BeatPort
February 27, 2004
 I've just signed up at BeatPort. The digital download network. Which I think is a must for all Final Scratch users [not that I am one... yet!]. This is what they have to say about themselves...
Beatport was launched to solve a problem. With the release of so much exciting new DJ technology specifically aimed at the dance market, there was no place for the DJ to find the best dance tracks from the best labels. What was needed was a DJ friendly, digital record store. A store where you can easily, quickly, cheaply and legally buy music. Enter Beatport, a digital network created by a group of likeminded DJs, artists, promoters and marketers to close the gap and accelerate the dance market into an entirely new realm.
In late 2002, the design of Beatport began to bring the dance music industry into a new era of promotion and distribution. Beatport provides everyone from the pro to the bedroom DJ access to the music they need in the format they want. Dance music that was previously only released on vinyl will now be made available to the consumer in mp3, mp4 and Wav file formats on a pay-per-download basis. And at the simple click of a button. Like never before, DJs of all caliber can log on, download and play in a matter of minutes.
Categories: Music, Web
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Magnatune
February 26, 2004
Check out Magnatune. Berkeley-based Magnatune calls its approach "open music," the musical equivalent of shareware or "open source". The idea being to let users try music before they buy, and when they do, half of every sale goes to the artist.
Magnatune's motto is "We are not evil." 
Every track in Magnatune's artist catalog is available through online radio stations and streaming MP3 feeds. Listeners can download, swap and re-mix songs too. Magnatune distributes song files under a "some rights reserved" license from Creative Commons. Magnatune makes its money from licensing deals and sales of high-quality music files [both MP3s and CD-quality WAV files].
Buyers can choose to pay anywhere from $5 to $18 an album. Licensing also works on a sliding scale. For example a song for your wedding video might cost $5; the same song for the opening credits of a $5 million feature film with worldwide distribution could be $2,600.
The Magnatune website launched in May 2003 and traffic has risen from 1,000 visitors a day to a peak of 25,000. The website now brings in $15,000 to $20,000 a month, 80 percent of it from downloads, the remaining 20 percent from licensing deals. [figures quoted from Wired News Oct 03]
Categories: Music, Web
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Where Have You Been?
February 23, 2004
 This is a nifty little tool, handy for any one on their travels, as you can add a travel-log, but I thought I'd just see how much of the globe I'd managed to cover. A measly 4% apparently! But that is 17% of European Countries [including England and Wales!]
 Whereas visiting 4 US States [that's Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana] = 7%
Create your own visited country map
Create your own visited states map
Categories: Web
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Belly Up!
February 21, 2004
Seems I was wrong about the Karl Hyde book being available in the shops... I have just registered my unique KH photo at underworld-print.co.uk and read that the book is only available online... It's £29.99 to you guvnor!
There are still quite a few of the 500 signed copies left by the looks of things. Mine was very kindly purchased by my KSX partner Kev as a belated Birthday present. "Ansum"
Categories: Music, Books
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Historic Online Protest
February 20, 2004
 It's time for music fans to stand up and demand change from the music industry's copyright cartel.
Tuesday, February 24 will be a day of coordinated civil disobedience: websites will post Danger Mouse's Grey Album on their site for 24 hours in protest of EMI's attempts to censor this work.
DJ Danger Mouse created a remix of Jay-Z's the The Black Album and the Beatles White Album, and called it the Grey Album.
Jay-Z's record label, Roc-A-Fella, released an a capella version of his Black Album specifically to encourage remixes like this one. But despite praise from music fans and major media outlets like Rolling Stone ("an ingenious hip-hop record that sounds oddly ahead of its time") and the Boston Globe (which called it the "most creatively captivating" album of the year), EMI has sent cease and desist letters demanding that stores destroy their copies of the album and websites remove them from their site. EMI claims copyright control of the Beatles 1968 White Ablum.
I don't have the space to host the album here but you can download it from illegal-art.org
artwork by Justin Hampton
Categories: Music, Web
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BBC Music Drumsteps
February 19, 2004
 Check out Drumsteps over at the BBC website... You'll need Shockwave, but there is a competition if you're quick [closes 23rd]...
While we're pissing about... There's a fantastic Flash Thing [well it's sort of a game, but it isn't!] at mrpicassohead.com... Here's my creation.
Categories: Music, Art, Web
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Where's Colin Faver?
February 17, 2004
I'm just sitting at the kitchen table reading my e-mails listening to an old (96) Colin Faver Techmix CD wondering where he got to after being unceremoniously dumped from Kiss FM some time back??? Not doing much according to the link above!
I've got the urge to drag out a load more old Techno now. Haven't had much time for listening to anything lately, nor reading. I've still got pages and pages of the new Neal Stephenson to read and I've got loads more lined up after that. I'm in need of a week or two on a beach somewhere!
Don't see my image up at that Hype Gallery site [see below]
Categories: Music
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Type Museum
February 15, 2004
 For eight of the past 10 years, two of which I was a graphic design student, I lived 7 stops from the Type Museum in SW9... I live even nearer now and still I haven't visited it!
I was hoping to get down there next Saturday with Chris, while he is down working on the toofriedfish website, but he has to be back for a gig in Nottingham on Sunday [International, jet-setting playboy that he is] so we better get on with some work on Saturday... but next time, we'll get down there!
Categories: Art, London
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Hype Gallery
February 14, 2004
Just uploaded an image at the Hype Gallery website... An exercise in Flash and PHP. Nice interface, if a little fiddly.
Shame the project is over on the 18th. But might be nice to pop down to the Truman Brewery (Their website wasn't up when I was looked) and see what they have there before it shuts. It was possible to take a disc of stuff in and have it printed up to be included in the exhibit. Bit late now mind...
Categories: Art, London, Web
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Cecil Beaton At The National Portrait Gallery
February 09, 2004
 National Portrait Gallery
opening hours
Mon, Tues, Weds, Sat, Sun: 10am - 6pm
Late Opening: Thurs, Fri: 10am - 9pm
Get along to see this... CB's photographs of the Beautiful People
Categories: London, Photography
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More Underworld
February 05, 2004
 Just read that Karl Hyde interview I mentioned the other day... it's a bit out of date, although I still haven't heard that Radio 1 Maida Vale Session yet... There's mention of a new book, In the Belly of Saint Paul which looks as though it is only available through Underworld, although I'm sure classier bookshops will carry it. It isn't available through Amazon though.
The interview mentions that Underworld got their name from a Clive Barker movie that they provided soundtrack music for as freur. This movie was actually released as Transmutations in 1985.
I'm not much of a horror fan but despite casting, Gary Olsen, Art Malik, Denholm Elliott, Miranda Richardson, Ingrid Pitt and Stephen Berkoff in it... apparently it's still crap!
Categories: Music, Books
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Everything Everything...
February 03, 2004
There's a Karl Hyde interview at suicidegirls.com... and just a quick one... Haunted by spam? Try some spam poetry to soothe your soul!!!
Categories: Music, Web
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Underground Train Drawings
February 02, 2004
 I've been meaning to put a link to these up for a while now... a collaboration between artist and train! Check out the Rodcorp site for more ingenious doodlings.
Categories: Art, London, Blogging
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