ReadWriteWeb is reporting that Revision3, the IPTV network founded last year in part by Digg’s Jay Adelson and Kevin Rose, has announced a new show to their already large line up. XLR8R TV (pronounced “accelerator” TV) is an underground music show that they hope will attract an untapped niche crowd as well as the attention of advertisers.

According to the show’s homepage:

XLR8R TV is a monthly show featuring interviews with and performances by the groundbreaking musicians and artists you’ll find in the pages of XLR8R magazine.

XLR8R magazine and website publications are dedicated to music, style, culture and technology. Founded in 1993, their scope was on electronic music and has since broadened to encompass the hip-hop, indie rock, reggae and dancehall music genres.

XLR8R TV will cover the same content covered on their website and magazine, but will use the show to shed light on emerging artists. A new episode of XLR8R TV will be released on the 1st of every month, with an extended edition in the middle of each month to include three music videos from artists they cover. The show is hosted on location, and will be comprised of interviews of music artists and their fans, and of course will include music by those artists.

You can watch their first episode here.

Originally posted on March 1, 2007 @ 5:24 pm

Gizmodo is proposing that everyone put their money where their mouths are, and boycott the RIAA during the month of March. They make an important point; we are in effect feeding them the money they need for their lawsuits. The power of the purse is no new idea, and can be an effective method to send a message, it is simply incumbent upon the parties affected to organize and assert their power.

This doesn’t mean you should necessarily start pirating everything. There are still legal ways of sticking it to the RIAA, as Gizmodo points out:

Firstly, I encourage everyone to purchase music from unsigned bands and bands on independent record labels. There are tons of great artists out there, many of which you’re probably already a fan of, that have nothing to do with the RIAA. Buy their records at eMusic, an online store that sells independent tunes in beautiful, DRM-free MP3 format.

Secondly, you can still support RIAA-signed bands without buying their music. Go see them live and buy their merchandise; they get a hell of a lot more money from that then they do from album sales. And hey, you could benefit from getting out more, couldn’t you?

If you are unsure whether or not an album is put out by an RIAA label, the handy RIAA Radar will clear everything up for you. They have both a search engine and a great bookmarklet, so be sure to get yourself hooked up.

Actions speak louder than words. It’s time we stand up and take action against the unethical and often illegal practices of both governmental and corporate entities that have, for too long, gone uncontested.

Originally posted on February 24, 2007 @ 12:21 am

Digg today announced the inclusion of two new subcategories. I expected the addition of the “Microsoft” subcategory of Technology News, a reincarnation of the Windows section that was removed from the much earlier versions of Digg. It was only a matter of time before they realized that Digg needed to reintroduce a section to complement the Apple section.

More importantly though, and a bit unexpectedly, Digg announced a temporary subcategory under World & Business News called, “US Elections 2008.” This is surely in response to the overwhelming popularity of the Politics sections on Digg, which is evident in the past month’s Digg Presidential Statistics.

With the addition of the US Elections 2008 section, Digg only further defines it’s role as a news medium and will join the likes of YouTube in its growing influence in the 2008 presidential election.

Originally posted on February 27, 2007 @ 1:47 am

Last year Business 2.0 magazine published the 2006 Next Net 25 list, which outlined the top 25 Internet startups that were most likely to succeed. It is important to note that three of the startups mentioned in last year’s list were acquired by Google; Jotspot, Writely and who can forget YouTube. Several other sites mention in last years Next Net 25 list, also went on to garner greater popularity and deals.

This year they have have decided to continue the tradition and name 2007’s Next Net 25. They’ve compiled this list into five categories; social media, video, mobile, online advertising and enterprise applications. They believe these sites have the greatest ability to prosper due to their innovative concepts and their promising business models. With formidable contenders like MetaCafe, Wikia and Joost on the list, surely some of the sites mentions will cross the chasm into mainstream culture.

Originally posted on February 23, 2007 @ 9:17 pm