Surfthechannel owner sentenced after piracy conviction

 

Surfthechannel.com indexed links to online videos but did not host the media files itself

The owner of Surfthechannel.com – a site that provided links to illegally copied TV shows and films – has been sentenced to four years in jail.

Facebook focuses on media sharing and adds timeline

Facebook partners up to bring music, news and videos to your profile through Open Graph

Facebook has outlined plans to encourage users to share more of the media they consume – including music and movies – with friends.

Its founder Mark Zuckerberg also unveiled a dramatic redesign to the website, replacing user profiles with an audio visual timeline of their life.

The updates were revealed at Facebook’s annual F8 developer conference.

A wave of new features in recent weeks have been welcomed by some users and caused annoyance to many others.

Lil Wayne ‘breaks’ iTunes sales record

Lil Wayne's new album sold 964,000 copies in its first week on sale

Lil Wayne has set a new iTunes sales record with the release of his tenth studio album. Total sales for the American rapper’s ‘Tha Carter IV’ in its first week were 964,000 according to Nielson SoundScan.

But it reportedly ‘easily broke’ the iTunes’ album sales record by selling around 345,000 copies in four days.

His manager Birdman, co founder

Lionel Richie’s Country Duets Album Nearing Completion

Lionel Richie

Producer Tony Brown says he’s almost completed recording Lionel Richie’s album of duets with country artists.

So far done are “Stuck on You” (withDarius Rucker), “Sail On” (Tim McGraw), “Lady” (Kenny Rogers), “Easy” (Willie Nelson), “Deep River Woman” (Little Big Town), “You Are” (Blake Shelton) and “All Night Long” (Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band).

Still to do are recordings with Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland and the Zac Brown Band. “We’re having a blast,” Brown tells CMT.com.

“Lionel is the coolest fun guy, and he’s blown away by the musicians here.” Brown estimates the album will be out this summer.

Source: CMT

Sony Ericsson unveils Live with Walkman handset for music-loving Android users

Four months after unveiling the relatively bare bones W8, Sony Ericsson has now taken the wraps off yet another Walkman phone, known as the Live with Walkman. Powered by a 1GHz processor, this Android handset features a 3.2 inch, capacitive touchscreen (with somewhat disappointing HVGA resolution), a five megapixel AF shooter with 8x digital zoom, and a front-facing VGA camera capable of capturing HD video in 720p.

The petite, Gingerbread-equipped device also packs a lackluster 320MB of RAM, provides up to 32GB of microSD storage, and offers either tri-band 3G support (HSPA+) at 850, 1900 and 2100MHZ, or dual-band 3G at 900 and 2100MHz, depending on the model.

Harper Seven name inspired by To Kill a Mockingbird author – David Beckham

The Beckhams recently welcomed their fourth child into the world (Allstar)

David Beckham has revealed the inspiration behind his newborn daughter’s name Harper Seven – it’s a tribute to the author of high-brow literary work To Kill A Mockingbird, of course. The former Manchester United and Real Madrid footballer published a video on Facebook in which he explained how his wife Victoria’s love of literature helped inspire their choice – even after she admitted in 2005 that she ‘hadn’t read a book in [her] life’.

‘One reason is Harper’s an old English name which we loved,’ David revealed. One of the other reasons was Victoria’s favourite book is To Kill A Mockingbird and the author was Harper Lee. ‘It’s a very strong, passionate book. That’s where Harper came from.’

YouTube blocks Lady Gaga channel

Lady Gaga's been touring Asia promoting her latest album

Lady Gaga’s official YouTube channel has been suspended by the video sharing website. People who click on it expecting to see material posted by the Born This Way singer are greeted with a simple message.

“This account has been suspended due to multiple or severe violations of YouTube’s Copyright Policy,” it reads. Several online reports say it’s because of a disagreement between the star and a Japanese media company.

Copyright violation

Lady Gaga recently appeared on SMAP X SMAP, a weekly TV show in Japan, to promote her new album. During her ten minute set she performed a medley of songs featuring Born This Way, You & I and The Edge of Glory.

Footage of that performance has since been removed from other websites as well as YouTube. On one it says the copyright violation claim is from Media Interactive Inc.

Google, which owns YouTube, said it does not comment on individual videos or accounts. Lady Gaga is one of the most popular artists on the internet. Her Bad Romance video has been watched nearly 400 million times on YouTube. She also has more than 11 million followers on Twitter.

Source: BBC

 

DIY iPad music breakout gives pro-grade stage presence, mixes circuitry with art

If you’re thinking this iPad audio breakout dock looks remarkably good considering its DIY origins, then you should know it wasn’t put together by any old screwball with a soldering iron. Nope, this was made by Qubais “Reed” Ghazala, a very particular old screwball who’s been blurring the lines between circuitry, music and art since the Summer of Love (that’s 1967 on a normal calendar).

Prince joins Eagles and Morrissey as Hop Farm festival headliner

At the Hop ... Prince returns to the UK to headline summer festival. Photograph

Prince is to headline the Hop Farm Music festival in July. It will be the singer’s only UK show of 2011, and comes as a surprise after he had been tipped to play Glastonbury. The other headlining acts at the festival are very different in character, the previously announced Eagles and Morrissey.

It will be the first time Prince has played in the UK since he broke sales records at a 21-date residency at the O2 arena in 2007. He will top the bill on Sunday 3 July on a newly announced third day of the festival (supporting acts are to be confirmed).

Gaga falls off a piano on stage

Lady Gaga briefly misplaced her dignity at a show in Houston, Texas, after a stage stunt left her flat on her back.

The singer was perched on top of her piano, which also happened to be on fire, when she slipped on the tricky dismount, ending up underneath the keyboard.

She was performing the track ‘You And I’ as the fall happened, while wearing just a pair of vertiginous stilettos and underwear.

But playing the consummate professional, she continued the song without missing a beat, and didn’t even refer to the fact that she had ended up under her own piano.

“It was in the middle of the show,” said fan Eric Souklnary, who filmed the slip. “She was really high up and it looked really bad. I only just managed to keep the video steady.

“The crowd all saw it and I don’t think anyone would have minded if she’d walked off the stage to get checked out by medics.” [Daily Mail]