Category: Via Geek

I delight in many things geek, like science fiction, things Star Wars and Star Trek, comics, comicons, anime, technology and science. Seattle is a great place to live with those interests.

Some thoughts on the current state of the Streaming Music Business

Carl Setzer

Earlier today I read this piece from my friends at Geekwire: “Music service Rhapsody posts record $35M net loss even as revenues climb to $202M“. I’m not simply concerned about a long-standing Seattle tech company struggling, but also that entities like Spotify are also bleeding cash to keep their market share. The losses are not sustainable long-term. I’m really not a streaming-music industry analyst, so I can’t really speak to the timeline of the issue, and that’s really not my point or concern.

I’m wondering about the sustainability of the music business. Not simply Spotify, et al; actually, even more my focus is on musicians. I’ve heard from many sources (most notably Taylor Swift) about how Spotify is not providing a livable income. Now, if Apple, Google, etc, can pay more than Spotify or Rhapsody, that’s a particular issue. However, I think this is larger. It’s ultimately about the consumers, about me and you as music lovers. Perhaps $10/mo is not enough to for artists to make music and eat. And if that’s the case, maybe we need to think about more $$$.

There are many tools that individual artists are leveraging well. Kickstarter and Patreon come to mind first. There are several tools, though, that help. Many artists I admire, such as Amanda Palmer and Zoe Keating leverage these tools to good effect. However, they spend a lot of time managing their audience. It seems, for them, that they get a lot of positive energy from us. Which will certainly make it more pleasant. Of course, emails, blog posts, Instagram updates and all that take away from producing their art. Or, maybe, that’s part of their art.

Anyway, there’s much to consider with this. So, as a mediation, I’ll leave you with Zoe Keating’s closing at the 2016 Word Economic Forum meeting in Davos. She’s carved an amazing niche for herself. As a fan myself, and love interacting with her other fans.

Well, crap, a new phishing scam: phone calls from “tech support”

Carl Setzer

Ars Technica is reporting incidents where people are getting calls from “Dell Tech Support”. What’s particularly alarming about the latest scam, they are “targeting Dell computer owners is notable because the criminals behind it use private customer details to trick their marks into thinking the calls come from authorized Dell personnel.” They are calling about malicious software specific computers. They are telling folks serial numbers, service history, etc. which understandably leads you to believe they are legitimate.  Like other scams, they say you have malicious software installed and they will clean it up for you, you just give them access.

What to do with this info: do NOT give access to your computers, accounts, etc to inbound callers. Track down an official number for your computer manufacturer. Also, make sure you are running current antivirus/antimalware software. And, if you’re not comfortable with such techie goodness, I highly recommend forming a relationship with some technical entity. Geek Squad is the most famous, but there are many, many places to get good service.

Real estate agents are becoming very desirable targets. I expect you’ve heard of escrow being targeted for exploits.We are involved with high dollar transactions, and criminals good where the money is. We’ll need to do all we can to protect our business interests, as well as our clients information and money.

(originally posted on my Active Rain page)

2015 Year In Review via WordPress

Carl Setzer

I’ve been using the Jetpack WordPress toolbox (my name for it) for a couple of years now. I like their tools and customization options. And then I got this email a week or so ago, and found it fun.

 

A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 3,100 times in 2015. If it were a cable car, it would take about 52 trips to carry that many people.

The busiest day of the year was September 10th with 57 views. The most popular post that day was About Me.

 

These came from the 2015 year in blogging report that Jetpack produces. Check it out for more details.

And 2016 is in full swing, so more to write about soon.

Insights into the Three German students surprise a homeless guy video

Carl Setzer

About a year and a half ago, this video hit YouTube. It’s very inspiring and has a lovely sentiment. To date, it has well over 21 million views.

Apparently the guys at Be Japy caught some flak since the video featured an actor as the homeless guy. It’s important to note that their choice came from the best of intentions. They did perform acts like this one, and were very inspired and wanted to share the idea. And they wanted to do so in such a way that respected those being filmed. Watch their statement below (it’s in German with English subtitles).

For me, this speaks highly to the Be Japy folks. They meant no duplicity, simply seeking the best way to tell their story while maintaining the dignity of the people they’re serving. For that, they have my respect and admiration.

Chip, the IT Guy

Carl Setzer

Ok, I admit it, I haven’t watched the new Muppet Show yet. Clearly I’m in arrears, negligent in my geeky duties. I’ll remedy this ASAP, if for no other reason that this character here.

 

Spotify, Apple Music, And The Masses Of Online Music Choices

Carl Setzer

A few months back, I gave the new Apple Music a go. As a long time Spotify user, I was mainly compelled by access to Apple’s library, with the expectation that the service would have access to the full catalog. Well, that’s not the case. With that, it’s not quite clear when a song is available for streaming vs. only for download. Well, at least that’s how I found it. Ultimately, I found the whole experience underwhelming. Particularly sad considering Apple’s aura as masters of design. Another compelling piece was the price of the family plan. Spotify has been making some noise of matching that plan, though. That would make the Apple benefit small, very small. Lastly, there’s the bit where Spotify’s been arguing with artists over pay. I need to agree that the public discourse Spotify launched was very defensive and, to sound like Wil Wheaton, “dickish”. However, as I dug around the internet for data, I didn’t find much to support that artists are making more with Apple, or that the Apple Music service was going to make them able to subsist.

I cancelled the renewal of Apple music. However, I’m not entirely convinced that Spotify is the best. There are so damn many of these services out there and I’ve only scraped the surface. And, as a Seattle guy, I need to consider to home-spun entries into the space: Real Network’s Rhapsody, probably the oldest streaming service out there.  Then there’s Microsoft’s Groove. As a former Microsoftie, I feel compelled to give my chums in Redmond a fair shake.

My next steps need to include giving some thought to what constitutes “the best”. I know I want access to a large library, one that includes great jazz and classical content besides the latest pop hits. I want to work with a company that’s working hard to ensure their artists are compensated fairly. The interface needs to be clean and intuitive. And music discovery is critical. I want a family plan, so the three of us can all use it with independent accounts. Oh, and it needs to excel across platforms. Any given day I’ll be on Windows 7, 8, Mac, and Android.

So check in and see where this leads. And let me know what you’ve discovered, what you recommend, what pitfalls I should be considering. Your wisdom is what I value you most.

Blogging & Vlogging

Carl Setzer

Just watched Chris Pirillo getting interviewed by Press Play Consulting. Pretty interesting stuff. Chris has done great work both blogging, then evolving into vlogging. I haven’t been in any hurry to move into the vlog world. However, listening to Chris, I’m thinking of reconsidering this. People seem to be getting better engagement with vlogs now. However, I’m primarily a writer, which is why I’ve been reluctant to make the move, besides a few experiments over on YouTube.  Personally, I have always felt the internet is a big place, with room for all kinds of content. In that regard, I guess the real answer should be “what’s the most fun?”

What about you? Where do you think the internet is heading? Watch Chris and let me know your thoughts.

 

Not Just Seattle Facebook Page

Carl Setzer

Hey everyone,

Did you know Not Just Seattle had a Facebook page? Come on by and say “hi”!

https://www.facebook.com/NotJustSeattle

Living la Vida soccer, or not

Carl Setzer

Am I terrible for being thankful my son didn’t get into soccer?  I look at those families that have kids playing the game and am just flummoxed by the time commitment.

Now, I get the importance of learning to function on a team. Along with the value of personal growth in support of the team. Both are quite important. Soccer teaches great things.

However, when I see so many of the week’s hours absorbed by practices, then two or more games over a weekend, I think that maybe it’s too all consuming.

Perhaps it’s simply the hubris of league managers who demand full focus on THEM. Maybe these folks can’t plan; challenged by the time management piece. Or they just love the sport so much that they can’t conceive of life existing off the field. Perhaps my view from the outside is skewed by the frustrations of the parents, without seeing the larger picture. I’m unsure.

I value a rich and balanced life. That seems to be what we have. I guess that should be enough for me.

Spam from Zillow Email Address

Carl Setzer

Hey folks,

I’ve noticed a slough of email from zms-248310770403394@reply.zillow.com. Besides a bunch of messages “We have received your case…”, I also have noticed that any reply to the that address goes to “everyone”. My theory: there’s a bot somewhere that’s taking every reply and blasting itself out. No, I don’t think Zillow has anything to do with it. 

So, my recommendation: in gmail, mark this as ‘spam’, and then ignore it. I noticed that gmail (at least) has been fast about capturing this whole thread as spam.

DO NOT REPLY TO THIS!!!

There isn’t anyone sending these messages consciously. As far as I can tell, there’s no email list to remove yourself from. So, until the bot is located and deleted by it’s host, we can only mark as spam and move on.

Also, make sure you’re running up-to-date anti-virus and anti-malware software. I recommend AVG & Malwarebytes, but the tool is less important that the simple act of using it.