Articles by Mark Zip

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PoOPlists, PoOPlists 2011 January 17, 2012

Ken Beck Poop ’11

At the end of the year when I go back and figure out what musically excited me and throw all the titles onto the digital paper, I can’t help but feel self-conscious about how narrow my tastes continue to be, even at age 42. Thankfully this year I can finally say that I have broadened my horizons with not only Bombino’s Agadez but also Raphael Saadiq’s Stone Rollin’. I stumbled upon Agadez through a random NPR album stream one uneventful day at work. Mr. Moctar is from the Northern African region of Tuareg and was raised on a steady diet…

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IP, Music Industry January 17, 2012

PoOPlist will go dark for 12 hours Wednesday January 18th

Internet strike day is Wednesday January 18th. In a protest against the SOPA and PIPA legislation moving through the US Congress, many major sites (Wikipedia, Reddit, Internet Archive) will go dark for 12 hours. Of course, PoOPlist does not have the reach of these sites, but we want to do our small part to help. Both of these pieces of legislation are harmful to the internet itself, to innovative business and will not achieve what their sponsors say they will. There are precise ways to prevent foreign websites from pirating US content and they are already written into law. There…

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Music Industry, OT?, WTF? January 1, 2012

There are two interesting things about this NYTimes.com article about Rock Music in 2011

The first is that Jon Caramanica has written a very interesting and well-considered piece about the mainstream US* rock scene in 2011. I’ve had quibbles with some of his pet projects over the years, but here he hits a home run. It really is difficult to overstate the malaise in US mainstream rock this year. A worthwhile read. The second interesting thing about this article on the web is the SEO and page title tuning which the NYT has used for this piece. The article is called “The Year When Rock Just Spun Its Wheels” and it lists a bunch…

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IP, Music Industry December 22, 2011

Recording industry and SOPA/PIPA supporters: are you paying attention? Louis CK: Over $1 Million In Sales In Just 12 Days For DRM-Free Download

  Techdirt and the NY Times both report: Louis CK: Over $1 Million In Sales In Just 12 Days For DRM-Free Download. This should be reported as yet another in the long list of projects which work because artists have used the CwF + RtB (“Connect with Fans and Reason to Buy”) model. Yup, Connect with your Fans and give them a Reason to Buy seems so obvious to us, but we still have to endure the content industry telling us that we should pass SOPA/PIPA because it protects artists. Connect with Fans + Reason to Buy.

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Music Industry December 16, 2011

The scene which can laugh at itself will go far

Now that the NY Times is telling your parents about “Skrillex and dubstep taking over America”, it’s time for a little corrective action. (Dubba Jonny – “Not Another UKF Dubstep Tutorial” from the Various Artists compilation UKF Dubstep 2011)

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Music Industry November 29, 2011

Elvis Costello says (paraphrasing) “My new record is too expensive, perhaps you should steal it”

      OR      On his official site, Elvis Costello (or his minions) have posted a funny screed about the ravishing cost of his new recorded music fetish object (formerly known as “a record”). His point is that the Super Deluxe Edition is overpriced at $202.66, even if does include a whole bunch of extras in addition to the CD/DVD/10″. He goes on to endorse the 10 CD Louis Armstrong “Ambassador of Jazz” box, says that the component parts of his own set will be available cheaper in the new year and winds up acknowledging, in not very…

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Music Industry November 21, 2011

Why Universal Music Sued Its Insurer Over a $14.4 Million Payment to Musicians

It appears that at least one of the major labels has found an innovative new business model. You just cannot overestimate the venality of these guys. From the article: … In other words, UMG put out albums without artist permission, held back royalties from these artists, and then finally paid out when faced with a much bigger legal threat. Now, even though the settlement money seems to cover what was claimed and acknowledged to be owed to artists, UMG is using the guise of a copyright claim to recover the money from its insurer… Why Universal Music Sued Its Insurer Over a…

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Releases November 21, 2011

Sepalcure – Pooplist Alumnus Praveen Sharma still kickin’ ass – Releases new record today

To his eternal credit/shame, back in 2001 and 2003, Praveen Sharma contributed to the PoOP. Elevating himself from the muck and mire of the PoOP, he has since moved on to more constructive pursuits. He’s been part of the Percussion Lab massive for ever and his collaborative project with Machine Drum, called Sepalcure, has finally released the debut album. It is in stores today! You can get a streamed preview of the record here (Soundcloud) Sepalcure contributed a phenomenal mix ( playlist here ) to the Mary Anne Hobbs show on XFM on Saturday November 1th, 2011. Mixes from a…

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Live Shows October 2, 2011

Radiohead live at Roseland Ballroom – New York, NY 2011-09-28

Radiohead live at Roseland Ballroom – New York, NY 2011-09-28 – Core News. Via Core News. Not Thomas’s usual fare, but might be of interest to the mystifyingly large number od Poopsters who are fans. I have not listened to it, so I cannot speak to the quality.  And who knows if it will still be up by the time they see this.

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IP, Music Industry July 8, 2011

ISPs to Disrupt Internet Access of Copyright Scofflaws

ISPs to Disrupt Internet Access of Copyright Scofflaws  (Threat Level Blog, wired.com) And all on the say so of the content industry. ISPs have said that they will not cut people off, and we are talking about a “six-strikes and you’re throttled-or-something” regime… but even the French 3 strikes law eventually involved the judiciary. More coverage on ArsTechnica: Major ISPs agree to “six strikes” copyright enforcement plan. Ars also has a breakdown of The six ways you can appeal new copyright “mitigation measures”

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Music Industry July 8, 2011

RIAA Accounting: How To Sell 1 Million Albums And Still Owe $500,000

The always excellent TechDirt has a breakdown and an embedded video from an entertainment lawyer about record label contracts.  RIAA Accounting: How To Sell 1 Million Albums And Still Owe $500,000 I knew about some of these line items, but “reserves” and “breakage”? We should all keep these numbers in mind the next time a label boss says he needs legislation allowing him to charge copyright violators with a crime and not merely a civil offense. When label bosses whine about how “no artist will want to make music if they can’t get paid”, ask that boss if his artists…

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Critics June 20, 2011

Hear the whole SBTRKT album now!

One of my most looked-forward-to albums this year: From the record label hype: sbtrkt’s debut album pulls off a series of impressive feats: it’s bursting with fresh ideas, and yet it sounds immediately familiar. it’s sound-patterns and rhythms can easily soundtrack the ecstatic hands in the air dance floor moments as well as reliving the monotony of the morning commute. its influences are incorporated with subtlety and sophistication: dense enough to interpret, light enough to dance to. while he has had multiple releases in single and ep forms, this is his first full-length, and about that he says “this release…