Category Archives: technology

What Happened to Vint Cerf?

Posted on October 27, 2012 by ratpie

This August, 2012, on FT.com Vint Cerf was quoted in an article about the upcoming UN discussions over Internet governance. But Mr Cerf says that pricing structures are antithetical to the internet as they could stifle innovation. “When Larry Page … Continue reading →

Posted in markets, regulation, technology | Leave a comment

How Art Changes the Architecture of the Internet

Posted on June 1, 2012 by ratpie

Reading Neelie Kroes’ recent blog post on net neutrality (link updated Dec 2017) reminded me of a startling presentation that was given to Nanog in 2009 (I was not there so was thankful that the slides were made available here) which … Continue reading →

Posted in markets, regulation, technology | 1 Comment

Music v. Tech – How to Stop Fighting Yesterday’s Wars

Posted on May 25, 2012 by ratpie

Google recently released some startlingly large numbers relating to the number of copyright infringement takedown requests it receives and continues to act upon. Almost at the same time (it can’t entirely be a coincidence) the UK book publishers’ trade association … Continue reading →

Posted in strategy, technology | Leave a comment

The Relative Incompetence of the Music Industry

Posted on May 1, 2012 by ratpie

Perhaps in the days of paper forms and typing pools it was excusable that the music industry shied away from line by line accounting in favour of statistical sampling and pro rata share outs of royalty pools. An additional copyright … Continue reading →

Posted in strategy, technology | Leave a comment

Some Numbers In The Digital Music Industry

Posted on March 30, 2012 by ratpie

There are now very few barriers to entry in the digital music industry, if you are lucky enough to be middle class in a developed economy. Production tools are essentially free if you have a computer; broadband connects you to … Continue reading →

Posted in regulation, strategy, technology | Leave a comment

A Simple Suggestion for Copyright Policymakers

Posted on December 29, 2011 by ratpie

This simple suggestion is offered to copyright policymakers around the world. Copyright economies are complex. So complex that your most carefully designed reforms are likely to have consequences you could not foresee, and may even damage the sectors or people … Continue reading →

Posted in regulation, technology | Leave a comment

Sony’s Gatfield Shows Mutual Misunderstanding Between Music & ISPs As Deep As Ever

Posted on December 21, 2011 by ratpie

Nick Gatfield, recently appointed CEO of Sony Music UK, took the opportunity of an interview with the Guardian newspaper to do a bit of grandstanding on behalf of the music industry. Broadband businesses he said “are being built on the … Continue reading →

Posted in strategy, technology | Leave a comment

Lessons for Music from the Steam Age

Posted on October 28, 2011 by ratpie

If you go to London’s Science Museum and look at some of the early commercial steam engines you might notice a ‘pump counter’ which ticked up with every pump of the piston. Boulton and Watt’s original business model was to … Continue reading →

Posted in strategy, technology | Leave a comment

Amazon, GaGa, & UITS

Posted on May 25, 2011 by ratpie

Amazon’s inability to ship Lady GaGa album downloads is getting a bit of attention currently. I doubt they under-estimated demand – if anyone knows about demand it’s Amazon. It was unlikely to be a basic scaling problem either. Just about … Continue reading →

Posted in strategy, technology | Leave a comment