Tag: Entertainment

New Radiohead Album “The King of Limbs” Marks Band’s 2nd Web-First Release

Radiohead announced that its new album, "The King of Limbs" will be released on the web this Saturday – February 19. This is the second time the band has gone web-first with an album release.

In 2007, Radiohead released "In Rainbows," allowing fans to pay whatever they wanted for downloads of the album. Radiohead will try a different strategy this time – simply charging a set price $9.00 for MP3s and $14.00 for WAVs).

RadioheadTHANK YOU FOR WAITING5 hours ago 18,573 likes 1,680 comments

The whole "In Rainbows" thing didn’t work out quite as well as the band had hoped. In 2008, Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke told Hollywood Reporter:

"I think it was a one-off response to a particular situation," Yorke said of the band’s downloading policy for the album "In Rainbows."

"It was one of those things where we were in the position of everyone asking us what we were going to do," he said. "I don’t think it would have the same significance now anyway, if we chose to give something away again. It was a moment in time."

"The King of Limbs" will be released in a physical "Newspaper album" format on May 9.

February 14, 2011
Oscars to Get VIP Treatment Online

Disney/ABC Television Group is going all out this year for Oscar.com during the Academy Awards. A representative for the company tells WebProNews that they’re set to deliver "one of the most extensive live, interactive ‘second-screen’ experiences ever offered."

Intrigued?

"Movie fans and film buffs will have unprecedented behind-the-scenes access to the 83rd Academy Awards from start to finish, beginning with the glamorous red carpet, into the Kodak Theatre, backstage, and culminating at the Academy’s official post-ceremony celebration, the Governors Ball," she says.

"The site will provide a level of access into an awards show never before experienced by an online audience and is designed to be perfect companion to the Oscar telecast," the rep adds. "On Oscar Sunday, Oscar.com will offer unparalleled access to a multitude of cameras, providing online users with the ultimate insider’s view of Hollywood’s biggest night."

There will be special camera utilized specifically to provide live, behind-the-scenes footage via a "Thank You Cam". This will offer Oscar winners an extended opportunity to thank everyone they want, etc. in case they get cut off by the "wrap it up" music.

There will also be a backstage cam aimed at capturing sound bites, backstage happenings, short interviews, and more behind-the-scenes footage. Finally, there will be Control Room and Press Room cameras.

"Additionally, Oscar.com will offer a special ‘All Access’ premium feature that makes Hollywood’s biggest event even more accessible to movie lovers, allowing them to follow their favorite stars from the minute they set foot on the red carpet to the exclusive moments backstage and beyond," the rep says.

Users will have to pay $4.99 to get access to live video footage of the evening’s events from over 20 cameras and "direct their own experience on the red carpet and inside the ceremony". This will utilize "360 cam" technology to control multiple cameras using a computer mouse.

"All-Access" coverage will continue following the show, with special admission into the Governors Ball.

The Academy Awards are on February 27. The Red Carpet coverage begins at 6:30pm Eastern with the show beginning at 8:00pm Eastern on ABC.

February 10, 2011
No “Actors” for The Social Network

Awards season has been kind to The Social Network. At the Golden Globes, the film won Best Director (David Fincher), Best Screenplay (Aaron Sorkin), Best Score (Trent Reznor), and Best Picure, Drama. Jesse Eisenberg and Andrew Garfield had been nominated for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor for their roles as Mark Zuckerberg and Eduardo Saverin respectively.

Then, The Social Network was nominated for 8 academy awards, including: Best Picture, Best Direction, Actor in a Leading Role, Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, Film Editing, Sound Mixing, and Music (Original Score).

The film missed out on any wins at the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards last night, however. Eisenberg, Garfield, and co-stars Justin Timberlake and Armie Hammer were all in attendance, and presented the film’s nomination for Outstanding Performance By A Cast In A Motion Picture. It was also nominated for Outstanding Performance By A Male Actor In A Leading Role (Eisenberg).

Eisenberg hosted Saturday Night Live over the weekend, and was met during his monologue by SNL’s Andy Samberg portraying Mark Zuckerberg. Then he was met by the real Mark Zuckerberg:

By the way, the awards given out at the SAG awards are called "Actors" – hence, the title of this article. I would not imply that the actors in the film should be called actors.

You can read my review of The Social Network here.

January 31, 2011
Eric Schmidt Coming To Your Living Room?

Could Google CEO Eric Schmidt be coming soon to your living room? Rumor has it that he’s interested in getting into television.

A rather unexpected report from the New York Post today indicates that he is in fact interested in having some kind of talk show, and has even been involved in the filming of a past pilot show (which reportedly didn’t turn out too well). According to the report, he’s been consulting with Liza McGuirk, executive producer of CNN’s Parker Spitzer.

From the NY Post:

The two first connected on the Sunday foreign-affairs program "Fareed Zakaria GPS," which McGuirk executive produced and where Schmidt was a regular guest. When Schmidt filmed a pilot for CNN in August, McGuirk oversaw the production.

A source told us, "Eric wants to be a talk-show host. He’s been working with Liza to develop a show, but he has not yet been picked up by any network."

The report also cites a "CNN Insider", saying Schmidt has been looking to get into TV for over a year.

Schmidt is scheduled to hand over the Google reins to co-founder Larry Page on April 4. From that point on, he will remain on as Executive Chairman, and be involved primarily with external responsibilities, such as deals, government outreach, etc.

No TV-related tweets from Schmidt yet, so until then, we’ll take this news with a grain of salt.

He has been known to make a joke or two. Maybe he’ll land somewhere in Comedy Central’s talk show line-up. Greg Sterling suggests Dancing With the Stars.

In other, somewhat ironic news, TV and movie star Ashton Kutcher has reportedly invested in a search engine.

January 26, 2011
The Social Network Receives 8 Academy Award Nominations

The Academy Awards nominations list has just been released, and everybody’s favorite Facebook movie is up for 8 awards. These include: Best Picture, Best Direction, Actor in a Leading Role, Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, Film Editing, Sound Mixing, and Music (Original Score).

Having heard about two decades worth of Trent Reznor’s musical offerings, I think the word "original" is a bit of a stretch these days, but the score did work for the film, if you ask me.

Earlier this month, The Social Network won 4 Golden Globes for Best Director, Screenplay, Best Score, and Best Picture, Drama. It had been nominated for 6.

Jesse Eisenberg, the actor who portrayed Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network, was nominated for the Best Actor, Drama award, but lost out to Colin Firth for his performance in the film, The King’s Speech. Andrew Garfield, who played Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin, was nominated for Best Supporting Actor, but lost to Christian Bale for his performance in The Fighter.

The real life versions of some of the characters in the film have been making headlines over the past week. Sean Parker (portrayed by Justin Timberlake) has been talking to the press, calling the film "fiction" (not unlike Facebook’s official position). Mashable quotes him as saying:

"The part of the movie that frustrated me is actually the scene at the end where the character played by Justin Timberlake — who happens to have my name — basically writes a check to Eduardo – who I’m also, I consider Eduardo a friend of mine, and I’m one of the few people at Facebook who still interacts with Eduardo – and throws it in his face and has security escort him out of the building. And I mean, that’s just rude. This guy in the movie is a morally reprehensible human being."

Saverin has also been in the news, having invested in startup Qwiki, which just launched in public Alpha this week.

The awards show takes place on Sunday, February 27. See all nominees here.

Read my review of The Social Network here.

January 25, 2011
Amazon Buys European Netflix-Like Company, LoveFilm

Amazon is acquiring the remaining shares in LoveFilm, which is often referred to around the web as the "Netflix of Europe". Amazon already owned a 42% stake in the company.

The move makes tons of sense considering that Amazon already had such a stake, and the fact that Amazon doesn’t already operate a similar business in Europe. Netflix has not expanded globally on a large scale yet either, though it seemingly plans to soon.

"LOVEFiLM has been innovating on behalf of movie rental customers across Europe for many years and with the advent of the LOVEFiLM player, they are further delighting customers by streaming digital movies for their immediate enjoyment," said Greg Greeley, Amazon’s Vice President of European Retail. "LOVEFiLM and Amazon have enjoyed a strong working relationship since LOVEFiLM acquired Amazon Europe’s DVD rental business in 2008, and we look forward to a productive and innovative future."

"The deal is a winner for the members who love LOVEFiLM because of its value, choice, convenience and innovation in home entertainment," said LoveFilm CEO Simon Calver. "With Amazon’s unequivocal support we can significantly enhance our members’ experience across Europe."

Competition could one day get interesting between Netflix and Amazon on the European front. Both companies earned top customer satisfaction scores in ForeSee Results’ E-Retail Satisfaction Index. For now, Amazon will have a pretty big advantage, however. LoveFilm currently operates in the UK, Germany, Sweden, Norway and Denmark.

Financial terms of the acquisition have not been disclosed, and it is subject to customary closing conditions, but the companies expect it to close in the first quarter.

According to a Reuters report back in September, Amazon had offered to buy LoveFilm for about $312 million, but this was never confirmed, and could certainly have changed greatly since then.

January 20, 2011
Golden Globes Info Can Be Found with Bing and MSN Features

Bing announced some special features for the Golden Globes, for those who are unable to watch the ceremony this evening. One feature is called Golden Globe Instant Answer, and is essentially what its name implies.

You can search Bing for "Golden Globes" and get an instant answer at the top of the results, showing relevant content. Here you can see nominees, past winners, etc.

Another feature, Golden Globe Visual Search Gallery, lets you check out nominees in all the different categories visually. "Whether you’re looking for ‘best original score’ or ‘best motion picture’, you can sort by category in a matter of clicks," says the Bing team.

Microsoft also has a Golden Globes guide that you can check out to catch up. "To help prime you for the ceremony, MSN Entertainment has created a guide for the event with comprehensive coverage on the nominees, red carpet coverage from the event, photos and videos of the stars and even the latest celebrity news," the Bing team says.

The content will of course be updated as the ceremony goes on and afterwards, so if you can’t watch it, but are interested in the results, this should be a good place to find what you’re looking for.

Granted, the results will no doubt be all over Twitter, Facebook, Google, and everywhere else on the web.

January 16, 2011
The Social Network Comes to DVD and Blu-Ray, Continues to Rake in Money

The Social Network, the hit movie depicting the founding of Facebook, makes its way to DVD and Blu-ray Tuesday. Sony Pictures Entertainment said last week in a press release that it was set to cross the $200 million mark at the worldwide box office, before being re-released in 600 theaters in the U.S. on Friday.

"The Social Network has struck a chord with audiences all around the world," said Jeff Blake, chairman, Worldwide Marketing and Distribution for Sony Pictures. "No invention defines our era like Facebook does, but what has made it break through as a motion picture is that it is a parable for our time.

"Everyone, everywhere, can relate to the human motivations of the real-life people who are depicted in the film," he added. "At the box office, this film showed true staying power, grossing more than four times its opening weekend gross – a rare accomplishment when the average for wide releases last year was below three times its opening weekend gross. It is always a great feeling to see a film connect with moviegoers, but this film is incredibly special to us – we are as proud of it as any film in our studio’s history."

The press release lists some of the honors the film has received:

The Social Network has been embraced during this year’s awards season, with four honors from the National Board of Review, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Actor for Jesse Eisenberg. The film has also received six Golden Globe nominations, including Best Picture – Drama, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Original Score, and nominations for Eisenberg and Andrew Garfield, as well as two nominations from the Screen Actors Guild, including Ensemble and Eisenberg for Best Actor, and nominations for Best Picture from the Producers Guild of America and Best Adapted Screenplay from the Writers Guild of America. The film has also been named Best Picture by 24 critics groups, including the New York Film Critics Circle, the New York Film Critics Online, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, the Chicago Film Critics Association, the San Francisco Film Critics, the Boston Society of Film Critics, the Dallas/Ft. Worth Film Critics Association, the Washington Area Film Critics Association, the Toronto Film Critics Association, the UK Regional Critics Awards, Sight and Sound, the Village Voice/LA Weekly Critics Poll, the African American Film Critics Association, the Black Film Critics Circle, the Southeastern Film Critics Association, the Houston Film Critics Society, the Detroit Film Critics Society, the Florida Film Critics Circle Awards, the St. Louis Film Critics Association, the Indiana Film Journalist Awards, the Utah Film Critics Association, the Oklahoma Film Critics Circle, and the Las Vegas Film Critics Society. The film also appears on over 350 critics’ Top Ten lists.

The film has been named Best Picture of the Year by numerous publications, including The New York Times, New York Post, The New Yorker, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, LA Weekly, Entertainment Weekly, Rolling Stone, Chicago Sun-Times, Denver Post, Boston Phoenix, Cleveland Sun, the Daily Mail, the Daily Telegraph, the Huffington Post, IFC.com, Miami Herald, Lincoln Journal-Star, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, MSN Movies, North County Times, Oklahoma Gazette, Omaha World Herald, Orlando Weekly, Sight & Sound, Time Out Chicago, Time Out New York, and Tulsa World, among many others.

The Social Network will no doubt continue to rake in money throughout Awards Season. Currently, IMDB has the film listed at 8.2 stars, which is pretty high for an IMDB rating.

The DVD contains over 8 hours of bonus extras about the film.

Read my review of The Social Network here.

Seen it? Tell us what you think of it in the comments or on our Facebook Page.

January 10, 2011
Netflix Spotted on Android Device, Doesn’t Mean Yours Will Get It

A Netflix app for Android was spotted at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), which wrapped up yesterday. Verizon, showing off its new LG Revolution 4G phone with Android, showed evidence that the app is indeed in existence.

Android users have been waiting for a Netflix app for quite some time, and have had to wait idly by while apps for the iPhone, iPad, and even Windows Phone 7 were released. UnwiredView.com posted the following video of the demo, which is now making the rounds:

Unfortunately, we don’t really get to see the Netflix app in action, but can see clearly that it does in fact exist. "Netflix – preinstalled. Imagine, Netflix coming to you in 4G. That’s goin to be fantastic. You’re not going to have to worry about much buffering speeds anymore," the person showing off the phone says.

Greg Peters from Netflix product development explained why it has taken so long for Netflix to bring its service to Android a couple months ago. "The hurdle has been the lack of a generic and complete platform security and content protection mechanism available for Android," he said. "The same security issues that have led to piracy concerns on the Android platform have made it difficult for us to secure a common Digital Rights Management (DRM) system on these devices."

"Setting aside the debate around the value of content protection and DRM, they are requirements we must fulfill in order to obtain content from major studios for our subscribers to enjoy," Peters added. "Although we don’t have a common platform security mechanism and DRM, we are able to work with individual handset manufacturers to add content protection to their devices. Unfortunately, this is a much slower approach and leads to a fragmented experience on Android, in which some handsets will have access to Netflix and others won’t. This clearly is not the preferred solution, and we regret the confusion it might create for consumers. However, we believe that providing the service for some Android device owners is better than denying it to everyone."

In other words, don’t take this video to necessarily mean that you’re about to get Netflix on your own Android device.

January 10, 2011
Sears and Kmart Launch Movie Download Service

Sears has launched a new online movie download service called Alphaline Entertainment. It lets customers of Sears and Kmart download movies the day they’re released on TV.

The offering comes with a multi-year agreement with Sonic Solutions, which involves Sonic’s RoxioNow platform to extend its reach. RoxioNow powers digital services for retailers, cable operators, manufacturers, etc. Sonic Solutions and Sears are working together to embed the RoxioNow services into various devices, such as Blu-ray players, mobile phones, and TVs.

"Collaborating with Sonic provides a great opportunity for Sears and Kmart to launch digital services for customers seeking even faster access to the latest in home entertainment experiences," said Karen Austin, President of Consumer Electronics for Sears and Kmart. "We’ll continue to increase the reach and flexibility of the Alphaline Entertainment service by providing consumers on-demand access to the latest entertainment from a range of home and mobile electronics."

"The Sears launch represents an important milestone for Sonic, with another RoxioNow-powered storefront now open for business," said Mark Ely, President of Strategy, Sonic Solutions. "We look forward to continuing to collaborate with Sears and bringing Alphaline Entertainment to consumers through a broad range of connected devices."

Clearly, the service will compete with services from Amazon and iTunes, but may also have some impact services like Netflix (which may be getting ready for some big expansion). It could even compete with Google TV, because consumers may be forced to decide whether they want a Blu-ray player that supports this or one that comes with Google TV.

Either way, it’s clear that connected devices and services that utilize them are going to be big business in 2011, and it’s gong to be an increasingly interesting space to watch.

December 29, 2010
iPad Gets Verizon FiOS Mobile App

Verizon announced today that it is extending its free FiOS mobile app to the iPad. With this, FiOS customers with iPads can remotely control their DVRs, and use the iPad as a TV remote control.

"Verizon is pushing the boundaries of TV with innovative technology that continues to spur the industry’s evolution," said Eric Bruno, vice president of product management for Verizon. "We’re giving customers more control over their TV entertainment whenever and wherever they want it. Extending our FiOS Mobile app to customers using iPads gives more subscribers more ways to conveniently manage their FiOS TV services."

The app will automatically personalize options based on the tablet connected to the set-top box, with customized favorites and other preferences. Verizon says it has virtually the same functionality as the standard FiOS TV remote.

"Customers can change channels; manage parental controls; and pause, rewind and fast forward or record a TV show," the company explains. "Subscribers can also click on the video-on-demand (VOD) button and browse and search on-demand titles; or click on the FiOS TV button and jump to live TV when watching recorded programs."

The feature is available on over 40 mobile devices including Android, iPhone, and iPod Touch.

Verizon says more features will come to the app soon.

December 21, 2010
Apple Expects to Top A Million Apple TV Sales This Week

Apple announced that it expects sales of Apple TV to top one million units later this week.

Apple TV has a few things working to its advantage. The main one is the price. It’s only $99, compared to the first Google TV set-top box – the Logitech Revue, which is on sale (at Best Buy) for $249.99 with a regular price of $299.99.

With all the stories in the media about how TV networks don’t want to cooperate with Google TV, it would not be surprising to see would-be customers opt for Apple’s device instead, especially with the company’s strong track record of devices like the iPad and iPhone. Add the iPhone functionality of Apple TV, it’s just a more attractive buy for consumers right now.

Apple TV gives uers access to content from places like Netflix, YouTube, Flickr, and of course iTunes. In fact, Apple says iTunes users are now renting and purchasing over 400,000 TV episodes and over 150,000 movies per day.

While Apple anticipates increased sales of its device, Google is struggling with delays for additional devices running its Google TV platform. This week, reports came out that Google has requested that manufacturers hold off as it tweaks its software. With the Consumer Electronics Show just around the corner (a huge event for showing off things like this), things are not looking great for Google TV’s immediate future.

That’s not to say that the product is dead. The true potential of Google TV is likely to be realized once the platform gets picked up on a wider array of devices, like Netflix streaming has done, or even Google’s own Android. That’s when we’ll see lower prices on some devices, and availability on devices that make more sense for individual consumers.

For example, with Sony being one of Google TV’s initial partners, I would not rule out the possibility of Google TV coming to Sony Playstation sometime down the road. Things like this could make a huge difference for the success of the platform. We’ll see what Google’s doing with it (that’s causing the delay) as well.

In the meantime, it would appear that Apple will have a better holiday season in the connected television space.

December 21, 2010
Google TV Gets Improved Netflix and Remote Apps, Better Movie Search and Screen Sizing

Today, Google began pushing out its first software update for Google TV. The update fixed a few bugs, and added some other new interesting features.

"We’ve partnered up with our friends at Netflix to upgrade the app so that you can search, browse and watch any movie or show that is in the Netflix streaming catalog," says Google TV Product Manager Larry Yang. "You can even add these titles to your DVD queue if you want them mailed to you. Not sure what to watch? The new Netflix app will also give you personalized recommendations based on what you’ve watched before. Your TV is now an unlimited source of entertainment."

A lot of people have all but written Google TV’s epitaph because of lack of cooperation from television networks. Interestingly enough, a lot of people have done the same for cable providers because of services like Netflix. These kind of contradict each other. Either way, this will clearly be valuable to Google TV users who are Netflix subscribers.

The new update also brings the ability to resize and move the window when using dual view mode. Previously, you could only watch TV in a small box in the corner if you were using the web browser. You can now make that box bigger and arrange it how you like. This too is a significant feature upgrade.

Users can now download the Google TV Remote app for Android and do new things with their Android devices. "For instance, try using the integrated voice search which allows you to find your favorite shows and movies just by speaking into your phone," explains Yang. "Or, go from small screen to big screen by sharing videos and websites directly from your phone to your TV."

Finally, when you search for a movie, Google TV will show you a movie results page that will show all films associated with the title you searched for. Content comes from live TV, Netflix, Amazon Video on Demand, etc.

The remote app is currently available. The update itself will roll out throughout the week.

December 15, 2010
MySpace Lets Celebrities “HiJack” its Site to Attract Users

MySpace introduced what it’s referring to as "MySpace Hijacks" today. This is where curation of featured content on the site is taken over by celebrities, as if they had "hijacked" the site to bombard you with stuff they like.

"On the heels of the newly redesigned Myspace, Hijacks is one of many content-focused initiatives supporting Myspace’s mission to provide the best social entertainment experience possible for the Gen Y audience," MySpace’s Laurie Spindler tells WebProNews.

The whole thing starts today with the Black Eyed Peas. "The Black Eyed Peas are set to reveal how they envision Myspace, transforming the site into the same augmented reality that inspired their latest album, The Beginning," explains Spindler. "The band will create that same beginning for Myspace, flipping key areas of the site into an 8-bit version, which is the style of retro video game."

Today we’re treated to fresh content from the Black Eyed Peas like pages for Avatar, Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean video, and Iron Man 1. Thanks BEP!

After the Peas run through their three-day takeover, users get to be bombarded with Jack Black. "Actor, musician, and cult idol ascendant, Jack Black will ‘Hijack’ Myspace with his own clever antics beginning on December 15," says Spindler. "In the theme of his upcoming film Gulliver’s Travels hitting theaters December 22, the actor’s takeover will focus on all things giant."

After that, more celebrities and musicians will participate. MySpace calls the initiative a way to "discover their personal interests and passions, experience new products, get exclusive content and connect with them."

MySpace is much more focused on being an entertainment site these days than a social network. These "hijacks" reflect that, along with the company’s decision to include Facebook integration.

December 12, 2010
Can Google TV on the Logitech Revue Turn You Into Kevin Bacon?

Logitech has a new ad for its Revue device (the set-top box/Blu-Ray player with Google TV) that has Kevin Bacon playing a guy that is a huge Kevin Bacon fan in what quite possibly is some of Kevin Bacon’s finest work to date.

Maybe this ad is just what Google TV needs to pick itself up after a disappointing launch.

Logitech’s description for the video says, "Can watching too much Kevin Bacon on the Logitech Revue with Google TV actually turn you into Kevin Bacon? Ivan Cobenk has his fingers crossed."

It will be interesting to see if Logitech produces more Ivan Cobenk commercials in the future or similar ads with other celebrities.

The Revue is arguably the most imporant device for Google TV’s initial success because its cheaper and much more practical for consumers than buying a whole new TV (from Sony). The true success of the platform, however, will really rely on the number of devices it can get on – the Netflix model (or Android for that matter). If it can get on a wide range of devices, including things like Sony’s Playstation, that will be a huge win for Google TV, even if it doesn’t get the TV networks on board (though that would be pretty helpful too, I’d imagine).

(via Matt Burns at CrunchGear)

December 3, 2010
Are Bing’s New “Artist Pages” for Music Search Ready for Prime Time?

Microsoft has released new "artist pages" for Bing. When you search for a musician or band, it should bring up one of these pages directly on Bing, including things like an artist bio, genre information, a list of playable song samples, discography, videos, news, tour dates, web results, etc.

"Whether you’re looking to discover deeper cuts, in the market for tickets to the next concert, brushing up on your favorite lyrics, buying a song or finding out whether the lead singer was arrested, Bing now organizes the most common things associated with your favorite artist in a new user interface," the Bing Team explains.

The concept isn’t bad, but the execution leaves quite a bit to be desired. My first instinct, using this feature, was to check out one of my favorite bands (Converge) to see what kind of info Bing delivered. I was disappointed to say the least.

Labels Can Be Deceiving

First off, the genre Bing has the band labeled as is "Electronic/Dance". I’m not a big fan of the limitations of labels, but this is just way off. There is nothing about the band Converge that is remotely reminiscent of such a genre. They play a special brand of moody metal with roots in hard core (though in some songs they defy genre entirely). That’s beside the point though. If I’m using Bing to check out a band I’ve never actually heard and the first thing I see is a label indicating that band belongs to a genre I don’t care for, I’m not likely to even sample the songs, and am bound to go on my way assuming this band is not for me. That’s not good for artists.

Interestingly enough, the first five words of the bio, which is directly under the genre (if you make it that far to read it) are, "The punk metal act Converge", which would be a more appropriate label (I suppose). The bio info and the song samples are pulled from Microsoft’s Zune Marketplace. I’ve asked the company where the genre info comes from, and am awaiting response. Zune has the band listed as simply "Rock" (which isn’t all that helpful either, but is more accurate than what the artist page says).

Irrelevant Results

The videos section simply goes to a Bing video search, which in the case of Converge, again leaves a lot to be desired. There are some Converge videos scattered among a lot of other random videos. I could look past this if I were just doing a search, because I don’t expect Bing to necessarily know that I am talking about the band (though this is debatable since I have them "liked" on my Facebook profile, and I believe Bing has access to that information), but when you’re coming directly from the artist page for this band, you would think they could do a better job filtering the artist-related videos out of the rest. At least the top three video results, which are visible on the artist page itself (before clicking through to see more results) are related to the band.

No such luck with the regular web results section on the artist page however. The first result is for "Converge – Global Supply Chain Management", followed by the band’s official site. Again, if I were just doing a random search, I could forgive this, but being how I’m on the actual artist page, Bing knows I’m talking about the band, yet it is still giving me the non-band result over the band result.

Other Issues

The "Converge" page is also lacking some of the other features afforded to some other artists (like tour dates, news, etc.). There is a link for lyrics, but you’d be hard pressed to find any Converge lyrics in there. It seems to pull any random song from any random artist that happens to contain the word "converge" in its lyrics. That must be what I’m looking for if I’m on a Converge artist page right?

Even the Zune marketplace, where much of the info for the artist pages appears to be pulled from has news for Converge (via the band’s official Twitter account), but this is not present on the artist page.

Is Converge the exception rather than the rule? Look up the band Grizzly Bear. There is an artist page for this group, which includes videos and images of grizzly bears (the animal). One of two web results is the Wikipedia page for the animal.

Bing’s artist pages might be more useful to you if the band you’re looking for doesn’t share a name with other things. Lady Gaga searchers are safe. It’s a good thing the Beatles didn’t call themselves the Beetles.

Not a Good Time for Bing to Disappoint

Bing’s artist pages could be quite useful for users and could help out Microsoft’s Zune unit, but they’re going to have to make some improvements. I’m not sure this was ready for prime time. Bing stands to make significant gains in search market share for reasons we’ve discussed before, and music searches are often done from mobile devices (which is one key area where Bing is bound to get some of that newfound market share).

Users may not be left with the greatest taste in their mouths if these are the kinds of results they’re presented with.

What do you think of Bing’s new artist pages? Let us know in the comments.

November 29, 2010
AOL Gets Big on Video

AOL has launched a new AOL Video division, which the company says will aggregate its online video library assets under one "strategic umbrella." The company also says it delivers on the entire video value chain from creation through syndication to distribution, consumer experience and monetization.

YouTube has a new competitor. AOL’s video streams increased from 192 million in July to 493 million in October following the company’s acquisition of 5min Media, the co-founder of which (Ran Harnevo) will oversee AOL Video.

"AOL’s acquisition in September of 5min Media brought distribution and market reach to more than 800 premium digital publishers with a combined 300 million monthly UVs, and 350 million monthly video streams (including ad and content videos)," AOL says. "Additionally, AOL has video content from more than 1,000 of the world’s largest media companies and professional independent video producers; more than 3,000 freelance filmmakers, editors, animators, voice talent and writers/producers to create quality, professional video; and more than 200,000 categorized, tagged and rated videos across 21 verticals including home, food, beauty/fashion, health and travel."

"In just a few short months, you can see by the data that our commitment to video is really paying off for users and advertisers," said David Eun, President of AOL Media & Studios. "We have no doubt that video is the future of content on the Web, and AOL’s goal is to be the market leader at every point on the value chain. Our distribution capability is the keystone that links the high-quality video content we create at AOL to the premium publishers that carry it, the engaged users who consume it, and the premium brands that partner with us to create it."

The company has its own HD studios in L.A. and New York for producing its own original content. This year the company has closed deals with over 20 premium content partners and digital studios.

"Other video franchises across AOL’s owned and operated properties include, AOL Sessions; The Engadget Show; Translogic on AOL Autos; a number of shows on Cambio.com – Cambio Connect, Cambio Style, Cambio Goes Home, Cambio Cares; and The Secret Millionaire’s Club on AOL Kids," the company notes. AOL recently acquired TechCrunch as well, which has TechCrunch TV.

From here on out, we can likely expect AOL to announce a lot more video content partnerships, it’s good timing with more connected TV devices hitting the market.

November 23, 2010
National Unfriend Day on Facebook

Talk show host Jimmy Kimmel’s previously announced National Unfriend Day is here. The premise is that most of our friends on Facebook are not in fact friends at all and should therefore be unfriended. Kimmel says that if one of your Facebook friends doesn’t have your phone number he should be deleted. Do you agree?

For more information check out ABC’s National Unfriend Day site.

The official announcement by Jimmy Kimmel:

The official National Unfriend Day song, "Why Can’t We Unfriend?" by War …

November 17, 2010
Yahoo Introduces Weekend Edition

Yahoo has introduced “Weekend Edition on Yahoo News,” a new program offering original video and editorial content sponsored by Buick.

"With Weekend Edition, we’ve established a destination that features lighter lifestyle-oriented news programming, which we already know is more popular with our weekend audience," said Mark Walker, vice president and head of Yahoo News.

"This program also aligns perfectly with Buick’s target demographics and brand attributes, which makes Buick an ideal partner for Weekend Edition."

Weekend Edition will cover a variety of topics, including travel, leisure, culture, family and healthy living. In addition to featuring content from the Yahoo network and from content partners, Weekend Edition will feature an original video series with a number of hosts, including:

Dominique Dawes, a three-time Olympic gymnast who contributed to Yahoo! Sports as an analyst and correspondent from the Olympic Games in China and Vancouver

Harry Hurt, a journalist and author who is behind the Executive Pursuits column in The New York Times, for which he hosted online videos

Jim Brasher, host of the new series "Way of Life" that will air on The Discovery Channel’s international outlets

November 5, 2010
Chris Brogan Talks Online Video’s Ongoing Evolution

More WebProNews Videos

Online video has come a long way in the last few years, and it’s only going further. With the release of new devices and formats, online video content production is going to do nothing but grow. WebProNews recently spoke with Chris Brogan, popular social media guy, President of New Marketing Labs and part of the Pulse Network, about where it’s all heading and where it already is.

"To me, the whole future of what device is going to be shooting the signal across is changing a lot," says Brogan. "I think that just as we started thinking we were going to get used to a three-inch screen, you know, first the HTC EVO and then the Droid X and all these kind of big ol’ phones showed up, then the nine-inch and the six-inch or whatever tablets are all there, and I think that 1. it’s going to be back to ‘holy cow, there’s a lot of formats I gotta get it out to’ mode, and then there’s the whole Flash or not…"

"I think that one of the things is, you know, after you address the whole IP addresses wearing out problem, and then you’re gonna have the whole addressable bandwidth moving around with you stuff, and I think that’s coming up," Brogan continues. "I think that there’s, you know, the backbone Internet, and then there’s the wireless Internet, and that’s another whole story, but I think that we’re getting closer and closer to the 3G than the 4G."

"As we’ve all embraced the YouTube level, I think we’re now starting to go backwards and say ‘we want more HD," he adds. "Consumption of HD is going to go up and up and up as our pipe is getting better, as more people are bringing T1’s to their home…see to me, the mobile one is where the real game is, because we’ve untethered. We’re all laptop users. No one says, ‘Man, I bought a great desktop the other day,’ you know? So, I think that’s one, and I think 2 is, we’re actually going to start consuming more Hi-Def…"

It’s not always been clear just how important HD was going to be to online video. Brogan recalls, "A year and a half ago, I’m talking to Abby [Johnson of WebProNews] and I’m saying, ‘I don’t think you need HD. No one’s processing it. Nobody wants it. It can’t parse. It’s not worth your trouble shooting it.’ And you know, everyone proved me wrong."

One thing that’s pretty much always been clear, however, and one that will never change is that content is important. "Good quality content’s gonna rule…and making those distribution deals."

"Nobody’s buying smaller monitor screens for their desktop, and nobody’s looking for lower res, so if you’re not getting closer and closer to 1080p and beyond…We could have a bunch of cameras in our pockets and be doing just fine," notes Brogan.

Of online video’s recent and ongoing evolution, Brogan says, "There’s a lot of people just into the ‘now what?’ stage. You know, ‘gee whiz’ was a couple years ago, and ‘ok, we’re ready to start’ was last year. This year’s ‘ok, I need real serious numbers. I need real conversion."

That’s why we’re likely to see more and more solutions emerging to help video content providers crunch the numbers. In fact, just today, Brightcove launched its latest version with a great amount of emphasis on analytics.

November 2, 2010
MySpace Gets Reborn, With Emphasis on Entertainment

MySpace announced its new redesign along with a new suite of products today. These, the company tells us, will "redefine the company as a social entertainment destination for Gen Y." We’ll see.

"Myspace is creating a rich, highly-personalized experience for people to discover content and connect with other fans who share similar interests," MySpace Director of Corporate Communications Laurie Spindler tells WebProNews. "The entertainment experience spans music, celebrities, movies, television, and games and will be available through multiple platforms, including online, mobile devices and offline events." She says the new MySpace will empower users to:

– Discover and engage with Myspace’s broad array of content, including original and exclusive programs and content from around the Web.

– Express, collect and display their creations and interests on their profiles and through sharing tools.

– Connect to other fans with similar tastes.

“This marks the beginning of an exciting turning point for Myspace. Our new strategy expands on Myspace’s existing strengths – a deep understanding of social, a wealth of entertainment content and the ability to surface emerging cultural trends in real time through our users," says CEO Mike Jones. "Myspace is unique in that it is powered by the passions of our users, who program the site by expressing interests, sharing tastes and knowledge around particular topics, and scouting out up-and-coming subcultures. This is the just the first step and there will be many more features, programs and improvements to come."

The suite of products includes: "Topics," "Content Hubs," a "Personalized Stream," "Recommendations," "Right Now on MySpace", a "Discovery" Tab, a "My Stuff" Tab, and Badges.

For "Topics", MySpace has over 20,000 entertainment-related pages organized around specific topics which include aggregated info from news sites and blogs. Content hubs are places for movies, TV, and celebrities that include trending articles, news, videos, photos, etc. The personalized stream learns what to feature based on user preferences and habits. The Recommendations feature recommends relevant topics and other fans. "Right Now on MySpace" shows trending content in real time and spotlights recently added music and videos. The "Discovery" tab combines videos that friends are watching with trending content. The "My Stuff" tab features personal profiles, videos, photos, and other uploaded content. Finally, badges reward curators and fans for social activity around entertainment topics.

With all of this, MySpace is launching a new brand identity, including a new logo that’s been seen for weeks now.

The new MySpace begins rolling out today in beta, and will be available to all users by the end of November, according to Spindler. New users will have immediate access to the beta site.

Will the new MySpace entice you to use the site more? Let us know what you think.

October 27, 2010