For those of you that don’t follow @bumpershine on Twitter, there’s lots of stuff there that doesn’t make the blog. Here’s some of what you missed today:

Kindle app for Blackberry (via @internetnews) http://bit.ly/92PFLM

Shara Worden (My Brightest Diamond) performing with Clogs at Bell House on Mar 24 http://bit.ly/9LkaMh Buy Tix: http://bit.ly/d8C6c7

NYTimes feature on Blue-Tongue Films fails to mention Joel Edgerton’s high profile gig as Stanley Kowalski in Streetcar http://bit.ly/devOdk

Gogol Bordello: Mar 9, 2010, Irving Plaza, New York, NY. Free Music Today Presale: Feb 18, 2010 Buy: http://bit.ly/91jEBC

OK so “Idol” outdrew the Olympics, but repeats on CBS outdrew a new episode of “Lost”? http://nyti.ms/aCJ7TP

Natalie Merchant at B&N Union Square Apr 14, 2010. New CD “Leave Your Sleep” hits shelves Apr 13 http://bit.ly/amhvND

OK MySpace, you are dying, but you still have a treasure trove of untapped RSS feeds. Get with the program, let’s publish those feeds!

Feeling weepy? MySpace to push real time status updates out to Google http://bit.ly/dthYUI

Tila Tequila releasing an EP. (Shame on me for tweeting that.)

Josh Rouse playing Bell House on Apr 28, 2010. Tickets on sale soon http://bit.ly/9LkaMh

Elvis Costello joins the already impressive lineup for Hal Willner’s tribute to Neil Young in Vancouver, BC http://bit.ly/9ODbcb

@cupide430 I uploaded El Perro Del Mar’s cover of The xx’s “Shelter” to YouTube http://bit.ly/c9Bu4w

Louis Riel
Louis David Riel (22 October 1844 – 16 November 1885) was a Canadian politician, a founder of the province of Manitoba, and leader of the Métis people of the Canadian prairies. The third Monday in February is “Louis Riel Day”, a statutory holiday in Manitoba.

Montreal Smoked Meat and Montreal Bagels
Mile End Brooklyn is the name of the recently opened Montreal style Jewish delicatessen in Brooklyn. The first of its kind in the five boroughs, Mile End is a welcome addition to the neighborhood for ex-pats and Brooklynites alike, and it’s doubly exciting for me because I can finally get a real (albeit pricey) bagel in New York. The smoked meat sandwiches (which come with a little kick) are excellent too, they come courtesy of owner Noah Bernamoff who researched and developed his own custom spice rub modeled after the iconic Montreal smoked meat outpost Schwarz’s. Keep track of their daily meat supply (which often sells out) over here.

AT&T Nation with CanadaSM
Get the benefits of an AT&T NationSM and/or FamilyTalk Plan, plus no more long distance or roaming charges for voice calls between the U.S. and Canada. See available plans

The Winter Olympics

Alexandre Bilodeau carved his way into Canadian history Sunday at the Vancouver Winter Olympics.

The 22-year-old from Rosemère, Que., became the first Canadian to win an Olympic gold medal at home, finishing first in the men’s moguls skiing final at Cypress Mountain. [CBC.ca]

Music
Tegan & Sara at MHOW (02/15/10) SOLD OUT
Daniel Lanois at Bowery Ballroom (02/17/10)
Po’ Girl at The Living Room (02/26/10)
Basia Bulat at The Mercury Lounge (03/27/10)
Jason Collett, Zeus, Bahamas at Union Hall (04/24/10)
Jason Collett at The Mercury Lounge (04/23/10)
Still Life Still at Bowery Ballroom (02/26/10), at MHOW (02/28/10)
The Sadies, Zeus at Mercury Lounge (02/27/10)
Zeus at Knitting Factory (02/26/10)
Cuff The Duke at Knitting Factory (04/30/10)
Broken Social Scene at Webster Hall (05/07/10)
Japandroids at Bowery Ballroom (04/01/10)
Tune-Yards at Bowery Ballroom (04/09/10)
Junior Boys (DJ Set) at Bowery Ballroom (02/27/10)
Woodhands at Brooklyn Bowl (04/03/10)
Owen Pallett at Webster Hall (04/22/10)
Timber Timbre at Bowery Ballroom (04/14/10), The Bell House (04/16/10)
You Say Party, We Say Die! at Knitting Factory (03/26/10)
You Say Party, We Say Die! at Pianos (03/29/10)
Laura Barrett Town Hall (03/10/10)

So you probably know Threadless for their hipster approved t-shirts, but what you probably don’t know is that they just launched a new line of iPhone and iPod touch cases decorated with original art from the Threadless community. In honor of their foray into the world of Apple accessories, I’m giving away two of their new “Living In Harmony” iPhone cases (pictured above) to two lucky readers of this site. To enter to win, fill out the entry form after the jump, US residents only, one entry per household (IP checking will be enforced). This contest ends on Wednesday, January 27 at noon EST. Good luck!

Entry form and the “video trailer” for the new iPhone case after the jump.

Like they do every year, Engadget is back with its obsessive technology coverage from the big CES trade show in Las Vegas. You can follow along with all the insanity at the optimized ces.engadget.com or at engadget.com/tag/ces/. CES officially runs from January 7-10, 2010, but there have already been a ton of posts. Other big tech blogs covering CES include, Gizmodo, gdgt, and Boy Genius Report (just to name a very few).

Since I last checked, the price of the Nikon D90 has dropped by approximately $100, it is currently available for $788 at Amazon.com.

With three of the four major labels on board (Warner Bros is the only hold out), vevo.com is angling to be the new “go to” place for music video on the web. The YouTube hosted site is launching tonight (Dec 8) and they are having a splashy launch party at the Skylight Studios in Tribeca as I type this. Their Twitter and TweetPhoto feed reveals the following celebrity attendees: Pete Wentz, Bono, Asher Roth, John Mayer, Mariah Carey, Adam Lambert, Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber. Man, Justin Bieber is there! Maybe I should have crashed this party after all.

The site will come online in the United States and Canada on Tuesday evening.

“It will be a higher-quality experience around music and videos than anything else that’s currently out there,” Rio Caraeff, Vevo’s chief executive, said in an interview. Mr. Caraeff said the site would host 30,000 music videos by the end of the year. To underscore the exclusive nature of the Web site, Vevo will also carry original programs by artists for their fans.

The company, which was announced last spring, is similar in some ways to Hulu, the Web site for viewing television owned by a group of TV networks. Vevo will syndicate videos to an array of sites — including YouTube — and promote Vevo.com as a destination of its own.

“Vevo will work to restore the premium luster around music video inventory,” Mr. Caraeff said. [NYTimes.com]

Though the site isn’t officially live yet, some content has already been slipped on to YouTube; use this custom search to see all the currently active Vevo channels. (In other news, the new video for Bob Dylan’s “Little Drummer Boy” is now available on Vevo.)

The folks over at TechCrunch are in love with this thing and they are currently giving away free one month subscriptions at their site. I haven’t tried it myself, but as a member of the MOG MMN Network (that’s what we call disclosure people), I get a free account, so I’ll give it a shot later on today. Other curious users, can get a free 1 hour (!) trial membership over here.

A little ditty not stated in the TechCrunch article or their press release is that there is “a mobile component coming out later this year [it's already December -ed.] that will allow full, on-demand listening through mobile devices like your iPhone and Blackberry”. As I am generally not a big streamer of music at my computer, the potential for portability, albeit still tied to a streaming service, is really what makes this whole thing appealing to me.

Check out the full press release for the MOG All Access Music Service after the jump.

MOG All Access Puts Music in the Cloud: A Huge Library of All-You-Can-Eat, On-Demand Music

Better On-Demand Listening, Radio and Discovery Tools Combine to Deliver the Best Music Experience on the Web

BERKELEY, Calif., Dec. 2 /PRNewswire/ — MOG (http://mog.com), the Web’s premier music blogging destination, today launched MOG All Access, a premium digital music service that delivers the best music experience on the Web. MOG All Access builds on the powerful MOG blog network, already home to more than 10 million music fans, and provides people with a single destination to enjoy millions of songs from all the major recording labels as well as indies, with the ability to dive deep into music content ranging from news and reviews to playlists and lyrics. MOG All Access debuts in North America and will launch in Europe next year; mobile applications will release early next year.

MOG All Access is an on-demand service that lets members store their music in the cloud with no need to download a client application to the desktop. Subscribers can log in to their account from any browser to access more than six million songs licensed from thousands of indie labels and all four major labels: Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, and EMI Music. Subscription is $5 per month for unlimited music listening and playlist creation, with no restrictions on what subscribers can hear and when. Mobile applications are planned for early next year.

Key Features:

* Better On-Demand – MOG All Access offers the best on-demand service available. With MOG’s Fastsearch, users can quickly listen to any artist, album, or song within seconds – without having to surf web pages. MOG provides a vast library of songs that ranges from the hottest pop songs to the most obscure tunes. Test it out with something hard to find. The service is so fast that it feels like the six million songs are stored on your hard drive.

* Better Radio – MOG Radio is the first listening experience that blurs the lines between active and passive listening. Simply type in a song, band or album that suits your mood. To expand the selection, just slide the slider from “Artist Only” to “Similar Artists” and MOG’s powerful music recommendation algorithm will quickly fill the queue with recommended tunes. Unlike competitive services the full queue is on display and easy to navigate so go ahead and skip forward or replay songs you like, you can even save your favorites directly from the radio. It’s easy: If you like a song you are hearing, simply click “Save” and any song on the radio will be stored in your Library with all your favorite songs and playlists. If there’s a song on MOG Radio and you want to hear the whole album, it’s just one click away. Unlike many of the free music services, there are no restrictions on how many songs can be played, or how often an artist or song can be played. In fact, it’s the first service to offer “Artist Only” radio, so if you want to hear Michael Jackson radio – playing only Michael songs – don’t stop till ’til you get enough.

* Better Discovery – Need some inspiration? Browse the public playlists to find out what everybody else is digging. MOG uses an algorithm to identify and highlight the most popular and most played lists. Whether created by dear friends, favorite musicians and celebs, or music junkies you only know through MOG, the playlists are a great way to learn about new music. Feel free to dive deeper or get specific: do a search for “dinner parties” with “Miles Davis” to check out the most popular dinner party playlists featuring your favorite musician. Editorial content accessed through the MOG.com blog network is also a great way to learn more about new music, and dig up more info on a favorite artist or song.

“MOG All Access was created by music lovers for music lovers,” said David Hyman, founder and CEO of MOG. “Our goal is to offer the best experience for listening, sharing and discovering music by creating a simple, smart, intuitive interface. The labels recognized the value of what we were doing and were supportive from the beginning. Now, we’re excited to deliver this to music fans everywhere.” But, MOG won’t stop there. The next step will be to maximize availability of the service through a variety of distribution points. According to Hyman, “We’re already meeting with carriers and ISPs to discuss partnerships.”

Free trial and membership giveaways

Curious music fans can sample MOG All Access with no strings attached thanks to a one-hour free trial that requires no payment information or other commitments.

Music fans can also follow @mogdotcom on Twitter to find out about contests offering lifetime MOG All Access memberships and prizes. To sign up for MOG All Access, visit www.mog.com.

A video tour of the service can be viewed at: http://mog.com/promos/overview

About MOG

Headquartered in Berkeley, CA., MOG was founded in June 2005 by David Hyman, former CEO of Gracenote, former SVP-Marketing at MTV Interactive, co-founder of Addicted to Noise, and self-proclaimed music junkie. Grammy-winning record producer, Rick Rubin, named by Time Magazine as one of the “100 Most Influential People in the World,” is a member of MOG’s Board of Directors. Investors include Menlo Ventures, Simon Equity Group, Universal Music Group and Sony Music. For more information go to http://mog.com.

Diana Mini from Lomography

What is the Diana Mini you ask? Well, it’s the little sister of the Diana F+, but more specifically, it’s an analog camera that shoots a retro square format with an amazing half-frame feature that allows you to pack 72 shots onto one roll of 35mm film! Check out some more detailed specs on the Diana Mini below:

DIANA MINI FEATURES
• Square and rectangular half-frame formats at the flick of a switch
• Takes all types of 35mm film
• Shoots up to 72 shots per film on half-frame mode
• Shoots up to 36 shots per film on square mode
• Requires standard 35mm film development
• Ultra-compact and pocket-sized
• Multiple exposure functionality
• ‘B’ mode for long exposures
• Cable release attachment – a Diana first!
• Sunny and cloudy exposure settings
• Tripod mount
• Diana Flash Plug (Diana Flash available separately)
• Overlap frames across photos for endless abstract panoramas
• Compatible with the stunning Diana Flash

Full Square Frame

Half Frame

View everything else you need to know about the Diana Mini over here.

Fill out this entry form after the jump for a chance to win your very Diana Mini. Contest ends November 22, 2009 at 11:59 PM EST. A random winner will be notified and selected on November 23, 2009. Contest is only available to US residents, 1 entry per household, multiple entries will be disqualified.

There has been a bevy of wireless news in the past couple of days (some of which actually affects us New Yorkers), and I’ve been meaning to post about it or Twitter about it, or something, so here’s my attempt to catch you up.

In a move that looks conciliatory, but really kind of seems like a big who cares when you think about it, AT&T bowing to pressure federal regulators, in its beneficence, has decided to let iPhone users use Skype over 3G as opposed to Wi-Fi only. I don’t really know anyone that exceeds their minutes on their iPhone, nor do I know anyone who really uses the Skype app either, but hey, it’s better than a poke in the eye with a stick. I can see this as a boon for people use their cell phone to call long distance a lot, but like I said, other than that, it seems like a bit of a non-event.

In other wireless news, still smarting from the AT&T/iPhone exclusivity deal (I mean, they have to be smarting right?), Verizon has decided to try and go the other way, and partner up with Google and Android for a new batch of handsets. (Can a Zune handset be far behind?)

Verizon and Google plan to co-develop several Android-based devices that will be pre-loaded with applications from both parties as well as from third-party developers. A family of Android phones built for the Verizon Wireless network will come from “leading handset manufacturers,” according to a statement issued by the two companies.
…
The agreement will come to fruition within the next few weeks as Verizon Wireless introduces Android-based handsets. [InternetNews.com]

Not to be outdone, according to a report in the Wall St Journal, AT&T is planning on launching a new Android phone in early 2010 in partnership with Dell.

Finally, In news that is sure to make the next episode of CommandN, Rogers is about to lose its exclusive deal as Canada’s only iPhone carrier when rivals Bell Canada and Telus Corp. start selling them next month. Perhaps a little competition will give Canucks a break on their monthly phone bills (Canadians used to have the highest cost of iPhone ownership in the world):

Bell announced Monday that it will launch national service in November on the $1-billion next-generation wireless network it has been building with Telus, months ahead of schedule. The project extends the two companies’ existing third-generation (3G) networks to include the same technology standard employed by Rogers, the nation’s largest cellphone company. [GlobeandMail.com]

Holiday season is just around the corner, and while it can be a little hit and miss at times, there are usually a few good buys to be had during Dell’s 8 Days of Deals event.

If you’re in the market for a new Nano or possibly a new iPod Touch, you might have noticed that they seem to cost the same about everywhere you look. However, if you’re looking pay less than retail, there are a few outlets where you can save a buck or two. Costco carries iPods at their brick and mortar locations, and as of this weekend, the iPod Nano 8GB was retailing for $139.99, which is $10 less than MSRP. They didn’t have anything else in stock at the time, but if my memory serves me correctly, when it was $399 everywhere else, the 32GB 2nd Generation iPod Touch used to sell at Costco for $369. In terms of other bargain locations, Adorama (on 18th St in Manhattan) typically has the best prices for iPods across the board. Before the new models were announced, Adorama was selling the 32GB 2nd Generation iPod for $359, which was the lowest I’ve seen it offered anywhere, online or offline. I’m not sure what their pricing will be on the new line of iPods, they should be getting them in stock towards the end of this week. The only catch of course, with buying an iPod from Adorama is that you have to be able to get to the store and while Manhattan is a big city, there a still a lot of people who won’t be able to take advantage of the in-store special. Finally, Amazon.com itself is actually a good place to get a discount on an iPod even before you employ the methods I’ll be talking about below. For instance, if you check the site right now, you’ll see that the new Black iPod shuffle is $59.00 (instead of $79.98) and the new 8GB iPod Touch is $189.99, $10 below MSRP.

More on how to get 10% at amazon.com after the jump.

So, what’s this you say about getting an additional 10% off at Amazon? How does one do it you ask? Well, it’s easy, more of less, if you’ve got a little patience and access to at least 2 Amazon.com accounts. First things first, pretty much anyone and everyone can get 4% off any Amazon.com purchase if they buy the item through an affiliate link. To sign up for the amazon affiliates program, go to amazon.com/associates and fill out the application. Once you become an associate (membership is free), you’ll be able to generate URLs for items that look a little like this: www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B002L6HDQA/YourAssociatesID. Then, anytime someone buys an item using your link, you will earn a 4% commission on the sale. The only catch with the Associates Program is that you cannot purchase an item for yourself with your own referral link. So here’s where the second account comes in: I’m sure most people know someone with an amazon account aside from themselves, a spouse, a parent, a close friend, etc., you get the picture. So as not to violate the terms of the associates program, you need to get them to purchase the item for you, which is fairly simple: you just send them the link with your ID in it and then they buy the item, and presto you get 4% off. Granted, you need to square away the finances of the transaction and make sure that person ships you the item and doesn’t pocket it for themselves, but if it’s someone you trust, it’s unlikely that that will happen.

OK, so I’ve described how to get 4% off, but where does the other 6% come from? Well, the remaining 6% also involves a little bit of planning I guess, but it’s not really so difficult. The other day, when I was purchasing an Amazon.com gift card, I realized that I could earn a commission on that transaction, so I used my Associates ID and bought the gift card through the following link http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00067L6TQ/bumpershine-20. That purchase earned me a commission of 6%, and while I didn’t use the GC for myself, the thought occurred to me that I could have used it in combination with one of my own purchases. If you’re a little confused by what I just said, here’s a summary of the “three special steps” you need to get 10% off any qualifying purchase (auctions and zShops item are excluded) at amazon.com:

1. User 1 signs up for Amazon.com Associates program
2. User 2 purchases a gift card using user 1’s referral link (earning 6% cash back for user 1) and sends to user 3.
3. User 3 buys an item using user 1’s referral link and sends it to user 1 (earning 4% cash back for user 1)

Alternatively, (but this method is untested), you could do this:
1. User 1 signs up for Amazon.com Associates program.
2. User 2 purchases a gift card using user 1’s referral link an chooses “print gift card” option. (This will definitely earn 6% commission for user 1.)
3. User 2 buys item for item user 1 using user 1’s referral link and the gift card they have just printed out. (I’m not 100% certain this step will garner an additional 4% commission, though I suspect it will work just fine.)

Pretty simple right? OK, OK, OK, it’s not that simple, especially if you actually have to involve two separate members of your family to do the deal, the far easier method is to have one Machiavellian user with control over multiple accounts run the whole show (not that I am advocating that in any way). Good luck, but most of all, don’t blame me if you screw it up!

Number 9, Number 9, Number 9? Today is an auspicious day for music fans and gamers alike. The entire Beatles discography has been given a complete and long overdue digital overhaul and will be lovingly reissued (in both mono and stereo) on CD today. The stereo albums will be available for purchase as a complete box set or as individual CDs. Mono mixes of the first 10 Beatles albums will only be available for purchase as part of a limited edition boxed set, an early buying frenzy actually lead the initial run of the 10,000 mono box sets to sell out completely before their official release date, EMI has since stated that more copies will be produced to satisfy the demand. Eventhough I’ve got most of the Beatles catalog on CD in their original analog releases, I’m having a hard time resisting pulling the trigger on the new stereo box set. The increased fidelity would surely be a welcome to my home stereo system, but for a music geek, the new packaging is kind of exciting too:

Each of the CDs is packaged with replicated original UK album art, including expanded booklets containing original and newly written liner notes and rare photos. For a limited period, each CD will also be embedded with a brief documentary film about the album.

On their own, The Beatles reissues are a huge deal, (granted they would have been even more earth shattering five years ago), but today also marks the release of The Beatles Rock Band video game, which digitally chronicles the progression of the band from their early days at the Cavern Club to their final live performance on the rooftop of the Apple Corps in 1969. Not being a real gamer myself, I’ll admit that the meticulous attention to detail that has obviously gone into making this game has made me think twice about getting myself a little early chanukah present, here’s just a small example of what I’m talking about:

To turn classic Beatles songs into the stages of a video game, each song needed to be separated into its several components, so that if the person playing the guitar misses a note, the guitar sound can drop out while the music made by the other instruments is unaffected. Because the Beatles mostly recorded on four-track and two-track equipment, with multiple instruments sharing a tape, Martin had to spend months using digital filters to eliminate sounds at certain frequencies and not others.
…
Just as Giles Martin chose to walk a line between reality and fantasy when choosing and mixing the audio, Harmonix put an extraordinary amount of research toward a result that is at once meticulously detailed and purposefully ahistorical. They pored over reference books to determine which instruments the Beatles used on each song and studied photos of concert venues and their respective crowds in order to properly render 1960s fashion and hairstyles. When Olivia Harrison was worried that George looked a bit off, she invited the art team over to look through her personal photo archive — with a set of calipers. And when the designer of the guitar-shaped instrument controllers couldn’t find a high-resolution photo showing the wood grain on McCartney’s Höfner violin bass, he had the Höfner company send over a block. [NYTimes.com]

In honor of all this hoo-hah, I’m giving away a copy of the Beatles lithograph shown at the top of the page. To enter the contest, just send an email with your name and address (US entrants only) to contests@bumpershine.com and tell me the name of your favorite Beatles record. A random winner will be notified on September 18, 2009.

But wait, there’s one more thing… Today is also the day for Apple’s Annual Music Event, which will take place at Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco, CA. Rumors are running wild about what might possibly be announced, but among the things that could happen are:

• A revamped iPod Touch lineup, including a 64GB iPod Touch with a camera and microphone
• The addition of cameras and increased HD capacities to the entire iPod lineup
• The scrapping of the entire iPod Classic lineup
• An update to the Apple TV device
• iPhone HD video out
• The return of Steve Jobs to the podium
• The new “Cocktail” digital album format
• iTunes 9 (a fitting day for a version number increment)
• The mythical Apple tablet device, and
• The Beatles catalog coming to iTunes

As for the last rumor on the list, Yoko Ono confirmed in a now-pulled Sky News article that The Beatles catalog is headed for digital distribution, but that the announcement will not be made today. For what it’s worth, EMI has also denied that any announcement will be made today [Engadget.com]. If you’d like to keep up with the minute by minute play by play of today’s music event, you can follow the live blog stream over here or here starting at 1 PM ET.

Apple Music Event

The Beatles remasters and The Beatles: Rock Band product shots after the jump.

The Beatles Remasters Mono Box Set

The Beatles Remasters Stereo Box Set

The Beatles Rock Band

So apparently, the music labels don’t really like it when you just buy singles. I’m not sure whether Apple actually cares that much as I was always under the impression that they just keep the iTunes store around as a means to sell iPods. Be that as it may, Apple is about to make a new digital album format, codenamed “Cocktail”, the next must have product for teens and tweens everywhere. (It was confirmed today that Apple’s annual music event will take place on September 9, 2009.)

Apple is working with the four largest record labels to stimulate digital sales of albums by bundling a new interactive booklet, sleeve notes and other interactive features with music downloads, in a move it hopes will change buying trends on its online iTunes store.
…
“It’s all about re-creating the heyday of the album when you would sit around with your friends looking at the artwork, while you listened to the music,” said one executive familiar with the plans.

Apple wants to make bigger purchases more compelling by creating a new type of interactive album material, including photos, lyric sheets and liner notes that allow users to click through to items that they find most interesting. Consumers would be able to play songs directly from the interactive book without clicking back into Apple’s iTunes software, executives said. [Financial Times]

After reading this the first time, my immediate impression was, this is not going to work, this will not to revitalize album sales by any means. I know it’s easy to be a naysayer, but here’s why I reached that initial conclusion: first of all, I think the premise is a bit misguided, the problem isn’t that the people are “just buying singles”, the problem is that people aren’t legally buying music at all anymore. After re-reading the FT article though, it actually sounds like these are not the people Apple and the labels are going after, they seem to have already given up on those scofflaws individuals who file share exclusively, and now they are shifting their focus to the sector of the public that still buys music, but only cherry picks the songs they like from an artist’s catalog. For these people, a little more pizazz in a digital download package might act as an inducement to “buy an album” as opposed to a single, but I think for most folks, the move towards the iTunes store and an entirely digital content library has: a) made the single so affordable and accessible that people will be hard pressed to go to back to buying albums no matter the new format actually consists of; b) conditioned people to abandon whatever love they had for packaging, liner notes, and everything associated with the physical object and just focus on the music.
…
OK, so I took a few days off after writing the above paragraph and it occurred to me how I might be wrong, (as I often am when it comes to Apple products), and how Cocktail could potentially save the recorded music industry if they do it the right way. While no one really knows what Cocktail actually is yet, some reports have it as a format that includes “artwork, linear notes, lyrics, and videos”. After hearing that, I balked at the idea of “enhanced liner notes” or “albums with videos”, to me there is not enough added value there to get people to pay extra for an album. But then I got to thinking, what if Cocktail is more than that? What if it is more like an RSS feed that consists of a stream of frequently updated and exclusive content related to the artist and the album you just bought? Sure, buying an album and getting deluxe artwork and maybe a video is great, but what if you get exclusive access to the next video before the rest of the world because you bought the album? I don’t know about you, but that’s something I’d be willing to pay for. It doesn’t have to stop at pre-release videos though, “album purchaser only” concert presales, exclusive artist podcasts, and interactive games are all potential examples of the kind of thing I’d be willing to shell out some of my hard earned dollars for. Essentially, what I am describing is attaching a dedicated music blogger to every new record that comes out and then having that content pushed to your iPhone (or whatever) on a regular basis because you purchased the “enhanced version” of the album. To me there is definitely some value in the type of product I am describing, and in fact, when you think about it, what you’re really purchasing is the access to the premium content with the album is being thrown in much like an added bonus. Come September 9, I guess we’ll see whether they were listening to me or not.

The much ballyhooed ZuneHD is now available for pre-order at Amazon.com with a retail price of $219.99 for the 16GB model and $289.99 for the 32GB model (sadly, there is no 64GB model at this time). The release date for the ZuneHD is set for September 15, 2009, which is allegedly one week after Apple’s annual music event, (speculators say it will occur during the “week of” September 7, and quite possibly on September 9, 2009). If you’re in the market for a new mp3 player, as of today, the cheapest 32GB iPod Touch you can buy is $359 at Adorama (in store only), which makes a 32GB ZuneHD look pretty attractive at $289. However, according to numerous Internet rumours and a recent TechCrunch article the new iPod Touch 3.1 (which is pretty much a certainty at this point) will contain a camera and a microphone and come in 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB varieties, with the 32GB version being priced at $299. If, in fact, the price differential comes down to a mere $10, no matter how good it is, I think the ZuneHD will once again face a huge uphill battle in stealing any market share away from Apple. Futhermore, MG Siegler from TechCrunch makes a good point in regards to the timing of the Zune release:

What I’d really like to know is who plans these events for Microsoft? How on Earth didn’t they not realize that Apple has an iPod event pretty much every year now in the first few days of September? I’m sure it would have been a big pain in the ass, but why not put everything you have into ramping up production earlier and getting it to market before Apple can respond? [TechCrunch.com]

As for me, I’ve been jonseing for a large capacity iPod Touch since, well, pretty much since the original 4GB/8GB iPhones were announced (iPod Touches didn’t actually even exist then). Up until now, I’ve actually been holding out for something like a 100GB iPod Touch, but since I don’t see that happening anytime soon and I’m pretty interested in the app store, I guess I’ll settle for a “compact” 64GB model (should it actually be released this year).

Look out Cupertino, the Swedes are coming. According to a recent article in The Observer, Spotify, the hugely popular Swedish streaming music service, is coming to the America “in the third or fourth quarter” of 2009. In the mean time, Spotify has developed an iPhone app, which is currently awaiting App Store approval, (check out the video demo above, it truly looks amazing). The killer feature of the Spotify app is the “offline mode” which allows you to listen to your playlists when you are not connected to the Internet (if you are on a plane or on the Underground for example). The big chatter on the Internets right now is whether or not the overlords over at Apple will approve the Spotify iPhone app for distribution through the App Store. As you may know, Apple is famously fickle about what gets approved. The $64,000 question of course is, will a free unlimited streaming (and downloadable) music app cannibalize iTunes music sales? (Doesn’t that question kind of answer itself.)

In other Spotify news, according to the Financial Times, the company is about to take on some new financing which would put it’s current value at $250 million:

The Li Ka Shing Foundation, the Hong Kong tycoon’s charitable arm; Wellington Partners, London-based venture capitalists, and others are closing in on a total investment of up to $50m, a bigger amount than expected that values Spotify at $250m (£148m), according to people familiar with the process. [FT.com]