At last, I think the nature of [AV] transmission is beginning to reveal itself.

Do we need a new term? Probably - many other terms (p2p, broadcast, webcast, bitcast, torrent, web2.0, hive, etc) all describe an evolutionary step, so it does make sense to have a phrase to describe this one (note that edgecasting has already been monopolised by the CDN community and doesn’t actually describe “edge” in the context we need it to).

Cloudcasting is a term to describe usage of cloud (or meta-cloud) infrastructure to super-distribute content to, and from, edge devices.

Design requirements

:: Addressability
Permanent, guessable, as per the Coatsian rules of linkage.

:: Viewer Identity Management
Viewer-controlled at the edge, as per the O’Brien rule of Digital Identity Management.

:: Distributed storage
Both at the edge and in the cloud, as per the Loosemore box of imposs and the O’Brien rule of infinite scaling.

:: Open, anonymous publishing
Via tor networks, embedded on every mobile, home router, myth … devices.

:: Access control and content-owner identity tracking
Enabling edge-to-edge rights-control and reporting for those who want/need it. Commercially-enabling is important.

A cloudcast needs to enable content owners to be identified so that they can be paid (via direct and/or syndication channels) but doesn’t need to explicitly identify users, only views, which can be managed via oauth-escrow.

A p2p+tor+S3+mythTV+hive+impossibox mash-up, but with good addressability…?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/

For (mostly my own) reference, here’s a scan of the printed version

Thanks to Wendy.

Billboard says

“CBS Radio and Last.fm, both owned by CBS Corp, have teamed up for closer collaboration on their respective radio initiatives. Under the agreement, CBS Radio will stream all its stations to Last.fm’s U.S. users. This includes KROQ in Los Angeles, WCBS in New York, WXRT in Chicago and WVEE in Atlanta.

The UK Last.fm service already does the same for BBC stations in London.

Listeners on Last.fm can then flip from the radio stream to playing individual songs, and add songs heard via the radio stream to their Last.fm playlist to play later on-demand.”

What does this mean?

If you look at the BBC presence I see no evidence of any “radio streaming”. BBC Radio 1, Radio 2, Radio 3 and Radio 4 all have pages, but there’s no live radio simulcast. They all say,

“BBC Radio X isn’t yet available to play on Last.fm.”

Does “stream stations to users” mean putting a hyperlink on a web page? Embedding a streaming URL in a web page? Exchanging metadata about what’s playing so you can play the same thing? Last.fm providing a relayed streaming feed whereby Last.fm pay for the delivery infrastructure?

I suspect it’s the exchange of metadata, in which case we have a complete mess of jargon being used in the media and really odd expectations being set.

… and if radio stations have an API on their playlists, then this kind of mashup requires no commercial intervention, let alone a press release. It certainly isn’t “radio”.

CI (of which I’m a Director) has been shortlisted for the Music Week Award “Distributor of the Year”.

It’s a giant shift in perception that we’re even being considered, and certainly the fact we delivered ~20% of Amazon’s US download store is a catalyst.

CI’s digital distribution service model /has set/continues to set/ standards in how with digital products and web services can work together. CI takes no fees from retailers, and no % of sales (think “DHL for digital products”).

It’s mission is “enable access to markets” by providing easy routes for any rights-owner to distribute to any retailer (160 at last count, including iTunes, mobile operators, China, Korea, etc…). CI’s clients are all in the independent sector, and represent over 2 million tracks. We also have a rather good jukebox in our office.

To be listed up against Universal and EMI (and Pinnacle is one of CI’s clients) is indicative of the shift in the balance of “power” in the music industry.

Fingers crossed!

If you’d like to get involved, have a look ℵhere.

http://www.ci-info.com/jobs.html

at. last.

http://techreport.com/onearticle.x/12160

http://www.emigroup.com/Press/2007/press18.htm

http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2007/04/02itunes.html

Of course, all CI’s clients already sell non-DRM’d music…

The exequo.org powered SoundJunction just won the “Music” award in the NMA awards

I seem to have a knack for turning up/helping some of the “winners” … Playlouder’s Glastonbury webcasts won before.

In the guardian again, this time with my exequo hat on.

http://technology.guardian.co.uk/weekly/story/0,,1766532,00.html

Again, it’s not a “bad thing” but an evolution of a licensing framework to try and meet a demand. It may seem a bit slow moving, but it’s progress of sorts.

A lovely review of “Binary Dust” by Steve Mayall at www.musically.com

“It often seems as if digital music manufacturers compete to cram the most technology into the lightest, most tiny, pocket device. So it was refreshing to discover the latest musical release from avant-garde performer and new media veteran Gavin Starks: a musical rock. Starks, who founded Tornado and is now MD of UK digital music services company Consolidated Independent, has embedded a music playback device into a 19kg smooth granite rock, which plays his own compositions when manipulated by optical controls in the stone. There’s something inspiringly retro-futuristic / stone-age / space age about the release, which Starks is calling “Binary Dust” and comes under a Creative Commons licence. But proving that Starks is nothing if not forward-thinking, the creator promises that future versions will be solar powered.”