A (new) idea for music sharing in Canada

03/25/09

Last year, SAC (Song Association of Canada), developed a plan to legalize music sharing in Canada, in which involves a small monthly fee attached to your ISP current charges. People complained that it’s just another tax, and Canadian recording industry fought saying it’s violating the copyright law.

Now, they are taking a different approach on making it optional..

“The SAC has renewed its bid to legalize peer-to-peer file sharing in return for a levy on Internet service. The SAC is now calling for the plan to be voluntary, with both consumers and creators having the right to opt-out. ACTRA, the leading performer group in Canada, now says it is also supportive of a legalized approach with the prospect of extending the plan to video sharing.”

I approve of this proposal!

My last.fm replacement: Deezer

03/04/09

While I’m sitting on my lonesome at work, I always slip on the headphones, and jam out to my tunes, while sitting infront of the mainframe terminal, and pretending to do work, and know what I’m doing. I used to be a huge fan of last.fm but I found after awhile, it become to be a little much, and was beginning to be “yet another” social network site.

Well, while having minor discussions on twitter, @bjutla recommended for me to check out deezer.com. After a few days of screwing around with it, Deezer does it right. Deezer ofers free music on demand, and allows you to rate the music. Based on your ratings, it uses smartPlaylist to find similar music you are interested in, and to help expand your music library.

Another thing that interested me with Deezer, was adjusting your “music styles”, and adding which genres you enjoy most, or which you enjoy least, also adding to your “smartPlaylist” experience.