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If you have New Jersey ancestors, you may want to get a copy of “Research in New Jersey,” written for the NGS Research in the States” series by Claire Keenan Agthe. The following is excerpted from the December 16, 2009 “What’s New at the National Genealogical Society?”

Just in time for Christmas, the latest NGS Research in the States guide, Research in New Jersey is available. Written by professional genealogist Claire Keenan Agthe, this guide to the Garden State leads researchers down the right path to finding their ancestors—from the colonial era to later immigrants. Early in the history of the NGS Quarterly, lengthy articles about researching in specific states were featured. Eventually the articles were updated, expanded, and published as concise guides to the history, records, and research facilities of a state. The Research in the States series continues this tradition by publishing new guides in print and e-book versions. Research in New Jersey is the latest of thirteen states now available.

Filed under: Etc., Videos, Humor

The prospect of getting a ticket can make you do a lot of things you wouldn’t normally do — beg, plead, be charming, anything goes, really, when it comes to fending off points and higher insurance premiums. Well, not anything, unless you’re this woman, who went nuts at the idea of being ticketed. Like, crazy nuts.

We don’t know who she is or what she did or what ungodly nightmare she was trying to avoid, but we do know she’s got a set of pipes. If anyone can tell us what she’s saying, please let us know in the comments. Follow the jump for the video, and keep your hand on the volume knob for this one.

[Source: Live Leak via Ryan O’Keefe]

Continue reading VIDEO: How not to behave during a traffic stop

VIDEO: How not to behave during a traffic stop originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 17 Dec 2009 14:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PaidContent has the details on an interview with Steve Haber, the boss of Sony’s ebook reader business, where he trashed the $10 ebook and praised DRM. And now you all know why no one buys Sony ebook readers. Basically, the product’s boss has decided to take an anti-consumer stance. Why would anyone want to shell out hundreds of dollars on a product when you know the company that makes it wants to screw you over?

On the price of ebooks — a topic of widespread debate — he insists that $10 can’t possibly work:

“The $9.99 price point is not a money-maker. Certain bestsellers are sold at that price for retail, competitive reasons. But you need to have a range. You could go from $10 to $20 even to $100 for an e-book. There’s no sweet spot and it’s certainly not $9.99.”

Well, first, let’s be clear. The only reason that $9.99 isn’t a money-maker is because publishers are still charging more at wholesale for the ebooks, still pretending that the lack of printing, materials and shipping shouldn’t result in a lower price. Basically, the publishers are in denial, and Sony shouldn’t be supporting them.

How about DRM? Remember, this is Sony, we’re talking about, which has a history of abusing DRM against consumers. It’s also the same Sony who keeps having its top execs claim that DRM holds up innovation and that open solutions win in competitive markets. And then they release their next DRM’ed/closed offering. So, how does Haber explain his love of DRM?

“You need an orderly process to sell books and DRM makes that possible, mainly because it allows content creators and distributors to make money from that content.”

Huh?!? What does DRM have to do with making money from content? Absolutely nothing. iTunes sells a lot of music — and it’s all DRM free (finally). You don’t need DRM to make money from content. You don’t need DRM to have an “orderly process” to sell things. You only need DRM to limit what consumers can do, limiting the value of the content, making it less valuable to pay for.

It seems that the only thing keeping Sony in this business is the fact that the competition is basically just as bad on these issues, but one of these days someone’s going to figure this out — but it doesn’t sound like it will be Sony.

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For Immediate Release: December 17, 2009
Contact: Amy Gaskill; (503) 231-6874; [email protected]
FFS #R1BB

OLYMPIA, Wash. –  The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, an agency of the Department of the Interior, has awarded a $149,757 contract under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to Allen Bradbury Construction Inc., a general construction and remodeling company based in Algona, Washington. The project is expected to employ approximately eight workers.

The company will replace 15 severely deteriorated piling markers on the refuge’s tideland boundary. The markers are important in protecting up to 1 million shorebirds from potential disturbance. Thousands of shorebirds, primarily dunlin, use the refuge for wintering grounds. Other birds that frequent the refuge include various waterfowl species, brown pelicans, bald eagles, and peregrine falcons.

“This project will mark the Grays Harbor National Wildlife Refuge boundary in the tide flats,” Refuge Manager Jean Takekawa said. “It will help us to better manage wildlife resources, including the thousands of migratory shorebirds that utilize the refuge every year.”

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act passed earlier this year gave $3 billion to the Department of the Interior. Of that amount, $280 million in funding goes to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The ARRA funds are part of a stimulus package that is an important component of President Obama’s plan to jumpstart the economy and put a down payment on addressing long-neglected challenges so the country can thrive in the 21st century. Under the ARRA, Interior is making an investment in conserving America’s timeless treasures – our stunning natural landscapes, our monuments to liberty, the icons of our culture and our heritage – while helping American families and their communities prosper again. Interior is also focusing on renewable energy projects, the needs of American Indians, employing youth and promoting community service.

“With its investments of Recovery Act funds, the Department of the Interior and its bureaus are putting people to work today to make improvements that will benefit the environment and the region for many years to come,” Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar said.

Secretary Salazar has pledged unprecedented levels of transparency and accountability in the implementation of the Department’s economic recovery projects. The public will be able to follow the progress of each project on www.recovery.gov and on www.interior.gov/recovery.

Secretary Salazar has appointed a Senior Advisor for Economic Recovery, Chris Henderson, and an Interior Economic Recovery Task Force to work closely with Interior’s Inspector General to ensure the recovery program is meeting the high standards for accountability, responsibility, and transparency set by President Obama.

The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with others to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. We are both a leader and trusted partner in fish and wildlife conservation, known for our scientific excellence, stewardship of lands and natural resources, dedicated professionals and commitment to public service. For questions, comments or concerns e-mail us at [email protected]. For more information on our work and the people who make it happen, visit www.fws.gov.

Apple just pushed out a new, Holiday-themed commercial. Playing on the classic “12 Days of Christmas” song, they rattle off a different type of application for each of 12 days. They make no mention of baby shaking applications, which isn’t too surprising – “baby shaking” has way too many syllables to fit the tune.

Crunch Network: CrunchBase the free database of technology companies, people, and investors

The following news release was received from FamilyRelatives.com:

Familyrelatives.com is proud to announce the addition of over a quarter of a million Victorian Scottish Trade Directory records online.

Familyrelatives.com continues to add to its collection of Trade directories by releasing Trade and individual records dedicated to Scotland.

Slater’s Royal National Commercial Directory is an impressive record of all aspects of life in Scotland in 1889. Apart from Topographical and Postal Information it contains lists of professionals, landowners, Gentry, farmers, factors, London and Provincial Bankers and a fascinating array of advertisements at the time accompanies the text.

The Slater’s Directories form a unique collection of 35 Scottish Counties with invaluable occupational and commercial information for 1889 at the peak of Victoria’s reign. The directories with over a quarter of a million entries contain all the major professions, trades and occupations including taverns and public houses as well as the nobility, gentry and clergy. Even the addresses are identified.

The Slater’s Royal National Commercial Directory of Scotland in its day was more than equal to today’s Telephone directory and Yellow pages combined. Interestingly – following the invention of the telephone the abbreviations state that “TN with the figures following denote the number in the List of the National Telephone Company Limited”, established only a few years earlier in 1881.

Towns and parishes are detailed for each area and the introduction contains key information including the number of inhabitants (taken from the 1871 census) with a geographical and topographical description and the local history. A description of the main trades, produce, manufacturers and industries of the area or town are also covered.

Trade was often at the centre of every community – not only were there many shops but the produce, available minerals, manufacturing, transport and shipping all contributed to the growing Victorian economy. Many of the buildings that remain today reflect the social history and economic growth of Scotland. Educational establishments as well as teachers and local government officials, public buildings and offices are listed and formed part of these communities.

Sir Thomas Lipton of Lipton Tea
The Directory lists well known names like; Sir Thomas Lipton of Lipton Tea who was described as a “ham and provision merchant”, with addresses of his stores across Scotland and England with his residential address as Johnston Villa, Cambuslang, Glasgow, Lanarkshire. It also lists Alexander Graham Bell’s best friend and neighbour John Herdman, a corn merchant and miller where Bell at the age of 12 invented a small de-husking machine that was put into operation at the mill.

Sir William Arrol & Co – built the Forth Bridge & Tower Bridge
Sir William Arrol & Co. which was a leading Scottish civil engineering business based in Glasgow, built many bridges in its 113 year history in Great Britain but best known for the Forth Bridge and Tower Bridge in London and others abroad. Arrol was contracted to build one of the largest gantries for the construction of three new super liners, one of which was the Titanic. The company is listed as one of the many iron works and commercial businesses in the directory.

Scottish Records – The first of many to be added
“We are pleased to announce the release of these Scottish records online which complement the existing Trade and Occupational Directories collection. This is the first of the Scottish records to be placed online and is part of a programme to add more Scottish records in the future”, commented a spokesman for the family history website.

The collection is searchable by surname and forename or the business name for each of the 35 counties. The Trade directories provide an invaluable resource for family history researchers wanting to know more about the area where their ancestors lived and the various trades and businesses where they worked.

The collection is only a small part of over 650 million historic records available online to all members and visitors by way of an annual subscription of only £30.00 or US$50.00 at www.familyrelatives.com

About Familyrelatives.com
Familyrelatives.com is one of the leading and fastest growing content websites for researching family history. With over 650 million records available online from countries including USA, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand it is helping families research their genealogy.

With many free and easy to use tools which allow the building of online Family Trees and connect with other members, the focus is to provide specialist and historical records to a worldwide audience.

I have no affiliation whatsoever with FamilyRelatives.com, and post this data for informational purposes only.

Antonito, Colorado | Outsider Architecture

Built by Donald “Cano” Espinoza, a Native American Vietnam vet, whose main influences for the Castle are “Vitamin Mary Jane” and Jesus, it is a wonder to behold. Built largely out of beer cans and other metal refuse, for Espinoza it serves as a thanks for having his life spared during the war. Cano’s castle is actually four separate structures. “The king”, “the queen”, “the palace” and “the rook”. The four story “king” house, covered in beer cans and hubcaps gleaming in the sunlight, is by far the crowning architectural achievement.

For Immediate Release: December 17, 2009
Contact: Amy Gaskill; (503) 231-6874; [email protected]
FFS #R1BA

HAMER, Idaho. – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, an agency of the Department of the Interior, has awarded a $90,760 contract under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to Burton Construction, Inc., a general contracting company based in Spokane, Washington. This project is expected to employ approximately eight workers.

The company will replace a domestic well and upgrade the electrical systems in one of the refuge’s residences in order to comply with state and local safety ordinances.

“We currently have three issues with our domestic well that services quarters number two,” Refuge Manager Brian Wehausen said. “The drinking water has twice tested positive for coliform bacteria and the well does not meet the current State of Idaho standard of being at least 100 feet from a septic drain field. This project will result in safe drinking water for the tenants of quarters number two.”

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act passed earlier this year gave $3 billion to the Department of the Interior. Of that amount, $280 million in funding goes to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The ARRA funds are part of a stimulus package that is an important component of President Obama’s plan to jumpstart the economy and put a down payment on addressing long-neglected challenges so the country can thrive in the 21st century. Under the ARRA, Interior is making an investment in conserving America’s timeless treasures – our stunning natural landscapes, our monuments to liberty, the icons of our culture and our heritage – while helping American families and their communities prosper again. Interior is also focusing on renewable energy projects, the needs of American Indians, employing youth and promoting community service.

“With its investments of Recovery Act funds, the Department of the Interior and its bureaus are putting people to work today to make improvements that will benefit the environment and the region for many years to come,” Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar said.

Secretary Salazar has pledged unprecedented levels of transparency and accountability in the implementation of the Department’s economic recovery projects. The public will be able to follow the progress of each project on www.recovery.gov and on www.interior.gov/recovery.

Secretary Salazar has appointed a Senior Advisor for Economic Recovery, Chris Henderson, and an Interior Economic Recovery Task Force to work closely with Interior’s Inspector General to ensure the recovery program is meeting the high standards for accountability, responsibility, and transparency set by President Obama.

The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with others to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. We are both a leader and trusted partner in fish and wildlife conservation, known for our scientific excellence, stewardship of lands and natural resources, dedicated professionals and commitment to public service. For questions, comments or concerns e-mail us at [email protected]. For more information on our work and the people who make it happen, visit www.fws.gov.

Filed under: Detroit Auto Show, Coupe, Volvo, Electric

Volvo has built versions of its C30 hatchback with efficient diesel engines, plug-in hybrid powerplants, flex-fuel ICEs, and pure electric drivetrains. It’s the all-electric version that will get some extra attention at the Detroit Auto Show next month with Volvo’s announcement today that it will build at least 50 units of the BEV C30. The cars will be made next year and are due to start real-world tests in 2011.

Volvo brought a drivable prototype version of the C30 BEV to the Frankfurt Motor Show earlier this year, but the machine that will be shown in Detroit is a more evolved iteration. Volvo says that the NAIAS unit has a complete interior, full instrumentation, and enhanced battery packaging.

Lennart Stegland, director of Volvo Cars Special Vehicles, said in a statement, “The first prototype helped us identify the main technological challenges, such as battery packaging and safety issues. We have addressed these challenges without compromising the C30’s cool and fun-to-drive personality. I am very happy with the result. The electric C30 in Detroit is a much more complete product.” Want to know more? Check out the high-res gallery below and the official press release after the jump.

[Source: Volvo]

Continue reading Detroit 2010 Preview: Volvo C30 EV evolves for road trials

Detroit 2010 Preview: Volvo C30 EV evolves for road trials originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 17 Dec 2009 14:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Voting Opens Online January 1 for MENC National and Division Offices
MENC is holding national and division elections, and active, retired and lifetime MENC members can vote online from January 1, 2010, to March 7, 2010.

Members with e-mail addresses on file with MENC will also receive an e-mail with voting instructions. If you do not receive this e-mail, contact MENC at 703-860-4000 or 800-336-3768.

MENC President-Elect candidates are Nancy Ditmer of Wooster, Ohio, and David Weatherred of Spokane, Washington. Biographies of candidates for 2010–2012 National President-Elect and North Central, Southern, and Western Division Presidents-Elect are online. So, if you looking for something to do on New Year’s Day, vote here.

Licensing Resource for Educators
Under U.S. Copyright law, recordings of student performances must be properly licensed. MENC has teamed with The Harry Fox Agency (HFA), Music Teachers National Association (MTNA), and the Music Publishers’ Association (MPA), to promote proper licensing practices by educators.

Songfile® is an easy way for MENC members who plan to make and distribute 2,500 copies or fewer of their recordings to obtain the necessary mechanical licenses for cover versions of songs. Through Songfile, educators can obtain licenses for CDs and permanent digital downloads from HFA’s entire database of over 2.3 million songs in all genres. The Songfile Web site has more information.

MENC Student Composers Talent Search Under Way
MENC seeks exceptional student compositions to be performed during MENC’s Music Education Week in Washington, June 24–29, 2010.The instrumental composition category is for woodwinds, solo or any combination of instruments up to a woodwind quintet and piano. Selected compositions will be the best representative works from MENC’s six regional divisions for students in K–12 and undergraduate and graduate school.

Download the entry form at MENC Contests. The entry deadline is February 15, 2010. For more information contact MENC at 800-336-3768, or e-mail Nicole Springer. 

Students Can Enter NSBA Electronic Composition Contest
Sponsored by MENC and the National School Boards Association (NSBA), the Electronic Music Composition Competition recognizes outstanding student compositions. It is held to help influence school administrators to include or upgrade music technology in their schools.

Winning students and their schools will receive prizes and will be honored at the NSBA’s 2010 T+L Conference. The deadline is April 14, 2010

Plan to Attend MENC Conferences in 2010
Visit the MENC Web site  for news on MENC’s two major events for 2010.

MENC’s 2010 Biennial Conference, with a special focus on research in music education and music teacher education will be March 25–27 in Anaheim, California, at the Hilton Anaheim.

Music Education Week in Washington is June 24-29. The 2010 academies are:

•  Choral
•  Collegiate MENC Leadership
•  Drum Corps International Marching Music
•  General Music Technology
•  “IN-ovations” (teaching techniques and opportunities for teachers of non-traditional curricula)
•  Instrumental
•  Society for Jazz Education
• Young Teachers

Here are some noteworthy Music In Our Schools Month®  deadlines to keep in mind:

• Music In Our Schools Month® (MIOSM®)—2010 MIOSM Lesson Plan Writing Contest for music educators. The deadline is February 1, 2010.
• The Green Anthem Lyric-Writing Contest, for students in grades 7–12.The deadline is February 15, 2010. Visit the MENC Web site or more information on either contest.
   

New Book Explores Past and Future of Music Education
Music Education at a Crossroads: Realizing the Goal of Music for All is a new book that compiles addresses given at the MENC Centennial Congress in 2007. Janet Barrett edited the Congress addresses, which consider the past and future of music education. Barrett is associate professor of music education at the Bienen School of Music, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois.

The Centennial Congress declared, “It is the right of every child to receive a balanced, comprehensive, sequential music education taught by qualified music teachers,” and the addresses consider how to make that happen.

For more information on the book, visit the Rowman & LIttlefield Education Web site. The list price for the cloth version is $50; $21.95 for paper. MENC members receive a 25% discount with the code MENC25.

MENC Academic Journals Seek New Leadership
MENC journals have several positions opening up beginning July 1, 2010.
For MENC’s academic online publications:
• UPDATE: Applications of Research in Music Education seeks nominations for vacancies on the Editorial Committee: Choral Researcher, Elementary Researcher, Instrumental Practitioner, and General Music Practitioner.  Deadline: February 18, 2010.
• General Music Today seeks applications for a new editor and two new members of the Editorial Board. Duties will begin on July 1, 2010, and continue through June 30, 2016. Deadline: March 1, 2010.
• Journal of Music Teacher Education seeks nominations for a new editor (Deadline: March 1, 2010) and two new members of the editorial board (Deadline: January 15, 2010). Duties begin on July 1, 2010, and August 1, 2010, respectively.
• Music Educators Journal seeks a new Academic Editor, nine new editorial board members, and twenty new members of its advisory board. The positions have various durations. Deadline: January 31, 2010.
For more information on any of these positions, visit  MENC Journals under the specific journal name.

Princess and Frog Offer Jazzy Lessons for Students
The new Disney animated film The Princess and the Frog opened to great reviews. MENC worked with Disney, Scholastic, and Jazz at Lincoln Center to create jazz education lessons for the new feature, which is set in New Orleans.

Aimed at students in grades 4–6, lesson plans and other materials will explore the roots of New Orleans jazz music. Students also can learn the fundamentals of jazz techniques through hands-on activities and listening exercises. Download the lesson plans and other printable files,  and watch the Princess movie trailer.

—Roz Fehr, December 17, 2009. © MENC: The National Association for Music Education

Games full of horror, blood, and guts may not be synonymous with the DS, but more of that is coming to the Nintendo handheld next year thanks to SouthPeak Games, who’ve recently slapped a European release date

I’m not sure if there were anybody was waiting in lines outside of AT&T stores when the LG eXpo launched last week – but if they were, they left sorely disappointed. Without much notice or acknowledgement, the eXpo’s December 7th launch date came and went.

Just shy of two weeks later, the eXpo is now available on AT&T.com. Alas, the flagship feature — the optional, detachable projector — is nowhere to be seen. I guess for the time being, there really is “no such thing as an LG Phone and Projector“.

[Via WMExperts]

Crunch Network: CrunchGear drool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware.

Filed under: Etc., Videos

We suppose we should thank some of the less savvy lunkheads out there for their egos – if they didn’t post videos of their antics, they might not be caught. A few valets in the employ of Atlanta-based AAA Valet, working at the St. Louis Hyatt hotel, used patrons cars for serious burnout sessions in an underground garage. Nothing was spared – Civics, SUVs, Porsches, Acuras; it appears that if it could be driven, they would find a way to eat up its tires.

The clincher: the digital displays of drifting doom ended up on YouTube under the profile of “Valet Underground”. Someone blew the whistle, and now AAA valet doesn’t service the Hyatt hotel anymore. Not surprisingly, the videos are gone – we just hope their licenses have met the same fate. Follow the jump to check out the action. Hat tip to Luke!

[Source: Fox2 Now]

Continue reading VIDEO: Valet vigilante vandalism visualizes very vunerable vehicles

VIDEO: Valet vigilante vandalism visualizes very vunerable vehicles originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 17 Dec 2009 13:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It seems as though the moods of optimism and pessimism with respect to reaching a deal in Copenhagen change by the hour.  Last evening, there was supreme doubt a deal could get done with many observers beginning to retrench to old positions of blaming US intransigence.  The US, familiar to the villain role in climate proceedings, was viewed as having a weak target with little assurance it can deliver on anything back in the Senate, yet strong demands of developing countries particularly of China and little finance to provide poorer countries as promised in the Bali Action Plan.

Yet when I awoke before dawn, a fresh blanket of snow had covered the streets of Copenhagen and a new sense of optimism was in the air.  I had an early morning breakfast with a senior member of the US delegation who promised big news in just a few hours.  When I emerged from speaking on a panel at a side event on climate finance, the “big news” had emerged.  Upon her arrival at the Bella Center, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced that the US now supports a $100 billion annual climate finance fund for developing countries by 2020.  This proposal mirrors one previously put forward by the UK Prime Minister Brown and then endorsed in a breakthrough moment by the Prime Minister of Ethiopia on behalf of the African Union yesterday as reported in this blog yesterday.  The spin today is that this new proposal from the US, which is subject to reaching the broader political agreement, reflects a new level of good faith in the negotiations.  Climate finance is a lynchpin of these negotiations.

With Bella Center access now denied to most due to security, there are more people on the streets and impromptu meetings around town today.  I trudged through the snow to the old Imperial Theatre and was lucky to get into a packed audience of mostly Danish citizens to see none other than Al Gore.  The Vice President was fresh from the negotiation halls to both promote his new book “Our Choice” and to reflect on the importance of the Copenhagen negotiations.  The crowd was electric and Gore delivered a substantive and passionate overview of the climate challenge.

Vice President Gore provided the following insight on the key issues for resolution:

• Significant progress in last 3-4 hours in the negotiations.
   
• US-Africa-EU convergence on the $100 billion annual fund by 2020 is a big breakthrough.
   
• Resolution on the role of Kyoto Protocol going forward remains a sticking point.
   
• Agreement by China and other developing countries to submit to international accountability measures on their intensity target commitments and national mitigation action plans remains another sticking point.
   
• Reducing forest emissions will need to be part of the final agreement.
   
• Notably he did not mention US emission reduction targets as a key sticking point.
   
• Whatever outcome here in Copenhagen, the next step will be quick momentum towards a binding treaty.
   
• The US domestic goal should be to deliver legislation out of the Senate and on President Obama’s desk by Earth Day 2010 (April 22^nd)
   
• The timing of COP-16 in Mexico next fall and mid-terms in November is a formula for diminished expectations.  Gore would like to see the Mexico meeting moved up to next July in Mexico, the week after the football World Cup in South Africa.

So we are heading towards the final 24 hours.  There are swings in expectations by the hour and still much bracketed text.  The US bottom-line demand is clearly transparency and accountability from China on their commitments.  The question is will China and others trust President Obama to deliver his own reduction targets from the Senate, enough to sign on the dotted line. It is a tough sell in both directions.

I recently wrote about Simon Cowell’s conflicting statements expressing anger that YouTube didn’t pay him for showing the Susan Boyle video millions of times, while then being happy that the same video will result in 10 million album sales. In my latest column for The Telegraph, I explore how the legacy music industry made a huge mistake in attacking YouTube and having videos pulled down off the site for not getting “paid” enough, when just a few years ago if they had wanted to put up music videos of their bands, they would have paid an arm and a leg for software, hosting and bandwidth — and the consumer experience would have been a hell of a lot worse (RealNetworks media player, anyone?).

In thinking more about this, I was realizing how hypocritical the recording industry is on this particular topic. After all, they go on and on about how bad “free” is, and how they must get paid for any use of their content or they can’t survive. And, yet, when someone gives them something for free (and YouTube provides free software, free bandwidth, free community and a bunch of other benefits), they complain that they’re not getting paid. It’s an incredible double standard. If the recording industry were actually being intellectually honest (I know, I know…), wouldn’t they be demanding to pay Google for providing such a service, since (as they claim) you “can’t make money from free”?

Separately, I had wanted to mention this in the Telegraph column, but ran out of room. It is worth noting that at least some of the industry has, in some ways, “embraced” YouTube with the launch of Vevo a couple weeks ago (though, that launch was completely bungled by apparently not expecting anyone to actually visit the site). I still haven’t quite figured out what Vevo is, however. It’s a joint venture of Google and Universal Music, with EMI and Sony Music as partners (Warner remains the major label holdout). As far as I can tell, though, it just seeks to be a separate platform to give the labels some more “control” over videos on YouTube. I still can’t figure out why this needs to be a separate company, other than to play financial games. Isn’t this just a feature of YouTube?

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