Over the past decade, Apple’s iTunes has helped shape music discovery and consumption by providing a legal online model for distribution and sales. Since its 2003 launch, the iTunes Store has revamped the way music is distributed and has dismantled the traditional concept of the album. However, now there is concern that artists are not receiving proper creative and financial support with digital distribution expanding to multiple platforms. Continue reading From Disc to Online: Impact of iTunes Over the Past Decade

Last week, filmmaker Steven Soderbergh dissected the business of making movies when he spoke on the current state of cinema at the San Francisco International Film Festival. Soderbergh, who has achieved success in both the Hollywood system and the independent arena, spoke at length about the challenges faced by today’s artists to get their movies screened in theaters. Based on unprecedented demand, Soderbergh gave The San Francisco Film Society permission to post his keynote video and transcript in its entirety. Continue reading Soderbergh Distinguishes Between Cinema and Movies

Startup company Rabbit has created a video chat program in which users can share music and videos in real-time while chatting with one another. Users can have multiple conversations with friends, that all appear in circular bubbles to enhance the feeling of being in the same space together. The new approach by Rabbit could possibly provide competition for other successful programs such as Skype, Apple’s FaceTime, and Google+ Hangouts. Continue reading Rabbit Hops Into the Game with New Video Chat Program

Last week, Cinedigm announced it was partnering with BitTorrent to help promote the release of Dante Ariola’s “Arthur Newman,” starring Colin Firth and Emily Blunt, which debuted in limited release over the weekend. In less than five days, users of the file-sharing app downloaded one million copies of the film’s 10-minute preview. By comparison, the studio’s official trailer had less than 20,000 views on YouTube over the past three weeks. Continue reading Will BitTorrent Prove a Viable Marketing Tool for Hollywood?

Google announced last week the YouTube Comedy Week, “a seven-day cyber extravaganza designed to showcase some of the best comedy across its expansive video platform,” reports AP. The special online venture is slated for May 19-25, will kick off with a global live stream from Los Angeles, and marks the first of additional event weeks planned around various themes to be held in the near future. Continue reading YouTube Themed Weeks to Grow Platform as Next-Gen TV?

In its seventh Transparency Report, Google notes that the number of government requests to censor online content continues to grow. Additionally, it has received court orders to remove blog posts criticizing government officials. “From July to December 2012, we received 2,285 government requests to remove 24,179 pieces of content — an increase from the 1,811 requests to remove 18,070 pieces of content that we received during the first half of 2012,” explains Google. Continue reading Google Transparency Report: Increase in Global Requests

The Chernin Group is producing an unscripted reality series that plans to skip television distribution in favor of a new social media model. The series will be distributed entirely via social platforms including Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Tumblr. The concept is a bold experiment that hopes to target younger viewers on the devices and platforms that have replaced their traditional television viewing. Continue reading Reality Series to Play Out Entirely on Social Media Platforms

The live streaming site Ustream increased its viewership recently with the help of citizen journalism. During the manhunt for Boston bombing suspect Dzhokar Tsarnaev, live information was streamed from a police scanner via the free platform. The site drew an audience of 2.5 million, with 265,000 simultaneous viewers at its peak moment. Notably, nearly half tuned in from their mobile devices. Continue reading Citizen Journalism: Ustream Covers Boston Manhunt Live

A federal judge in New York has ruled in favor of Google’s YouTube in the ongoing $1 billion copyright infringement suit initiated by Viacom. The judge ruled that the video website did not violate copyright, despite its users posting unauthorized video clips from some of the TV giant’s top shows. Viacom first filed the suit in 2007, and the case has been closely watched by those concerned with content distribution and digital disruption. Continue reading Federal Court Sides with Google in YouTube Copyright Case

According to fourth quarter estimates released this week by the NPD Group, Apple’s iTunes continues its stronghold with a 63 percent unit share of the U.S. market for digital music downloads. Amazon.com’s MP3 store held second place at 22 percent. Notably, the NPD “Annual Music Study 2012” indicates that eight out of 10 consumers downloaded digital albums or tracks during the fourth quarter from iTunes. Continue reading After a Decade, iTunes Continues its Market Dominance

Jenna Mourey, better known as Jenna Marbles, has reached over one billion views on her YouTube channel. The 26-year-old digital entertainer has developed an impressive following of fans (especially teenage girls) with her collection of five to eight minute videos. As she rants, performs impressions, creates parodies and pokes fun at celebrities, she may also end up becoming a pioneer of a new genre of online entertainment. Continue reading Jenna Marbles YouTube Channel Draws One Billion Views

The video entertainment business is facing disruption as online services such as Netflix, Hulu and YouTube continue to shape media consumption. What if the unavoidable disruption isn’t actually the worst thing for the industry? Some see digital disruption to mean a complete replacement of traditional models, while others see an array of opportunities made possible by expansion of the video business. Continue reading Digital Disruption Could Create New Opportunities for Video

A surprisingly large number of people, at times as many as 100, stayed at NAB through Thursday afternoon to attend the 2-day Disruptive Media Conference produced by Ned Sherman and Digital Media Wire. Executives from companies such as Sony, Adobe, Rentrak, Scripps, StumbleUpon, nScreenMedia and others discussed the current impact of disruptive media and what they anticipate for the future. Continue reading NAB 2013: Conference Notes – The State of Disruption

YouTube announced on Wednesday that it has reached the milestone of 1 billion monthly viewers. Google’s popular video-sharing subsidiary shared the news with advertisers at an extravagant upfronts presentation event at the YouTube Space production studio in Los Angeles, where Robert Kyncl explained that the amount of video the site streams on a monthly basis has grown 50 percent in the last year. Continue reading YouTube Tells Advertisers Site Has 1 Billion Monthly Viewers

While Google is best known for its powerful Web search engine, Android mobile operating system and acquisition of YouTube in 2006, it also offers lesser-known, but impressive services. From exploration to academia to art and much more, Google’s online products and services aim to inform users, improve lives and make them more secure. Business Insider lists 11 Google initiatives you may never knew existed. Continue reading Google is About More Than Just Search and Smartphones