The Globe and Mail - Mathew Ingram Columns

MORE DOWNLOADING EXPERIMENTS FROM NINE INCH NAILS

Thu, 6 Nov 2008 00:00 EST

If there's one thing Nine Inch Nails front man Trent Reznor has proved over the past year or so, it's that he isn't afraid to experiment when it comes to new distribution methods for his music and new ways of reaching his fans. He has done a Radiohead-style album, where fans could pay whatever they wanted, he has offered different packages of downloads and one-of-a-kind merchandise for different levels of payment, and he has even given an entire album away for nothing.

EMPOWERMENT FOR GIRLS NOW ONLINE

Wed, 5 Nov 2008 00:00 EST

Amy Poehler may be a household name for her portrayal of Hillary Clinton on Saturday Night Live, but she isn't resting on her laurels. The comedienne wants to use her fame to help teenaged girls realize that there is more to life than just being pretty and that they don't have to disguise the fact that they are smart or funny.

WHY SUE WHEN YOU CAN MAKE MONEY OFF ILLEGAL CONTENT?

Tue, 4 Nov 2008 00:00 EST

It's one thing to turn a blind eye - as some TV networks do - to the uploading of pirated content that occurs daily on YouTube, MySpace and other social networks and services. To use just one potential metaphor, that's a bit like the approach some countries take when it comes to prostitution or marijuana: They know it's out there, but as long as it doesn't cause any real trouble, then they don't bother prosecuting it.

NOTHING IS CERTAIN IN SECOND LIFE, NOT EVEN TAXES

Mon, 3 Nov 2008 00:00 EST

If you create a virtual world, odds are that you're going to wind up with everything that occurs in the real world, including crime, sex, economic upheaval and so on. No one knows that better than Linden Labs, the creators of Second Life.

LIMEWIRE AND COMEDY CENTRAL RECORDS MAKE A DEAL

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 00:00 EDT

The file-sharing network LimeWire - which is currently being sued by several major record labels for allegedly contributing to copyright infringement - has signed a deal with Comedy Central Records that will make it easy for users of the peer-to-peer application to find and buy legal versions of comedy videos from Lewis Black, Mitch Hedberg and others.

BRITISH CITIES ALIVE WITH THE SOUND OF SINGING BENCHES

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 00:00 EDT

Residents of a number of British towns will be getting a surprise in the coming months: park benches that play music. The benches are being built as a promotional effort for cellphone maker Nokia's ''Comes With Music'' service, which will allow cellphone buyers to pay a flat fee when they get a new phone and have unlimited streaming of more than two million songs to their mobile device. Each bench will have three Nokia handsets embedded in it, and headphones available for multiple listeners.

AC/DC ALBUM LOOKS TO BE A MONSTER HIT ONLINE AND OFF

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 00:00 EDT

The legendary British rock band AC/DC is one of the few holdouts when it comes to selling music through the iTunes record store, a stand the group has taken in part because it refuses to sell individual songs as singles - ''We don't make singles, we make albums,'' says guitarist Angus Young - and Apple won't let the band restrict its iTunes sales to just albums.

MONGOLS BIKER GANG KEEPS ONE STEP AHEAD OF THE FEDS

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 00:00 EDT

Chicago crime boss Al Capone was finally brought to justice not because of all the bootlegging, murder and fraud he engaged in but because of tax evasion. Now, the U.S. government is trying a similar tactic in its fight against a criminal biker gang called the Mongols. Federal prosecutors say they want the courts to award them the rights to the gang's name, and any imagery associated with it.

LEGIT ONLINE TUNES - BUT ONLY IN THE U.S.

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 00:00 EDT

The world's major record labels still spend a lot of their time suing music fans and shutting down online music services, but at least one thing seems to have changed in the past decade or so: The industry appears to see the value of allowing users to keep the music they own in an online ''music locker'' that they can access from anywhere.