The Entroporium

It’s the world’s biggest entertainment focus group as well as a harkening back to DeToqueville’s vision of Democracy In America.

Even if it’s staged as a rock concert with an open bar, it’s pretty tough to get musical-goers out of their seats.

Last night I attended an author event in San Francisco where Nick Hornby was interviewed by Dave Eggers.  Towards the end of the evening, an audience member asked Hornby’s opinion of E-readers.  A palpable shudder went through the crowd; you could feel the room waiting and rooting for the bash to come.  Hornby went one better, bringing [...]

Originally released in 1967, The Who Sell Out received the Deluxe Edition reissue treatment earlier this year –  and it could not have come at a more prescient moment.  As the music industry’s revenue continues to fall and fall and fall, some of the cleverer music marketers are seeking new ways to promote their artists and [...]

In an earlier post, I went into detail on the problems with the Kindle’s magazine store.  In spending a little more time in the books section, easily solved problems are present there as well.   It’s so compulsively simple and fun to buy books in the store that this represents a massive opportunity.  I’d say conservatively that [...]

Yesterday The New York Times reported on book publishers’ discomfort with releasing books simultaneously as E-books and through traditional channels.  One idea, not supported universally, is to release E-books later than hardcover editions in the same manner that paperbacks are held back for at least a year.  The reason proffered is to preserve the initial $20-35 [...]

First in a series of posts about adapting to life with a Kindle 2 One of the things I most looked forward to in my Kindle was the magazine store.  For a fraction of the cover price in most cases, the full text of a magazine is quickly and seamlessly downloaded to your Kindle.  If [...]

Virtually unremarked upon in the hullabaloo last week over the imminent reissue of The Beatles catalog is its tie-up with Rock Band.  Obviously for marketing reasons its no coincidence that The Beatles Rock Band will arrive on the same day: September 9, 2009.  (Prepare for “Number nine, Number nine, Number nine” to feature strongly in [...]

Only a week after David Byrne lamented the end of packaging — oh, and let us know that record packaging was all just record company artifice to begin with — The Residents released their plan to Take Back Your Shelf Space. Their new album will be sold as a presumably amazing-looking 2-CD set at the [...]