billboard

Are you ready to rent music?

Not long ago, I wrote an article aimed at helping music fans enjoy free audio from a variety of online streaming sources. Of course, I'm a firm believer in using the Internet to discover new music. But there is a threshold between discovery and entertainment for many listeners, and I think paying for a subscription music service is a great way to cross it--especially if you want to take your music "to go" on mobile devices.

There are a variety of pay-to-stream options on the Web, from Slacker's $4.99 Radio Plus service, which lets you … Read more

Japan tests billboards that know your gender, age

Last year, we told you about billboards in development that could tell male faces from female faces and display ads accordingly. Well, such a system is now up and scanning visages in subway stations around Tokyo.

A consortium of 11 railway companies has launched a one-year pilot project to test the signs, setting up 27 of the "Minority Report"-style displays in commuter stations around the Japanese prefecture. But while billboards in that sci-fi flick (see the video below) could recognize people by name and shout out purchasing suggestions, the Japanese signs employ cameras and face recognition software … Read more

Billboard.com launches excellent new interactive site

Checking Billboard's chart of top-selling albums usually reinforces just how out of touch I am with modern pop music (Maxwell? All Time Low?), but sometimes I discover that an old favorite has a new album out, or I am surprised to see how popular a particular band has become. (The Silversun Pickups' new record peaked at number 7? I had no idea they were that popular.)

Unfortunately, Billboard used to hide most of its chart information behind a pay firewall--you could see the top half of the Billboard 200 albums chart, but most other information was inaccessible.

Not anymore: … Read more

The 404 324: Where we run naked through the quad

Sean Tice and Adam Bedient, directors of the online Web series "Streak to Win," join the show today to talk about college kids competitively streaking and the crazy antics they get into.

You can find the series online at streaktowin.com. On the Web site, you'll also find a guide to the best techniques of streaking. Most importantly, you have to be sure to tape down all appendages. Their words, not ours.

We also discuss a bit about how the Web is really opening up distribution for films that might get overlooked on the traditional festival circuit. These guys obviously didn't get too much love at Sundance when they pitched their film. And they share some interesting stories about getting arrested during the production of their Web series. Plus, plans for a follow-up featuring Ivy League streaking?

Also on the show today, we talk about a kid who mashed up Twitter, Twitpic, and the public arrest records of the Denton, Texas, Police Department. Kind of scary, but also pretty cool that there are more practical uses for Twitter than finding out that Ashton Kutcher just ate a sandwich. Just don't ever get pulled over for possession in Denton. These mug shots aren't pretty. As for Ashton Kutcher, we think this might be cheating a bit. There are starving people in the world, and someone donates money for this?

Be sure to send in your adventure stories and callbacks to 1-866-404-CNET (2638). Catch you all on the flip side.

EPISODE 324 Download today's podcast |  Subscribe in iTunes |  Subscribe in RSS… Read more

Four cents a song makes SlotRadio hard to ignore

SanDisk's SlotMusic strategy puzzled me at first. I didn't understand why anybody would pay almost the same price as a CD for an easily misplaced microSD card with lower-quality audio. The release of the $19.99 SlotMusic player, which is basically an MP3 player capable of playing these cards, changed my opinion a little bit. But I suggested that the real strength would come in curated cards containing, for example, a selection of songs from the Billboard charts. Given that a regular album cost $14.99 on this format, I figured that a curated card for the same … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 873: Drunk sexy lunch

Listen all the way to the end of the show in order to understand what this title is all about. Wow, it's been quite the week here at BOL. But in actual news, the latest IE zero-day exploit just keeps getting worse (use another browser, people), the iPhone 3G has been unlocked, and Twitter is making millions...for other companies. Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 873

Major security alert for Microsoft Internet Explorer http://www.obsessable.com/news/2008/12/16/major-security-alert-for-microsoft-internet-explorer/ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/16/AR2008121601022.html http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/12/16/1319217… Read more

Eventful, Billboard team up to top new charts

Eventful, a service that discovers and promotes local events, announced on Thursday that it has joined forces with Billboard to deliver two new charts to add to the music brand's growing list.

According to the company, Billboard will now feature "Eventful Hottest Demand" and "Eventful Weekly Most in Demand" charts to rank artists who are most in demand for live performances. Eventful's 'Hottest' chart will be updated every 30 minutes, based on the tally of fans that demand artists to perform in their area. The rankings are based on Eventful's proprietary algorithm, which … Read more

iTunes profitable, Billboard estimates

iTunes is the No. 2 music retailer in the United States (behind only Wal-Mart Stores), and it passed the 4 billion download mark in February, but nobody knows how much money Apple's actually earning from the service.

In Apple's earnings reports, iTunes revenue is lumped into a category called "other music-related products and services," alongside licensing revenue from iPod peripheral makers, and the company doesn't break out expenses or operating profit by segment.

So some Billboard reporters decided to do some back-of-the-envelope calculations, using Amazon.com's expenses as a benchmark for a large-scale e-commerce … Read more

Where we didn't start the fire

EPISODE 46

After a contentious morning with an almost late Wilson Tang and a false office fire, the 404 hosts kick off the show with a look at billboard defacing, MyVu already showing up on Woot, prizes given away, and not so fantastic movies coming out this weekend!

Listen now: Download today's podcast