKG 414 to the U87 FOR MOST PEOPLE. This is of course totally subjective as no one's really going to sound "bad" on either of these, but the Neumann will run you two to three times as much. Will you sound two to three times better?

AKG C 414 B-XL II Condenser Microphone

It's all about bang for buck. For a newbie at recording, who wont understand about monitors, mixing, preamps (where mics really start to shine), and sound proofing/isolation it makes little sense to spend more than a couple hundred bucks to start experimenting. This kit can get really expensive really fast.

So all that being said, I've setup a little experiment. I've taken 3 of my favorite mics (and one beater) set them up under the same conditions, and two at a time, recorded the same piece of text (the first paragraph of 'Under Milk Wood' by Dylan Thomas, one of my favorite plays). All mics were connected directly to my Firewire 4-10, with gain set at half for each. Mic diaphragms were set approximately 10 inches from my face. After recording I punched each track through Sound Forge 9 and boosted the volume about 300% (exactly the same for each), then mixed each down to an mp3 @ 320kbps.

The mics we'll be hearing are:

*The M-Audio Aries @ $120 - Hand held condenser mic I got for free with my soundcard.



*The M-Audio Solaris @ $300 - This was the first multi-pattern condenser I've ever purchased, and it's served me very well for years.



*The Neumann KM184 @ $700 - I inherited this mic, before I was serious about recording, from an internet news "broadcast" station I worked at briefly in college. None of us knew about phantom power, so this mic "never worked". Years later I figured it out, and this has been a great utility and over head mic.



* The Sennheiser MKH 416 @ $1400 - This is THE L.A. mic. Originally used for outdoor broadcast, it also found a home in studios thanks in part to it's laser like focus.



With introductions out of the way, let's take a listen! While listening try to keep your headphones or speakers set to the same level. Each clip is about 40 seconds long.

M-Audio Aries:


M-Audio Solaris:



Neumann KM184:



Sennheiser MKH 416:


Wow! The Aries sounds not great at all! To be fair it is meant to replace dynamic mics like the sm57 (which I originally planned on using but sounded even worse), and even though it's phantom powered, the Aries really is meant to be passed through a preamp just like the Dynamic mics it competes against.

The Senny 416 sounds great. This thing is meant to be attached to video equipment or thrown on a boom, run off batteries, and get ONE person's voice even in noisy environments. Little wonder it handily beats the living crap out of the budget "studio" mics, and at twice the price of the Neumann, it had better.

But here's where a little know-how comes in. What if we normalized the volume of the Neumann and the Solaris to match the volume of the 416? Would the Senny still sound that much better?
Let's see!

Solaris NORMALIZED:



Neumann NORMALIZED:



OK! That's much better. The Solaris comes in a little brighter. The Neumann made my voice a little muddy, but now we're much closer in terms of "quality".

Now can we really say the Senny is twice as good as the Neumann? FOUR times better than the Solaris? Or if you're just starting out do you just boost the volume after the fact with a budget mic?

Thin voice? Movie trailer voice? No one mic is going to be the best. Matching a mic to a voice is as personal as the right pair of shoes/jeans/etc. Dumping a ton of cash on a "good" mic is kind of useless unless you've got the time, money, know-how, and effort to put into the surrounding kit as well.

Let me know what you think! Comments always appreciated!
Hopefully I'll be able to do more of these as time goes on.

Moving Audio Again

Man I just can't find stable free hosting. I'm SO cheap...

So I started with Podomatic, and I'll probably keep them until I'm full there (that's the nifty player at the bottom of my page, but they wont do individual files just my ENTIRE podcast table of contents - ALL OF IT).

Then to get nifty players I started using Odeo, but they're sucking now, especially since being put up for sale ... kind of.

Now I'm trying out DivShare, and they promise to be stable. We'll see.

I've got a monster, four microphone shoot out coming up (everything is all recorded), and all I need is some place to actually PUT the mp3's.

Thanks for your patience, and keep an eye out!

Help! Normalizing MP3's during playback?

What can I say? I'm a Luddite.

I still use WinAmp for all my mp3 playing goodness. Though lately I have to say I've been getting really tired of constantly adjusting volume. I tried looking up normalizing plugins, but they all kinda suck. I did find this article from Ars Technica in 2002 (where the pic is from), and I'm trying out it's recommendation of Audiostocker (which apparently got rolled up into Octimax or something), but I'd rather just have the capability natively.

Anyone with a little insight? Am I going to DJ software? Will I finally have to give in to iTunes?
Any help?

Canadian iPod levy assumes you're a criminal first, asks questions never - Download Squad

Story up over at Download Squad. Apparently:

"Canada has moved one step closer to imposing a copyright levy on every personal digital audio device sold, which would be handed over to the worlds largest music publishers as compensation for perceived piracy."

Ok, so this is good to know, but not really such a big deal IMHO. Hasn't Canada been applying the same levy to blank media for years now. As far as I knew, while this isn't to condone unlicensed file sharing, it at least "decriminalizes" it in a sense, so you wont be facing jail time or ridiculous fines.

I dont know, am I wrong here? Should Canadians be pissed that it's assumed they're criminals, so their gadgets should cost more?

Canadian iPod levy assumes you're a criminal first, asks questions never - Download Squad

Charting the $480 billion US spectrum giveaway

A story out of Ars Technica,
I can't say I'm surprised that our federal government would practically give away air worth billions of dollars. They've demonstrated time and again, that they have no working knowledge of, do not value, and seem to fear anything remotely "techie".
A report on spectrum lobbying from the New America Foundation argues that the FCC has given away up to $480 billion in spectrum rights since 1993. Here's how taxpayers are being cheated.

"The giveaway that Snider's talking about isn't a massive grant of free spectrum to corporate interests; instead, it's something much more subtle and far more difficult for the public to understand. To understand why Snider considers this a "giveaway," let's first look at the difference between the amount of money the government has actually received for licenses since 1993 and the amount of money that such licenses are worth."

read more | digg story

Here's hoping a good chunk of air goes to Google in 2009....

Bush Tries to End PBS, The House says NO!

"The House on Wednesday evening overwhelmingly rejected President Bush's plan to eliminate the $420 million federal subsidy for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting."

Yay for PBS, but what the hell is WRONG with REPUBLICANS?!?! It's like they try EVERY year! This friggen predates NIXON!

Just for good measure here's my favorite clip of Mr. Rogers kicking ass before the senate, when the GOP tried to cut PBS funding in 1969!



Man I miss Mr. Rogers...

read more | digg story

101 Greatest Simpsons Quotes

I was really hoping that they would have some audio links, but it's a good list nonetheless...

read more | digg story

Smashing Pumpkins Discuss Paris Hilton Collaboration

To be honest I didn't even notice it was Hilton on the inside cover. I think I've lost a little more of what little respect I still had for Corgan. This along with all the talk of Paris returning to the studio to assault our ears again...

read more | digg story

Drivl: "I Think I Killed a Bee with my iPod Yesterday"

This story is high-larious.

"I don't know if you've ever tried to kill a bug on a cushioned surface, but they don't die right away. Their exoskeletons are extremely tough, and it usually takes a 'jam, grind, and smear' technique to make sure the deed is done. I did not have this luxury. I just had the 'jam'. The bee immediately disappeared under my ass. Now I'm trying to get through an intersection while arching my back completely off the seat and making some kind of yak mating call. It was then that I realized I had a full audience of cars around me trying to figure out why my car was shaking around and where the yak was. By the time I got to the second light, I was essentially driving my car in the passenger seat."

Give it a read.

read more | digg story

And it, uh, involves an mp3 player... AUDIO RELATED!

Today's been weak what can I say. I'm bored and un-focused...

NBC to begin Streaming Episodes of "Conan O'Brien"

Again, not really audio related, but good to know. NBC will start streaming shows August 27, with daily episodes available the next day at 5 a.m. PDT. Now if only The Daily Show hadn't already worked out that deal with iTunes...

read more | digg story

Internet Income Big Issue as Hostile Hollywood Labor Talks Begin, Are We Looking at a Strike?

Hollywood Today has a long and well written article on the impending WGA negotiation, and it's impacts on "New Media". I see these being instrumental to the future of the entertainment industry, especially as the people that actually create this content seem to get hosed on every new platform that emerges (Cable, Home Video, etc).
Now some people think that October is going to be the hot month, but I think it's more likely that serious action wont be taken until actors contracts are up in June 2008.

"With the threat of a strike looming, tense talks kick off today between movie and TV producers and unionized script writers over . While aimed at a contract expiring in October, some insiders believe that ultimately the acrimonious battle over digital compensation could push a final agreement to June 2008, when actor’s contracts are up as well.

That could set the stage for an epic labor showdown in Tinseltown pitting corporate owned, bottom-line oriented management — facing a rapidly changing marketplace – against creative talent (writers and actors) who feel short changed seeing their work pop up on broadband, digital, online, wireless and in other new media markets."

While I do believe something NEEDS to happen here, I'm just not convinced that a strike will accomplish anything. One thing I've learned using these here intarwebs, is there's a lot of user generated (NON UNION) entertainment to consume. Just like the last big strike left us in this reality show hell, I think production will find ways to produce content, and will be able to wait the unions out (thereby "winning" the right to shove another crappy contract down everyone's collective throats).

It's just really frustrating, as there's so much more money to be made out there, and production and unions just seem more interested in "winning"...

Anywho, read on. It is a great write up on what got us to this point and what the potential out comes could be.


read more | digg story

Considering Sound Design...

We live in a world infested with noise pollution. We live in a world of bad neighbors, loud cars, crappy leaky headphones, gadgets, airplanes, hustle and bustle.

Rob Scovell over at VOIP and Other Stuff... takes a brief second to examine the situation with our gadgets and the noises they make. I for one agree, that little to no thought really seems to go into why devices make the noises they do. Watch a meeting grind to a halt as Hawaii 5-O starts blasting out of some guy's crotch and you'll know what I mean.

"I'll never forget one meeting I had once at Waikato University. We were sitting around discussing something or other and there was a beep. It came from the table of the chap whose job it was to do innovative things with PDAs and other small devices. When it beeped, he jumped, started looking frantically at the collection of gadgets in front of him, and said, "Whoooaaaaa! What was that?! What am I meant to be doing?". Was it a phone call? A text message? An appointment reminder? Or was a device announcing that its battery was going flat?

That was the first time I thought about sound design. Not design that is sound, in the sense of a bridge being sound, but design of appropriate sounds for appropriate situations. I thought about it briefly, but it never really went to the front of my mind."

When I got my 6700, I IMMEDIATELY turned off all of the stock sounds and put in my own. Song samples that don't sound like songs (the beginning of Baba O'Reilly is an excellent ringtone), simple subtle sound effects (like a TARDIS whoosh), all of these really serve to shape how I used my phone, and helped to deliver information quickly. Ringtones are invaluable in that I know who is there before I even look at the screen.

So read the rest of his article, and at the end he links out to another great read by Max Lord, on the tailoring of sound effects for devices and situations.
someaudioguy some audio guy voice over vo voiceover sound effects design floey adr dubbing production


I wish my crotch played the theme to Hawaii 5-O...

BIGFOOT!

Ok, this is WAY loosely tied to audio. I'm just a big ole nerd when it comes to aliens, monsters, etc.

This blurb from WLUC TV 6 in Michigan breaks it down for us. Apparently researchers have captured the melodious sounds of a Sasquatch:

"Most of the searchers have left, but team leader Matt Moneymaker says his flight was canceled. That gave him and a few others the chance to zone-in on an area where the team captured audio recordings of what they believe is the elusive Sasquatch. "

Hot!

Check out the recording here at the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization's official site.

RIAA's final tab for Capitol vs. Foster: $68,685.23

DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE!!!
The book is closed on one of the most closely-followed file-sharing cases, as a judge tallies up the ledger for Debbie Foster's legal bills. $68,685.23 was awarded in HER favor.

My Favorite part:

"This past February, Judge West awarded Foster attorneys' fees, citing the RIAA's insistence on pressing the secondary infringement case and saying that he could find no case "holding the mere owner of an Internet account contributorily or vicariously liable for the infringing activities of third persons."
He also rejected the RIAA's argument that Foster was not entitled to fees incurred after "some point when she allegedly 'could have avoided [fees] altogether but chose not to do so,'" reiterating that she was fully entitled to fight the RIAA's charges and as a result, eligible for an award of attorneys' fees."

SWEET!

read more | digg story

RIAA Spends Thousands To Obtain $300 Judgment

The RIAA agrees to a judgment of $300 after suing a single mother in state-subsidized housing for file-sharing. It's a far cry from the $750 per song the record labels claimed was due them.

read more | digg story

No Audio ... JUST TOO DAMN HOT!

Can't focus on work...

Air conditioner broken...

So DAMN hot...

At least my dog has figured out how to cool off...

Another Todd Stashwick Short on Funny or Die!!!

Yes THREE exclamation points!

First off if you haven't seen 'Cynical Dreamer' yet, (ahem)

WELCOME TO THE IN-TER-NET! IT MUST BE SCARY BEING OUT FROM UNDER THAT ROCK...YOU USED TO ... LIVE UNDER!

Or I guess I could just stop being a smart-@$$ and tell you to check it out here.

Anywho, knowing Todd's penchant for the surreal, this is a fantastically quirky funny sketch. Easily more to the point and funnier than anything I've seen out of SNL in years (the one exception being Natalie Portman's rap ... she's SO HOT).

So without further ado, I present 'Quiet Day'...

Metallica singer stopped at airport for 'Taliban' beard

BWAH-HA-HA-HA!
Metallica frontman James Hetfield was stopped by security officials at London's Luton Airport for allegedly having a "Taliban-like" beard.

If only it had been Lars. I hate that guy. I guess there really is some sort of Karmic balance in this lifetime. This is what happens when you sue your fans...

read more | digg story

AMPTP wants "Wait and See" for New Media/Distribution

To steal a line from Sexy Beast "NO NONONONONO NO! NONONONONONONO! NO!"

From Broadcast Newsroom:

"All three contracts expire within the next year. But the profit picture for new platforms -- including Internet Streaming, ipod content purchases and video-on-demand -- will be clearer in 24-36 months, they argued.

...

Producers suggested that unions allow for a three-year study of the impact of Internet viewing before new contracts are crafted. Right now the digital landscape is so unpredictable that deals for broadband productions are rarely more than one year, he said."

COME ON! Cable, Home Video, DVD, Video Games, HOW MANY TIMES IS THIS GOING TO HAPPEN?!?! If AFTRA, SAG, WGA, and the DGA dont play this round smart I really see disastrous consequences (and strikes) for 2008.

Alternative Distribution Methods Affecting Union Talks

Online Radio Is Saved; SoundExchange Will Not Enforce New Royalty Rates

Maybe a little sense is creeping in? Maybe? Click the link below to read the whole story over at Wired's Listening Lounge!

read more | digg story

Audacity and Reaper provide free and cheap audio editing - Download Squad

Lately I've seen an increasing interest from our clients in setting up home studios to record auditions from home.
What equipment to buy?
Mac or PC?
What software to use?

This article from Download Squad is a brief write up on one free (Audacity) and one cheap (Reaper) audio editors.
I've been a big fan of Audacity for a while now. For the basic mechanics of recording and editing, you just can't beat free, and the learning curve isn't that steep. Plus the fact that it plays equally well between PC and Mac (my favorite "feature") means that no matter what computer someone uses, they can always have a consistent recording interface (a definite plus for some of our less tech-savvy clients).

I haven't tried Reaper yet, but one of the features not listed in the article, it's ability to run off of a USB pen drive or external hardware ("Portable"), has me intrigued.
How nice would that be?
Grab a USB mic, or soundcard, and a thumb drive, and you could record from any computer anywhere. That'd be nice...

Audacity and Reaper provide free and cheap audio editing - Download Squad

SingShot - Online Singing, Karaoke, Sharing, Ratings, and Community

Is nothing sacred?
So now Karaoke will join the ranks of Myspace, Youtube, and video games, as "yet another thing we used to do in a group but now do individually online" (YATWUTDiaGBNDIO?). I know I know, this isn't new Sing Shot has been around for a while...

Anywho, follow the link to see a guy throw down on "Rainy Days and Mondays". This guy is one cool customer!

SingShot - GEOFF52 Singing Rainy Days and Mondays

Oh and for the record, "Bust a Move", BEST KARAOKE JAM EVER!

Learn it!

Sing it!

Live it!

SAG, ATA talk possible franchise agreement

Sounds like talks between SAG and the ATA are still pretty confrontational. This is upsetting. After Cable, Home Video, DVD, Interactive, CD-ROM games, and now with "new media" looming on the horizon, this is NOT the time for the Unions/Guilds to be scrapping.

We need to be able to stand united, to show production that our various crafts can not be de-valued.


SAG, ATA talk possible franchise agreement

10 Alternatives to iTunes for managing your iPod

This overview details the features (with screenshots) of 10 different programs other than iTunes to manage your iPod. Tutorials are included for every program, and they’re all either free or Open Source.

I've been using WinAmp for the last year, and really see no reason to use iTunes, other than iTunes is prettier ... I guess...


read more | digg story


***EDIT***

No sooner do I post this then the server goes down for the site.
So here's a Wiki with even MORE info!

FREE STUFF! Win a PodCasting Kit through Christine's Blog!

Hey all!
I loves the free stuff, so over at Christine's blog CreateBusinessGrowth.com, she's holding a contest to win over $300 worth of Podcasting kit.

So how do I enter AudioGuy?

Ok thats hard. To enter into the contest you have to...


Subscribe to her blog's RSS feed!

I know! You'll actually have to CLICK ON A LINK!!!

But seriously, she's got a great blog over there, packed full of very useful info (especially if you do a lot of freelance), so contest aside you should be reading it anyway.

The contest just makes it sweeter!

HERE'S THE LINK TO THE CONTEST PAGE!

Music Industry Shaking Down Coffee Shops

Gotta love it.
The record companies are hemorrhaging, and they still can't figure out any other way to make money, other than suing their fans. It's really sad, but is bloody fascinating to watch.

This is my favorite part:
"Andrus said a friend of his who owned a restaurant that did not feature music was contacted by a company looking to charge him because it owned the rights to a Hank Williams Jr. song, "Are You Ready for Some Football?" The song preceded every "Monday Night Football" telecast, which the restaurant carried on its televisions."

read more | digg story

Doctor Who Dies First?

What would happen if the Daleks and the Cybermen tried to join forces?

Doctor Who Dies First!




*** EDIT ***

Now that I've listened to this on crappy LCD speakers, you might want to use headphones...

[Sigh]

My mixing is rusty...

Funny and Scary at the same time: Vocaloid edition

First the scary.
Vocaloid is one of the best sounding singing replacement software packages I've ever heard. It's the closest I've heard yet to replacing the human voice. It's light years ahead of Stephen Hawking, and gives AT&T synthesis engine a run for it's money, all at consumer prices.
Coupling the engine with plugins for different voice types will also make it infinitely flexible, and ting this to sampling, auto-tuning, and synthesis, we're getting closer and closer to the point where we might not need people anymore to perform.
This was our last great hold out for video games and animation. They could replace the actor physically, but not his performance or voice.



OK, now the funny.
With all the advancement, with all the tech, with all the computing horse power out there, right now the only singing voice that Vocaloid is actually qualified to replace would be Marlee Matlin's.
(Ironically, the picture to the right is of Marlee "singing" the National Anthem at the 2007 SuperBowl.)

The Vocaloid folks have setup a MySpace page where you can hear their software ruin Roberta Flack's Killing Me Softly.

I wonder if the software sang it with it's eyes closed...

Here's the writeup @ Wired's Listening Post

Here's the Awful MySpace Page




Marlee's kinda just a little bit REALLY hot...

DailyTech - ALchemy Audigy Edition For Sale

This is just BuLlSHITE!

I hate stuff like this. If it doesnt work, dont sell it. It's bad enough that software seems to be stuck in a constant "beta" cycle (I'm looking at you MS), and that paying customers are always stuck having to either fix things on their own, or worse, wait for a patch that might never come, but tactics like this pretty much amount to extortion in my opinion. Apple recently pulled the same crap with updates to the MacBooks Airport card. Why do we put up with this?

Anyway, if you've got an Audigy, and you're one of the poor souls with Vista, this is probably why your Audigy only outputs Stereo. It's because Creative doesn't have enough of your money...

DailyTech - ALchemy Audigy Edition For Sale

London Free Press - Local News - Library audio books now online

Very COol!
Audiobooks are becoming so damn hip. People in the UK can now download MP3 audiobooks that time out after 2 weeks, so no more late fees, they just shut off. Some books can even be burned to CD.

I wonder what kind of protection they will employ to keep "foreigners" out?

London Free Press - Local News - Library audio books now online

Prince is Giving Away Free Compact Discs

The artist known as Prince is giving away free music by handing out free copies of his upcoming Planet Earth album. This has infuriated his record company but otherwise proves that his Royal Purpleness is a master in the game of one-upmanship.

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