Archive for October 25th, 2007

Say you care

My credit union, MECU, is committed to environmental and social sustainability; it was a primary factor in my choice of banking institution. This morning when I logged on to check my account balance I saw the link ACF is asking the question: Who On Earth Cares?

This Australian Conservation Foundation initiative is very nicely thought out. You can add yourself to the map, and show that you really do care by sending a letter to your local representative in parliament. In 5 simple steps you fill out a basic profile and a personal letter is automatically generated for you to print out. Their system is beautiful – you can even edit the auto-generated text of the letter before creating a pdf copy to print.

So here’s a challenge: put yourself on the map and see who else cares. To help inspire you, here is a copy of the letter I’m sending to Bob McMullan MP, my federal representative: Read the rest of this entry »

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More writing on the wall for record companies

Record companies are not enjoying the digital information revolution. Last year I ran into Magnatune, which is attempting to be the the first real Internet-era record label. Their motto is “We Are Not Evil“; and this is echoed in their commitment to no DRM, high quality CC by-nc-sa licensed try-before-you-buy mp3s, decent payment of artists, and full CD quality downloads.

One of the distinctive features of Magnatune is that customers decide the price they pay for an album (between $5 and $18). Because buyers know that a full 50% of what they pay goes directly to the artist (rather than the measly 5% or so that artists usually get when you buy a CD), they are often willing to pay even more than is recommended.

Radiohead recently tried a similar scheme with its new album In Rainbows.  Similarly, they found that fans are even more willing to purchase music when they know their money isn’t being hoarded by a greedy middle-man. Read the rest of this entry »