There are few who impact humanity in such a way that the world is literally changed by their contributions. Einstein, the Wright Brothers, Henry Ford — they all pale in comparison to the impact that Steve Jobs has had on society, world wide.
Jobs and Apple have certainly been a game changer and will continue to shape the way we live and learn well into this new millenium. But, Jobs’ contribution was not just iTunes, iPods, iPhones and iPads; he also exemplified the entreprenurial spirit and showed that vision coupled with determination brings innovation — and you don’t need a PhD to achieve it.
His commencement address to Stanford leaves a wonderful message for all of us…
Find what you love and DO IT! No matter how crazy, unconventional, out of the norm, or against other’s wishes…do what you love, love what you do.
Funny, but it seems that the apple is the one fruit that has a dramatic effect on the world…
* Eve’s bite of the first
* Newton’s noggin’ with the second
* Birth of The Beatles with the third
* and, the wonderful world of Steve Jobs with the fourth
Yes! It is true. Apple announced today that the entire iTunes library will soon be DRM-free. Now, you can play any and all iTunes purchases on any device or computer you care to. All I can say is HALLE-friggin’-LUAH.
It appears that a combination of consumer complaining, Amazon and Wal-Mart’s move to DRM-free, and an agreement by “the big four” to lighten up on rights helped to force Apple’s hand in creating a stir at MacWorld that would garner enough attention to over shadow the speculation on Steve Job’s health.
If that’s not enough, Apple also announced that tracks will now be offered at different prices, with older catalogue items going for 69 cents, while newer releases going for $1.29. Some tracks will still be offered at 99 cents, but Apple assures that most of the catalogue will be at the lower price point, lowering overall iTunes costs. Supposedly, for 30 cents a track, you can “remove” DRM from existing iTune purchases in your library, but I don’t think that will last for long. Why am I paying an additional 30 cents for a song I already bought and they already paid licensing on? Um, no. However, all in all…great news.
So, why now? Well…..glad you asked. You see, part of the announcement also detailed how Apple will begin to offer iTunes via 3G technology to it’s fast-growing population of iPhone-aholics. That provides the labels with a captive audience of 5 million tech-savvy, heavy spenders. Oh, and by the way, the correlation between music listeners and iPhone users is extremely high.
Will opening iPhones to over-air, iTunes purchases at affordable prices keep the sinking music industry afloat? It will certainly provide a short-term spike in sales, however with music now DRM-free, sharing will be easier and may actually discourage purchases among those technophiles who can simply transfer music between devices.
One thing is sure — the music industry is morphing, changing. While it won’t go quietly into the dark night, it is becoming more conducive to the market…as it should be.
Apple Marketing SVP, Phillip Schiller, gives us the details
Well, whaddaya know….ole Johnny Boy himself has “discovered” Ray LaMontagne. And I quote:
Ray LaMontagne is as brilliant as any artist that has ever lived.
And he’s getting better; tighter, more focused, more self-assured.
That’s pretty high praise coming from the Music Messiah. Actually, Ray opened for him at The Fillmorein 2005, so John has known of Ray for a while now. But just recently, John decided to blog about Ray L.recently and tried to explain Ray’s “essence” by creating an iTune’s iMix to showcase Ray’s obvious talent and compel others to get “caught up” on Ray. With baited breath, I clicked into iTunes to check out what Ray song’s that JOHN MAYER thought captured Ray.
When you click here, you will see that John lists three songs (although he mentions six in the narrative) that he feels define who Ray LaMontagne is, musicwise. If you’re too lazy to click, here they are:
Trouble
Jolene
Shelter
Wow, JM, you really dug deep for those. Aren’t these all ones that have been on TV or in the movies? While I give John props for the iMix thing, I don’t think those three songs capture the multi-facetedness of Ray LaMontagne. While I think that visuals like YouTube vids give a better glimpse of the complexities of RL, I am intrigued by the whole iMix thing and thought that it would be fun to create a Ray LaMontagne MusicMaven iMix that I think better captures the essence, range and profound talent of this prolific artist.
Problem with iTunes, however, is that it’s not definitive. YouTube is much more broad in terms of available performances. Like, how can you explain the essence of Ray without these:
Crazy
To Love Somebody (with Damien Rice)
Crazy Dreamers
And, there are so many more…
I do agree with John, however, that Ray is really starting to come into his own. His latest CD, Gossip in the Grain, is markedly more upbeat than Trouble, and ‘Til the Sun Turns Black. However, in Ray’s initial, self-produced CD, One Lonesome Saddle, includes some really good stuff, with a spectacular old-time religion track of Shuckin’ the Corn, he shows that even when he first started out, he had diversity in his music and passion in his heart.
IvoryHut had a good piece on Gossip in the Graina while back that includes the entire track listing, etc. I have to say that my favorite track from the new CD is You Are the Best Thing:
Absolutely marvelous. Movin’, groovin’, and definitely NOT Country, Ivory. Ray’s music covers so many genres, that he’s hard to “label”. However, give it a shot. Give me a genre label for Ray’s music…like “Diversified Soul” or “Angst Funk”.
Music Maven 