Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Online music, entertainment, and software copyright issues

Jack McCredie, Chief Information Officer

Editor's note: This article was originally emailed as an open letter to all UC Berkeley students.

I am writing to encourage all students interested in online music and other types of digital entertainment to explore, and to use, legal methods of acquiring these materials over the Internet. For example, we recently negotiated a heavily discounted price ($2/month, with free access until October 31, 2004, for undergraduates) with realRhapsody, a digital music provider (http://rts.berkeley.edu/rhapsody/) for Windows computer users. We also recommend Apple's iTunes service (http://www.apple.com/itunes/) for both Mac and Windows users. In addition, there are many other services available for you to explore, for example, mp3 (http://www.mp3.com/).

As users of the Internet, you need to be aware that the distribution, through file sharing programs, of copyrighted material for which you do not possess the permission of the owner is often a violation of both California and federal law. The fast Internet connections available at universities make higher education a target for enforcement actions. During the past academic year, for example, organizations representing copyright holders took successful legal actions against several individual students.

You should also be aware that UC Berkeley is subject to the compulsory release of information identifying our network users, in response to legal documents such as subpoenas. You expose yourself to the possibility of a claim for infringement, which has potentially severe civil and criminal sanctions, if you distribute or obtain music, games, videos, or software for which you do not have permission or a legal defense for its distribution.

Under the terms of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), UC Berkeley is required to act expeditiously upon receipt of a copyright infringement claim from a copyright holder. If you believe you have a legal right to such copyrighted material, and you receive such a claim, you must file a counter-notice under the rules of the DMCA. This counter-notice includes consent to suit brought by the entity or individual asserting ownership of the copyright. In some cases, "hackers" may be the cause of the problem, but the individual responsible for the computer must still remedy the situation immediately. It is very important to note that in accordance with the DMCA, repeat offenders may have their campus network access accounts terminated.

How can you protect yourself from this kind of legal or University policy action? First, take full advantage of the legal music programs that Berkeley is making available this year. The other obvious way to protect yourself is simple — don't distribute music, games, videos, or software for which you do not own the copyright or have permission to do so. Also, learn about the functionality of file sharing programs. For example, some file sharing programs will automatically take music from a legally purchased CD stored on your hard drive and distribute it anytime your computer is on — without your notice or permission. You may still have to prove you are not responsible for the distribution of that material. Turn off the outbound function of these programs. Information on how to do so may be found on the University of Chicago's Disabling Peer to Peer File Sharing web page (http://security.uchicago.edu/peer-to-peer/no_fileshare.shtml).

Finally, educate yourself on the law and politics of digital copyright. With implications for free speech and freedom of inquiry, digital copyright just might become one of the most important political issues of your generation. An excellent campus resource to learn more about these issues is the Copyright Information Resources website (http://socrates.berkeley.edu:7015/copyright/).

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Tuesday, June 10, 2008

PSP Music Downloads – A Few Tips!

PSP Music Downloads is a big talking point online but how do you go about using PSP Music Downloads once you have them?

In this article I am going to tell you how to play your PSP Music Downloads once you have them!

It shouldn’t be a difficult task to get your PSP Music Downloads to work on you r PSP and there are a few different methods you can use:

Task 1: PSP Music Downloads

You need two vital pieces of software to get your PSP Music Downloads to work.

A CD Rippper – A CD Ripper is a tool that allows you to convert audio to different formats from a normal CD in this case to get your PSP Music Downloads to work you need to convert them to MP3.

The second piece of software you will need to play your PSP Music Downloads is a PSP Video Converter and this helps you convert movies to different formats that are used by the PSP.

Task 2: PSP Music Downloads

Once you have your software in order you can load up your CD Ripper and make sure you convert all the PSP Music Downloads into MP3 format if they are not already!

Task 3: PSP Music Downloads

Now to play your PSP Music Downloads all you do is start your PSP Video Converter and put all your PSP Music Downloads into it!

Task 4: PSP Music Downloads

Highlight all the files you want to download to your PSP. Again make sure your PSP Music Downloads is in MP3 format.

Task 5: PSP Music Downloads

The final steps to getting your PSP Music Downloads to work is connecting your PSP to your PC and copy the files you want into H: PSPMUSIC and you are done!

For a quicker way to get PSP Music Downloads:

If the above steps are too technical what you can do is search the web for PSP Music Downloads as some sites in exchange for a small fee lets you have millions of PSP Music Downloads and also movies as well!

I hope these tips to PSP Music Downloads helped you and you should know what to do with your music once you have PSP Music Downloads!

Phill Thompson is a PsP Enthusiast and writes articles and submits product reviews of anything that will improve your PsP Experience!For more info on how you can get unlimited PSP Music Downloads and fill your PSP to the limit in the next 15 minutes Click The Link Below:

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Monday, June 9, 2008

Meet the Mario Maestros Who Have Videogame Music Rocking Concert Halls

Tennessee Williams. Aaron Copland. Dizzy Gillespie. Some of the nation's most respected artists have been honored onstage at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, over the past few decades. On a recent evening, it was Sam Greszes' turn.

Greszes, a lanky 18-year-old Northwestern University student, wasn't being feted for his contribution to American arts and letters but for his costume: He waddled onto the main stage of the concert hall dressed as a human-sized, L-shaped Tetris piece. This wasn't the Kennedy Center Honors but a performance of Video Games Live, a 135-minute showcase of music from arcade, computer, and console titles, arranged for and performed by a 66-piece orchestra and a 16-person choir. To win the best-costume prize, awarded just before the show began, Greszes beat out a Mega Man, two Marios, and a whole lot of Links. As he took the stage — cutting from side to side as he approached the podium in imitation of a Tetris piece — the thousand-strong audience erupted into a raucous bout of hooting.

The crowd stayed amped like this all night, cheering as Video Games Live creator and emcee Tommy Tallarico came out in a black Armani suit, a Spider-Man T-shirt, and red sneakers. When he asked for a volunteer to play Space Invaders on a huge screen onstage, attendees freaked out, jumping from their seats and waving their arms. They went bananas when Tallarico changed into an LED-studded shirt that lit up to display a game of Pong across its front. And, when he introduced the evening's encore, he whipped them into a frenzy. "The composer: Nobuo Uematsu!" he shouted. "The game: Final Fantasy... VII! The song: One! Winged! Angel!'" Tallarico concluded the evening by accompanying the orchestra on his own guitar and joining the cellist in some righteous headbanging. When the show ended, Tallarico hammered the last note, and then he and the conductor leaped off the podium simultaneously and bumped fists. In terms of subtlety, it ranked right up there with the time Tchaikovsky incorporated live cannon fire into his 1812 Overture.

Video Games Live has been performed more than 40 times over the past two years, in venues as stuffy as Toronto's Massey Hall, Rio de Janeiro's Claro Hall, and London's Royal Festival Hall. At every show, Tallarico says, he's been met with the same unbridled, uncouth enthusiasm. (In Dallas this year, one fan asked him to autograph her breast. He complied.) It's the kind of response he's dreamed of since he was 10, when he'd use his Commodore 64 to splice together his favorite sound effects and then invite friends to come by and watch him play air guitar over the tracks. As an adult, he has written scores for games like Advent Rising and Earthworm Jim, and today he hosts The Electric Playground on G4 TV, a cable network devoted to gaming. But despite years of trying, he could never sell concert promoters on the idea of the world's greatest symphony halls hosting a show based on videogame music. So, in 2005, Tallarico launched a show of his own. "The industry wouldn't make us rock stars," he says, "so we decided to make us rock stars ourselves."

Source : click here

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Sound Stories

The essence of improvisation and creativity reigns in this form of story telling.

I hope these examples will help to generate your own ideas in how to incorporate these creativity sessions with your students.

Here is a musical lesson for reinforcing rhyming words by using instruments:

Maracas/woodblocks - on the underlined words
Triangle/bells - on the bold syllables. (author unknown)

Antonio, Antonio was tired of living alonio. He thought he would woe, Miss Lissy Maloo, Miss Lissy MaLucy, Malonio.

Antonio, Antonio, rode off on his polo ponio. He found the fair maid, in bowery shade, a sitting and knitting alonio.

solo:
Antonio, Antonio, said if you'll be my ownio. I'll love you true and buy for you an icery creamery conio.

counter solo:
Oh, nonio, Antonio, you're far too bleak and bonio! And all that I wish, you singular fish, is that you will sweetly begonio.

Antonio, Antonio, he uttered a dismal moanio. He ran off and hid, I'm told that he did, to the fartherest Antartical Zonio.

The melody:
so - mi re - do so - mi re - do
so - mi mi - re re - mi re - do
so - mi mi - so so - mi mi - so
so - mi mi - re re - mi re - do
Ah Chu!
By Erin Mack and D. Jeter

Long ago and many lands away, there was a small town named CHU and in it there lived a fat, old man. This fat, old man was very grouchy, and he had the annoying habit of sneezing every time it rained. In the town of CHU, the skies sent down their rain for days and weeks at a time. every time this happened, the fat, old man would become even grouchier. However, for some strange reason, there hadn't been very much rain this particular season and that was a great concern, for this was the planting season. If there was no rain, then the crops would die and the people would starve. So, the leaders of CHU got together to decide on a plan of action. They talked and talked for many days but came to no decision. They still did not know how they would save their crops. Then one of the leaders said, "Let's ask the fat, old man what to do because no one knows more about rain than he does." A messenger was sent to the fat, old man. When the messenger told him why he had come to visit him, the grouchy, fat, old man yelled, "The reason it has not rained is because I have not decided to sneeze. Of course, this was a lie. Then the fat, old man got a devious idea and said, "The only way I can sneeze again is to have some gold dust placed under my nose." That was another lie, but the messenger left hurriedly to tell the leaders of CHU what the fat, old man had said. The leaders were quite alarmed but they agreed that the idea was worth a try. After all, they had observed in the past that every time it rained, the fat, old man would sneeze. Some gold dust was taken to the fat, old man, but it produced no sneeze, and the fat, old man said he needed more gold dust. More gold dust was brought to the fat, old man and still no rain! This situation went on for weeks and weeks. Soon the people of CHU became very poor, while the fat, old man became very rich. He was rolling in gold dust! He would sit in his hut and play with his gold dust, while screaming at the people of CHU to bring him more and more gold dust. Then one day, as he was pushing a wheelbarrow filled with gold dust around town, pushing small children and kicking dogs out of his way, a miraculous thing happened. The rain clouds that had been far away in the land of Chang came back to the town of CHU. The clouds had traveled so far that their swollen bellies were anxious to be rid of the weight. The skies opened up and sent the glorious rain. They also delivered upon the town of CHU another gift. A great lightening bolt, golden and shining came streaking down to earth, cutting through the sparkling drops of rain and struck directly on the head of the grouchy, fat, old man, knocking him dead. And he never even had a chance to sneeze.

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Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Radio City looks to music, masala & humour

Televisionpoint.com Correspondent | Mumbai
Listeners can look forward to some music, masala and humour on Radio City weekends. The FM channel has announced its new weekend offering that includes the rustic Haryanvi Jat Udham Singh, who had endeared himself to an entire generation of MTV viewers. 'The Udham Singh Show' will be aired at 9 pm on Saturdays. 'The Great Indian Countdown' at 7 pm and 'Dil Vil Pyaar Vyaar' at 11 pm complete the Saturday line-up on Radio City.

The four new shows introduced on Sundays include 'Parde ke Peeche – Weekend Special' at 7 pm, 'City Talkies' at 9 pm and 'Theme No 91.1' at 10 pm. The weekend ends with 'Rollywood Presents' at 11 pm.

Apurva Purohit, CEO, Radio City, said, "After creating a clear differentiation with our adult contemporary music, we are making our weekend programming more robust through an entertaining mix of genre-based shows. Shows like 'The Udham Singh Show' and others will revitalise evenings on weekend radio with a gripping format, differentiated content, coupled with melodious music. While this gives our listener wholesome entertainment throughout the weekend, the advertiser also gets a wider spread of properties to associate with."

While 'The Udham Singh Show' has unrestrained, no-holds barred Haryanvi humour, the 'Great Indian Countdown' will give listeners a weekly recap of the top 20 hits. Meanwhile, 'Dil Vil Pyaar Vyaar' focuses on life and romance. 'Parde ke Peeche – Weekend Special' takes exclusive behind the scenes look at the glamour, grapevine and gossip from the entertainment world. 'City Talkies' will showcase one Indian cult film every weekend accompanied by snippets and trivia on the celluloid superhits. 'Theme No. 91.1' will air evergreen Bollywood themes, while 'Rollywood Presents' will air fun spoofs on Bollywood releases.

Weekdays will also have new daily in-show features starting with '11 Baje Ka Flashback' on 'City Spice', where the channel takes its listeners down memory lane with a Top 10 countdown of all-time retro hits one year at a time. 'Dil Vil Pyaar Vyaar' on 'City Spice' and 'Hum Tum' will play three love songs back-to-back. Radio City's evening drive time show, 'Joyride', introduces an hour-long segment 'Call a Tune', where listeners can request for a song of their choice to be played Live on air.

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Saturday, May 31, 2008

Easy Ways To Benefit From Public Domain Music

You can use public domain music for your website, or for CD's or DVD's that you plan to sell. In fact, finding public domain music is really quite easy, and such items can usually be obtained at no cost.

You can even obtain public domain sheet music, and possibly compile a collection that you can copyright and sell! You could obtain the actual music files for public domain music and create your own music CD as well.

With public domain music, there are numerous sources. There are so many
collections that exist online, a good place to start your search is at the Wikipedia
resource for public domain music, which can be found at:

For actual public domain music, you should check Musopen at Musopen. Actual music is harder to find then sheet music in the public domain. However, if you can find the sheet music for public domain music, the chances are good that you can probably find the actual music on the Internet 12 as well. Therefore, when you want music files, start by finding the sheet music first, to ensure that it is indeed in the public domain.

Again, most of these resources will not charge for the files. There are some really good finds just waiting to be found? and there is a lot of money to be made from these 'oldie but goodies' if they are used in the right way.

Justin K. Grayman
Public Domain Mastermind

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Sell Your Music Online- 3 Hot Tips to Help you Sell Your Music Online

Use the power of the internet to Sell Your Music Online. In today's age we have the benefit of having endless music resources at our fingertips, via the internet. Now you can reach music fans around the world, fans you never thought you could have. As long as you get your music in front of your captive audience, you can now sell your music online locally, domestically, and internationally using the internet.

1) Leverage Indie Music Resources Available on the Internet

There are a great deal of resources available online to spread the word about your music and sell your music e.g. chat rooms, websites, podcasts, music communities, online music stores. This gives you an opportunity to get your music in front of a very captive audience ready to listen to your music, provide feedback, and buy your music.

2) Sell MP3 Downloads to get Great Exposure for Your Music at a Reasonable Price

Keep more of your money by selling MP3 downloads instead of focusing on selling CD's. You can generate music sales by selling your MP3 downloads, an save on CD duplication expenses. Sell your MP3 downloads off your website, or a music community website for a minimal fee. Your music gets sold, and you can avoid paying hundreds or thousands of dollars on CD duplication and conversion.

Ask others to help you sell your music online. Give them a flat fee or percentage for each of your MP3 or CD Sales. The more people you have helping you Sell your music, the more exposure you get for your music, and the more money you can make from your music sales.

3) Learn from other Musicians that are Successfully Selling their Music Online

Learn from other musicians so you can repeat some of their successes but avoid their mistakes. Read or listen to music interviews so you can learn strategies and tactics musicians have used day in and day out to sell their music online.

Now is the time to get your music heard by thousands of people. Think about it, millions of musicians are selling their music online everyday. The musicians you may be listening to will all have different levels of music skills and talents…why shouldn't you get exposure and sell your music? Share your unique music talents with the world, and sell your music online today!

Source : click here