music

Most un-Goth item in Hot Topic, coming soon

It's a good thing teenagers are attracted to ironic fashion statements like a moth to light. MusicMarker, purveyor of the too-adorable Tamagotchi-like MusicMarker song-identifying keychain fob, will soon be selling their product at America's one-stop solution for disenchanted suburban youth--Hot Topic.

The MusicMarker helps people identify songs they hear by recording a short audio clip into its memory and then uploading that data to the MusicMarker Web site when it gets plugged into a computer USB port. The data then gets analyzed and (ideally) reveals the song information and where to buy it. A number of people … Read more

Nokia 5700 first thoughts

It's no secret that I'm a big fan of the Nokia 5300 Xpress Music. In fact, I loved it so much when I reviewed it last year that I gave it a CNET Editors' Choice award. So you can imagine I was a bit excited when the new Nokia 5700 Xpress Music landed on my desk. As the update to the 5300, the 5700 offers everything found on its predecessor but with a new twist (literally).

At first you might think the overall design hasn't changed much, but the 5700 offers a twisting base like that on … Read more

Wired clothing goes white-collar

For years we'd been hearing that suits were on their way back to the office, but we'd begun to suspect that it was just the work of some industrious (and increasingly nervous) marketing execs at Brooks Brothers and other purveyors of traditional attire. Yet pinstripes may see a revival of sorts thanks to consumer technology, where fashion follows function, at least where clothing is concerned.

Although there have been plenty of wired options for fitness and casual wear, U.K. department store chain Marks and Spencer is planning to offer an iPod suit that will let you discreetly … Read more

Major Webcasters to face billions in new fees?

We already know that Webcasters small and large are outraged at the prospect of having to pay higher royalty fees to the music industry, particularly when compared with what is required of their satellite and terrestrial radio counterparts.

But the heightened royalty rates enacted by the U.S. Copyright Royalty Board earlier this year and scheduled to take effect July 15 are not the only thing that's firing up leading Internet radio industry companies like RealNetworks, Yahoo, Pandora and Live365.

In letters distributed to various Capitol Hill offices on Thursday morning, the four companies' CEOs argue that the music … Read more

Justin Timberlake signs YouTube star to new record label

Looks like YouTube is bringing sexy back. Former boy band sensation and current pop star du jour Justin Timberlake has signed Esmee Denters, an 18-year-old Dutch singer who got her start by building up buzz on the ubiquitous video-sharing site, to his new record label.

Timberlake, 26, founded Tennman Records in a joint venture with Interscope Records last month; Denters is the first artist signed.

But despite her karaoke-like start, Denters is no "Numa Numa" kid--she can actually sing. She's been performing in several European countries already after gaining a fan base through videos where she sang … Read more

Free and legal music downloads

There's no such thing as a free lunch. What there most definitely is is a lot of truth to that statement. If you're getting something like cable or music downloads for free, what you're doing is almost certainly illegal and it's probably taking away from the livelihood of someone who works just as hard as you do. OK, what it is mostly doing is reducing some ridiculously wealthy executive's bottom line, and I'm not one to guilt-trip people on that tip--especially if the company happens to be Comcast (don't even get me started). … Read more

Ringtone roundup: Top 5 are frozen in time

Each week, Crave tracks the most popular ringtones.

For all we know, the top five ringtones may be cemented in place for all of eternity. The same 10 ringtones make up the top 10 this week, except a few have switched places.

See the full Billboard ringtone chart right here.

Unk's "2 Step" holds on to the top spot and will presumably do so until everyone in America has downloaded it. Then, we'll all be confused whenever a phone rings, because everyone will have the same ringtone.

Elsewhere on the charts, Koji Kondo's "Super … Read more

News roundup: MMORPG economies, resignations, and music videos

BBC to broadcast in 'Second Life'. BBC's show The Money Programme will broadcast on Friday both on regular television and in the MMORPG Second Life. This episode of The Money Programme deals with with the economies that have sprung up as a result of these micropayment-filled virtual currency markets, including World of Warcraft, Lord of the RingsOnline, and Second Life. The social network has played host to several other real-life events in the past, including concerts and business meetings.

Warner to put ad-supported video archive online. Warner music is putting together a platform to deliver music videos and other … Read more

iTunes updates for DRM-free music

After Steve Jobs' open letter to record executives back in February, it was clear that DRM-free music (music without digital rights management technology) wasn't far away for Apple users. Today, the concept became a reality with the release of iTunes 7.2 (download it for Windows or Mac OS X).

As of today, all of the songs from music label EMI on Apple's iTunes Store will be free of DRM via a new service called iTunes Plus. (Note: that link will open iTunes and take you to iTunes Plus, but only if you have version 7.2 installed.)… Read more