Daily Marauder

THE GRAMMYS 2008: THE OLD WITH THE NEW

The 50^th annual Grammy Awards mixed the new with the old [cough] [cough] classic. From the opening moments of the show, the new and the “classic” made melodies together.

It aint where i been. . .but where i’m bout to go

Turns out, Jay Z was wrong. It’s definitely about where we’ve been as long as we can see where we’re going.

Alicia Keys’ Opening Performance with Frank Sinatra

I’ve been particularly interested in this concept of merging old/new for quite some time and found the Grammy approach refreshing as well. The Grammy organization has been criticized for not speaking the language of the future. I would argue that the Grammys speak to many age groups simultaneously and, in my opinion, pretty effectively. Here are a few of my favorite Grammy moments:

Beatles Tribute

Alicia Keys Featuring John Mayer

Kanye West Featuring Daft Punk

And even though she was off key and attempting a bit too much. . .

Amy Winehouse

If I have one criticism for the Grammys, it would be the focus on American music. After watching the Grammys last night, one would assume that the only amazing music is coming out of the U.S., with the exception to Andrea Bocelli. While this has never been the case, it most certainly isn’t the case now. I know there is general indifference where international music is concerned but I expect an organization like the Grammys to flip the script. That would be one serious mix tape right there. . .

Allow me to expand the view.

IAM Petit Frère

Off of their 1997 album, L’école du micro d’argent, Petit Frère (Little Brother) is a song about growing up in the rough streets outside Paris. The album, by IAM, sold over 1 million copies worldwide in the late nineties. American artists, including Missy Elliot and Wu-Tang Clan, have performed with IAM. My hope for our musical future is that we learn how to accept music sung in other languages. And no, Shakira does not suffice. . .

BROADCAST/CABLE

Many striking movie and television writers are expected to be back on their sets on Wednesday, pending the outcome of a guild membership vote on Tuesday on a new three-year deal with the Alliance of Motion Pictures and Television Producers. The agreement reportedly gives writers 2% of whatever fee a TV show’s producer is paid to permit streaming of the program on the Web, with this condition kicking in starting in the final year of the contract. (The New York Times 2/11, The Wall Street Journal 2/11,  Advertising Age 2/11)

Standard & Poor’s says its ratings on Time Warner remain on negative watch, after the company last week announced likely restructuring moves in cable and AOL. Also: Time Warner has blown billions of dollars “chasing the wrong business model” with AOL, according to one rival exec. (http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/newstex/AFX-0013-22869783.htm  2/7, http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/media/article3340944.ece  2/10)

NBC’s coverage of the 2008 Summer Olympics rolls out on 8-08-08, and among the NBC networks carrying the Games will be the newly-acquired Oxygen with two hours of gymnastics and other sports beginning each evening at 6p for a period of 10 days beginning August 11th. The other NBC networks carrying Game coverage are NBC, MSNBC, CNBC, USA, Telemundo, and NBC’s various HD networks. (Broadcasting & Cable 2/9)

Time Warner Cable has started rolling out the high-definition version of its new Start Over service, in which viewers can zip back to the beginning of a show whether they were watching it or not. The company expects to offer Start Over in most of its service area by the end of this year; the HD version currently is available in the South Carolina division only. (CED Magazine 2/8)

Kevin Martin, chairman of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, is calling for the approval of Liberty Media’s purchase of a controlling stake in DirecTV from News Corp., with some conditions. Martin wants another Malone company to restructure or divest holdings in Puerto Rico. (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601204&sid=awKnmM7A7Hk4  2/8)

Comcast Spotlight acquired the remaining share of online/on demand automotive portal Vehix.com from the Ken Garff Automotive Group the MSO sales division did not already own. Vehix displays inventory from more than 3,000 car dealers, operating virtual multiplatform show rooms that aggregate content from J.D. Power & Assoc., Car and Driver and NADA Guides.

Transmission gaps could cause nearly 6 million TV households with digital receivers to lose some TV signals after the February 2009, DTV transition, according to a new study from Centris. The problem may force some viewers, even those who purchased converter boxes, also to acquire outdoor antennas to maintain their reception, according to the study. The New York Times (2/11)

ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA

Yahoo is seeking to restart merger talks with Time Warner’s AOL as a means of defending itself against the hostile bid approach from Microsoft. Tie-ups with Google or Disney are also being considered. Also: Yahoo’s previously announced mass layoff of employees is expected Tuesday. (http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/technology/article3346356.ece  2/11,  http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9868112-7.html  2/8)

Shares of CNET Networks, currently battling dissident shareholders, soared more than 7% on Friday, on speculation that Google might be interested in acquiring a stake in it. Google is declining to comment on the rumor. But, according to one analyst, Google’s interest in CNET is “highly unlikely.” (http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSN0848093020080208  2/8)

U.S. Internet users watched more than 10 billion videos in December, says ComScore. Google’s sites, led by YouTube, captured the largest audience with 43% of market share in terms of viewers. Google’s sites were followed by Fox Interactive Media and Yahoo sites, at 23.9% and 20.8%. (http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=206107165  2/8)

Top U.S. Online Video Properties by Unique Video Viewers – December 2007
Total U.S. – Home/Work/University Locations
Property                       Unique             % of all U.S.
                                Viewers (000)     Internet Users
Google Sites                 79,041                   43.0
Fox Interactive Media    43,915                   23.9
Yahoo! Sites                 38,214                   20.8
Time Warner Network    27,168                   14.8
Viacom Digital               24,504                   13.3
Microsoft Sites              20,096                    10.9
Disney Online                12,256                     6.7
ESPN                            10,004                     5.4
Apple Inc.                       9,455                     5.1
Amazon Sites                  7,734                     4.2
Total Internet             140,926                    76.7
Rankings based on video content sites; excludes video server networks.  Online video includes both streaming and progressive download video. Source: comScore Video Metrix

January U.S. Comscore stats for MySpace are released on Monday, but we’re hearing they’ll show a big surge in a number of key areas. Average time spent on the site increased to 204 minutes (up 14%), the highest it has been since August 2007. Unique visitors are supposedly up 13%, with Facebook showing a decline of 800,000 or so unique visitors in the same period. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/02/10/myspace-reportedly-had-a-surge-in-january  2/11)

Time Warner’s CNN is entering YouTube territory with the launch of iReport.com, a new site built entirely on user-produced news. Unlike CNN’s own properties, the new site will allow users to post whatever content they choose. Wanna-be Anderson Coopers can upload their own videos. (http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/recent_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003708936  2/11)

NBCU/News Corp. online video joint venture Hulu.com is widening its trial to allow private beta users to invite 10 of their friends to begin testing the service, according to the company blog. Hulu is expected to officially launch later this quarter.

HarperCollins will begin offering free digital copies of some of its books on harpercollins.com today for one month only to try to drum up sales and interest in new platforms such as Amazon’s Kindle reader, according to The New York Times. 

Amazon.com’s new MP3 download site is growing as an alternative to using Apple’s online music store with 3.3 million songs, which are free of digital-rights-management software. The (Oregonian (Portland) 2/11)

Both Hearst and former Time Warner boss Dick Parsons are acquiring stakes in First30Days.com, a self-help site that is expected to “appeal to the Oprah crowd.” (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/02/11/self-help-site-first30dayscom-launches-with-5-million-from-hearst-and-dick-parsons  2/11)

Comcast customers in the San Francisco area now can upgrade to Blast, a high-speed Internet service that promises download speeds of 16 Mbps and uploads of 2 Mbps. By itself, Blast is being offered for $66.95 a month as a stand-alone service, but for Comcast triple-play subscribers, the service can be had as an upgrade for an additional $10 per month. (San Francisco Chronicle 2/11)

Insight has begun offering subscribers in Kentucky and Indiana super-speedy Internet download speeds of up to 20 Mbps. Insight’s Broadband 20.0 offers upload speeds of 1.5 Mbps and, according to Paul Meltzer, senior vice president of product management at Insight, “confers extra bragging rights on Internet enthusiasts.” (CED Magazine 2/8)

WIRELESS

While everyone has been preoccupied with the Microsoft-Yahoo saga, the Microsoft acquisition machine keeps on chugging along. Microsoft announced today that it has acquired Danger, makers of the popular Sidekick cell phone. I guess that Danger IPO isn’t happening after all. Terms were not disclosed, but its was in the process of trying to raise $100 million in an IPO. Now, the mobile platform company will be rolled into the Windows mobile team and be part of the overall Entertainment and Devices division that includes the XBox, and the Zune. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/02/11/meanwhile-microsoft-buys-danger  2/11)

Here is Crunch Gear’s first hands-on with the GPhone. It’s actually the emulator running on Texas Instruments hardware and is very speedy and quick. The downside? No real compelling reason right now to say this is better than any other mobile Linux platform, let alone WinMo and Symbian. It’s basically a proof of concept in the wild. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/02/11/first-gphone-hands-on  2/11)

GAMING

Electronic Arts is launching a new games division called EA Blueprint to develop multiplatform casual games on social networking platforms such as Facebook. Creative Artists Agency is providing talent and funding sources.

While the number of big-title games available for the Mac has increased recently, the PC is still the platform of choice for hard-core gamers who like to ramp up their graphics cards, audio cards and processors for the maximum experience. Still, Apple users have won simultaneous release of some major-budget games — “Spore” and “Guitar Hero III” for example — an improvement for Mac-lovers, who typically wait a significant amount of time for Mac-ready versions to be released. (E-Commerce Times/MacNewsWorld 2/10)

TECHNOLOGY

The fact that business travelers pack more than one cell phone, two laptops or multiple PDAs for their trips is an indicator that multipurpose devices are not reliable or they’re too hard to use, says In-Stat analyst Bill Hughes. Travelers say they often duplicate electronic equipment because of low battery life or storage, to get a better interface and synchronization or to hedge against connectivity issues. (USA TODAY 2/10)

Several Toshiba HD DVD player price promotions helped narrow the sales lead of rival Blu-ray through the week ended Jan. 26, according to leaked NPD Group reports. The two formats ended 2007 essentially in a dead heat. “Until one camp decides to give up its format we are going to continue to see confusion at retail,” Ross Rubin, NPD Group industry analysis director, said. (TWICE 2/8)