(Credit:
Apple)
Good news, celebrity charity aficionados: Project Red is going to be providing some music for that Bono-approved iPod Nano of yours.
The high-profile nonprofit, which donates a chunk of profits to combat AIDS in Africa, will be launching a subscription music service this fall.
The as-yet-unnamed service will launch in September, according to The New York Times, and cost $5 per month.
It's structured like a newsletter: each week, members will get an e-mail with two MP3s--one an exclusive song from a well-known act and the other from an emerging artist--as well as a "Crackerjack surprise" (say, a video) and an update on how Project Red's charity money is being put to use. The songs are DRM-free, so you won't have to own a "Red" iPod in order to listen to them. The store itself is powered by PassAlong Networks, which creates music retail stores for clients and has several contracts with record labels in place.
Half the proceeds will go to Africa, and the other half to the artists and record labels involved. Project Red has had roots in the music industry from the start; U2 frontman Bono is a co-founder of the initiative.
It's tough to gauge the success of such a project. It's being spearheaded by Red's president of content, Don MacKinnon, who previously handled music distribution at Starbucks--another program that focused on blending a selection of well-known music with emerging artists. The ubiquitous coffee chain's in-store music project hasn't been a tremendous success, as is evidenced by its decision to scale back its in-store CD sales.
Project Red's music, however, is a digital initiative, which gives it a leg up on anything involving hard copies. (When was the last time you bought a CD?) But with so much focus on ad-supported free music, you wonder who's going to fork over $5 per month for music that they don't get to choose themselves.
Still, it is for a good cause.
This post was updated at 12:12 PM with more background about the technology powering the store.
U2
(Credit: U2.com)Looks like it's U2's turn to take a pounding from the bloggerati.
A speech on Monday by Paul McGuinness, manager of the band U2, was a call to arms against piracy. He wants to fight file sharing by forcing Internet service providers to ban people who pirate music. He suggested that Apple and other makers of digital music players were wrongly profiting from their "burglary kits."
McGuinness told a gathering of music insiders at the Midem music conference in Cannes, France, that music is making lots of people lots of money. Unfortunately, that money isn't finding its way to artists. He placed much of the blame on tech companies, but also pointed a finger at record labels that "through lack of foresight and planning allowed a range of industries to arise that let people steal music."
Not surprisingly, U2, one of the world's most beloved bands for more than two decades, is under attack in the blogosphere.
"U2's manager tells us why we are bad," "U2's crazy manager wants to go after tech firms," and "U2 McGu's ISP rant" are just a few of the headlines coming from outraged bloggers.
The band has not commented one way or the other on McGuinness' speech, but one would have to think they were apprised before he said it. A copy of the speech is posted on U2's Web site. Either way, like Prince, Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor and (the granddaddy of all musicians who spoke out against file sharing) Metallica's Lars Ulrich before them, Bono & Co. are getting worked over.
Here's some of the wittier and more brutal comments...
"McGuiness is whining about this at the same time that U2 is pulling in incredible profits, making $355 million on its last tour," wrote Mike Masnick at the blog Techdirt.
Wired.com's Ryan Singel offered this: "Threat Level agrees that ISPs shouldn't get away consequence-free for transporting evil bits. But we counter-propose that ISPs use any nascent filtering technology they have developed to blackhole U2 and its frontman who goes by the ludicrous moniker Bono."
Privacy advocate Lauren Weinstein takes the manager to task for his comment about the tech sector's "hippy values."
"Paul has homed in on well-known hippie freaks like Steve Jobs and Bill Gates," Weinstein quipped. "You do remember when Steve and Bill used to hang out with Timothy Leary, right? No? You don't recall Switch On, Log In, and Buzz?"
The struggle for economic control of music is looking more and more like war between corporations and consumers. On one side, the record industry has an army of lawyers ready to sue. On the other, consumers have an army of bloggers ready to ridicule.
Choose the wrong side, and prepare to take a public whipping. At this point, no musician who takes up the pro-copyright banner should be shocked when he or she is branded a traitor and longtime fans swear they'll never buy their music again.
But if file-sharing really is hitting these musicians in their wallets, maybe they don't care.
Remember Bono's (RED) campaign, the charity project that launched the red iPod? (And eventually a torrent of other crimson gadgets.)
Given all the publicity, we assumed that the initiative would have brought in truckloads of money for its stated purpose of helping fight AIDS in Africa. But according to marketing firm PSFK, the charity reported raising only $11.3 million as of the end of December, "a tiny fraction of the $6.6 billion funds the Global Fund has committed to 460 programs in 136 countries."
The campaign is still less than five months old, so it's too soon to judge its effectiveness. As Trend Hunter says, "Let's hope that by next year we can use a different title than (RED) Failure." Agreed.
Along with the red iPod Nano announced yesterday, Motorola has jumped on the AIDS charity bandwagon with the luscious red Razr, available from Sprint. As with the red iPod, this is part of Bono and Bobby Shriver's recent Red initiative to help combat HIV and AIDS in Africa. This new red Razr will be available in November from Sprint, and you can get it for $304.99 retail or $64.99 with a two-year service agreement.
If you're more of a Slvr fan, however, you might have to move to the U.K. to get the red version of the slim candy bar. That's right; while the red Razr is exclusive to the States, the red Slvr is exclusive to the U.K. And to up the ante of the Product Red experience, Motorola has also launched Studio Red, a site where you can download wallpaper, ring tones, and exclusive video content and learn more about the Red initiative.
(Photo: Motorola)
The red nano looks to be no different from its 4GB pals (in pink, blue, green, and silver) and costs the same. And, dare I say, it looks a lot hotter than the iPod U2 of yesteryear. (See more photos here.)
(Photo: Apple Computer)
Stop the presses: a red iPod? World diplomat and U2 frontman Bono will introduce the new crimson model during tomorrow's Oprah show to benefit the singer's Product Red program, according to AppleInsider.com.
The new iPod will reportedly be a red version of the latest 4GB iPod Nanos introduced in September. The Chicago Tribune reported that Winfrey bought 10 of the red iPod Nanos during a promotional appearance at Apple's Chicago retail store. (To which we respond: Only 10?)
Bono's Product Red project raises money for AIDS research by encouraging high-profile companies like Apple, Armani or Converse to release special products and donate a portion of the proceeds toward the purchase of AIDS drugs for distribution in Africa.
An Apple representative had no immediate comment on the reports. But, as you'll recall, the company and Bono are no strangers to one another, so the arrangement would make perfect sense.
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