mp3newswire.net announces its Digital Media Winners and Losers of 2004.

 
Project AC/DC update: I am failing miserably, mostly because I'm taking a new class, and don't have enough time to practice! (Yeah, I know -- I never practice.) But I do have a photo of a really cool guitar to share. Ignore the dirty dishes in the background.

Triangle-area bloggers should check out the Triangle Bloggers Conference, happening on Saturday, Feb. 12, at UNC. I'll be there, and I'll report back on what happens.

An iPod user is suing Apple for violating antitrust laws because music purchased from iTunes can only be played on an iPod. Perhaps he'd have better luck by learning about how to remove Apple's Digital Rights Management restrictions from files perchased on iTunes.

Related:
Yahoo: Lawsuit Claims Apple Violates Law with iTunes

osdir.com: JHymn Goes Behind Atoms and Apple To Bring DRM-Free Music

Here's an interesting article from BBC News regarding a ruling in a Norwegian file-sharing case. A student was ordered to pay around 8,000 pounds for creating a site that simply linked to free files on other services. He did not host any music on his own site.
BBC News: Norway upholds 'Napster' ruling

On Friday I had the pleasure of running into my old Greensbor pal Snüzz at Cat's Cradle. I'm writing a story about how the Cradle has partnered with emusic.com to put live shows online for download. This isn't an endorsement of the service, just part of my ongoing interest into how technology is changing the music listening experience. 

However, I will endorse Snüzz's band, International Orange. I'd heard great things about them, but had yet to see them. In fact, I probably hadn't seen Snüzz in about 10 years. He's one of the most talented pop-music writers I've ever seen with a fine ear for harmony and an effortlessly powerful guitar style. I've long wondered why he isn't a world famous hitmaker; my best guess is that he's such an easygoing guy that he's more than happy to just hang out at home and play just for the fun of it. We all know that fame often has more to do with a willingness to play the game than it does with talent. With this band, he's teamed up perfectly with two other talented songwriters: Robert Sledge from Ben Folds Five and country-ish singer-songwriter Django Haskins. A weird aside -- all through their show I kept thinking that these guys should be Sweet at next year's cover-up. They've definitely got the chops and the harmonies, thought I'm not sure any of them could sing high enough to truly pull it off.