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I find this interesting, as the company I work for is currently hosting a Kickstarter,

The website of a record label which offers completely free music downloads has been taken down by its host for copyright infringement, even though it only offers its own music. Quote Unquote Records calls itself "The First Ever Donation Based Record Label", but is currently homeless after its host pulled the plug.

With new technology, there are endless possibilities for creating new works, this article explains why current copyright law inhibits this from happening, and why you should think twice about reusing music by Prince.

EReaders are becoming increasingly popular, but one of the major drawbacks is the current limitation on the amount of digital content available. Plastic Logic plans to amass one of the largest collections of content available for an eReader.

Interesting take on the music piracy issue and a highlight of the punitive nature of the current laws.

Publishers love to gripe about Google. But they almost never, ever, do the one thing that could put their money where their mouth is: Tell the search giant to

Excellent overview of the current state of the publishing industry, the impact of e-books, and the power of Amazon, Apple and Google to affect the future of publishing.

Sen Jon Tester (D-MT) has proposed a law that would take something like FRPPA one step further, putting most public government documents (e.g., who lobbies the White House, not gov't personnel files) into a searchable database. This would be an improvement in granting access to the public as currently there is a fair amount of hard-copy red tape that must be gone through under the Freedom of Information Act to obtain these documents.

iMinds offers 8 minute long audiobook "tracks" available for $0.99 and currently has 30 titles in the top 100 audiobook charts on iTunes.

The author/publisher relationship in the digital age.

People often credit their ideas to individual "Eureka!" moments. But Steven Johnson shows how history tells a different story. His fascinating tour takes us from the "liquid networks" of London's coffee houses to Charles Darwin's long, slow hunch to today's high-velocity web.

A thoughtful discussion on the root of big ideas and innovation. I found this talk particularly apt to the publishing business and the business model innovations we're currently discussing. "Chance favors the connected mind."

Interesting article. I don't really agree with this statement: Maybe too much, said Michael Norris, a senior analyst for Simba Information. "I don't think that the U.S. market can support 50 or 60 e-readers," he said, adding that he had lost count of all the current models. The market can support it; it gives people more options, but it'll just turn into a matter of what device addresses/achieves all of the needs of the consumer. Like the model Arnie went over in class, it's like a bell curve of technological advances that we want/would like, slowly get, but that eventually ends up swamping us. We start out wanting a and b, then c, d, and e are added, which we like. By the time it hits m, n, o, and p, we're overwhelmed.

Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law a bill that will extend privacy protections currently in place for library records to book purchases, including e-books. The Reader Privacy Act of 2011 will require government agencies to obtain a court order before they access customer records from book stores or online retailers.

Cathedral Rock Publishing's new "Book IS the Store" application is gaining traction with book publishers and authors looking to continue communicating with existing readers and make them aware of compatible products and services. The company is currently in talks with a well known rock and roll musician who is looking to reintroduce his substantial catalog to a new MultiMedia eBook generation.

From Politico: "Curated by POLITICO's editors, the Bookshelf will be operated by Random House, Inc., and will include title selections and recommendations from a wide range of publishers that align with POLITICO's news content in the areas of current events, politics, history, and biography. The Bookshelf allows consumers to browse and search for titles and then purchase both physical and digital copies directly through a range of retailers."