Playing with my Turntable.fm

If you have been paying attention to digital music land lately, it is highly likely you have heard of a new(ish) digital music service on the market. In beta currently, turntable.fm may just change the way we listen to music. Billed as a kind-of interactive web radio, turntable allows users to take turns spinning their favorite tunes in genre-based rooms. Take the interactive nature of second-life and juxtapose it with a Pandora-like service and you have turntable.

I was skeptical at first, but have to admit after playing a few times, this is quite addictive. Content-wise they have all of the popular stuff... as you head to the not-so-common genres, it gets scarce. That is where the user uploaded content comes into play. All users have the ability to upload their own tracks making it truly a choose-your-own-adventure listening experience. The legalities of the uploaded content has many scratching their heads, but I have it on good authority that they are flying safely below the infringement line thanks to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. On the legal side, they are paying for the uploaded recordings via Sound Exchange so it is all above board (for now).

Legal issues aside, this is a very cool and fun way to hear new music. Once it is out of Beta, I foresee this becoming a popular alternative to Pandora and last.fm.

Everything is a Remix Pt. 3

It has been a good long while since our last installment in this 4 part series and IMHO we are well overdue.  This time Kirby explores the evolution of personal computing and the "copying" going on in that world as companies like Apple rose to power.  Also, stay tuned past the credits for a preview of the 4th and final part of the series.  As always, Kirby has put together a provocative concept here... If you support him and what he is doing be sure to donate.

Everything is a Remix Part 3 from Kirby Ferguson on Vimeo.