Record Labels Sue Over Ripping Audio Tracks from YouTube Videos

•

Eriq Gardner, writing at The Hollywood Reporter, on record labels starting to sue some of the YouTube to MP3 ripping websites:

On Monday, the plaintiffs filed a copyright lawsuit in California federal court, stating, “Stream ripping has become a major threat to the music industry, functioning as an unlawful substitute for the purchase of recorded music and the purchase of subscriptions to authorized streaming services.”

With a few simple mouse clicks, the lawsuit reports, infringing copies of sound recordings are made available in MP3 format. The plaintiffs suggest that “tens, or even hundreds, of millions of tracks are illegally copied and distributed by stream ripping services each month.”

Disney Looking at Potential Twitter Bid

•

Bloomberg is reporting that the Walt Disney Co. is looking at making a bid for Twitter:

The Walt Disney Co. is working with a financial adviser to evaluate a possible bid for Twitter Inc., according to people familiar with the matter. After receiving interest in discussing a deal, Twitter has started a process to evaluate a potential sale. Salesforce.com Inc. is also considering a bid, working with Bank of America on the process, according to other people, who declined to be named because the matter is private.

So Disney could own the happiest place on earth, and one of the biggest collections of hatred the world has ever seen.

Too Close to Touch Release New Album ‘Haven’t Been Myself’

•Sponsored Post

Lexington, KY band Too Close To Touch’s sophomore album, Haven’t Been Myself, is now available. Recently nominated for “Best Underground Band” at the Alternative Press Music Awards, Too Close To Touch again teamed up with producer Erik Ron (Issues, Set It Off) in the making of their new album. Throughout the album, the band builds a heavy tension with their urgent rhythms and impassioned guitar work, then obliterates that tension with each explosive chorus.

Catch Too Close To Touch on The Retrograde tour this fall with Crown The Empire, Bless The Fall, News Years Day, and Light Up The Sky. For more information, visit their website, and check out the tour dates below.

Read More

Snapchat Releases First Hardware Product

•

Seth Stevenson, writing for The Wall Street Journal, on Snapchat’s new hardware product, “Spectacles.”

What initially appears to be a normal pair of sunglasses turns out to be Spectacles, the first hardware product from Snap Inc., as the firm has been newly christened (Spiegel is refreshing the company name because its offerings now go beyond the Snapchat app). When you slip Spectacles on and tap a button near the hinge, it records up to 10 seconds of video from your first-person vantage. Each new tap records another clip.

They’re hideous and I expect to see them at concerts in the not so distant future.