August 10, 2009
QUOTE: "I mean, get as many diamond chains and fur pajamas and champagne breakfasts as you can, but the chains and the pajamas and champagne can't be the endgame—not for us. Reckless capitalism kills black people. This music has given young people in our community a dangerous road map." —rapper Mos Def, on the negative influence of rap [Spin, 8/09]
With music sales slumping and record companies struggling to stay profitable, Island Def Jam will begin incorporating third-party ads in some of its CDs. First up: Mariah Carey's Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel, scheduled for release on Sept. 15. The CD will include a 34-page booklet, co-sponsored by Elle magazine, that will contain ads from Elizabeth Arden, Angel Champagne and the Bahamas Board of Tourism, among others. "The idea was really simple thinking," says Antonio "L.A." Reid, chairman of Island Def Jam Music Group. "My artists have substantial circulation—when you sell 2 million, 5 million, 8 million, that's a lot of eyeballs. Most magazines aren't as successful as those records." [brandweek.com, 8/1/09]
What percentage of people ages 12 and over in the United States actually pay for their digital music downloads? According to research specialists Ipsos MediaCT, the figure is just 19% (16% through Apple's iTunes and 3% through Rhapsody). The majority, 32%, are still sharing files illegally via peer-to-peer networks. Another sizeable percentage, 22%, listen legally to artists without paying via MySpace Music, which has become the third-most-visited music website. The report also noted that 27% of those who'd once downloaded music actively no longer do so. [emarketer.com, 7/30/09 stats]
New research suggests that TV is even worse for children than previously thought. While it's no surprise that sedentary, tube-viewing children ages 3-8 have higher blood pressure than more active kids, scientists in the United States and Spain found that children's blood pressure actually increased in relation to the amount of TV they watched. Researchers suggest that might be because many children who watch TV also eat at the same time—something they engage in less often if they're on the computer or playing video games. "These results show that TV-viewing really is the worst of all possible sedentary activities," said Dr. David Ludwig, director of the Optimal Weight for Life Program at Children's Hospital Boston. [time.com, 8/4/09 stats, c&e]
UPDATE: It turns out that advertising revenue—and the potential loss thereof—was what prompted Fox to say no to an abortion-themed episode of Family Guy. In the episode, titled "Partial Terms of Endearment," a character named Lois is asked by a friend to be a surrogate mother. Lois agrees. But when the friend dies, Lois is unsure what do about the woman's baby. Instead of carrying it to term, she decides to have an abortion. Kevin Reilly, president of Fox Entertainment, said of the edgy episode, "It's an extremely fragile subject matter at an extremely fragile economic time. Of all the issues, this is the one that seems to be the most of a hot button." In a separate interview, he said, "There was a tough conversation going on with [advertising] clients, and we didn't need the headache." [nytimes.com 8/6/2009; thrfeed.com 8/6/09]
QUOTE: "Family-friendly roles are extremely important, it is who I am. I had family morals instilled in me as a child, and I have a responsibility to be a good role model. When the kids are back in school I want to go back to [speaking at] churches. It is a passion of mine. Christian faith is so important, and sharing Christ is one of the most important things to me." —actress Candace Cameron, best known for portraying D.J. Tanner on the show Full House, on her new role in the ABC series Make It or Break It [foxnews.com 7/31/09]
More comprising photos of Vanessa Hudgens made their way onto the Internet recently, reportedly leaked from her BlackBerry. What's unknown, however, is whether they were new photos, additional shots from a similar leak in 2007 or Photoshopped images. Some have also speculated that the pictures could actually be an elaborately staged publicity stunt. Hollywood image consultant Michael Sands said of the latest scandal, "Vanessa wants to raise her visibility and become an 'A' lister, so by posing, Vanessa is shedding her Disney image and becoming a serious actress. Vanessa feels her career is being held back and she wants to be 'en vogue.'" For her part, Hudgens is said to be humiliated by the pictures and refuses to discuss them. [foxnews.com 8/6/2009]
Paula Abdul's announcement that she has decided to leave American Idol, the country's most popular TV show, came as a shock to many. Equally surprising—or not, given Paula's famously erratic behavior and the nature of news these days—was that she chose to announce her decision via a series of Twitter posts. "With sadness in my heart, I've decided not to return to IDOL," Abdul wrote in one post. "I'll miss nurturing all the new talent, but most of all being a part of a show that I helped from day 1 become an international phenomenon." [ew.com, 7/4/09]
A number of news outlets have recently reported that teens don't seem much interested in Twitter. Now Nielsen has seemingly confirmed that. Based on information gleaned from the 250,000 Internet users that the research firm surveys, only 16% of Twitter users are under the age of 25. [blog.nielsen.com, 7/30/09 stats]
According to consulting firm gravitytank, smartphone owners spend an average of two hours a day using those devices, with 40% of that time devoted to various smartphone applications, many (if not most) of which have some sort of Internet component. [usatoday.com, 8/2/09 stats]
An emergency call center in Waterloo, Iowa, has become the first place in the country to accept emergency 911 text messages. [AP, 8/5/09]
According to the ongoing Pew Internet & American Life Project, Internet users' appetite for Web video has almost doubled in the last couple of years. In December 2006, 33% of Web users reported having watched a video on YouTube or similar sites. In Pew's most recent survey, that number had increased to 62%. "The audience for online video-sharing sites like YouTube and Google Video continues to grow swiftly across all demographic groups, far outpacing the adoption rates of many other Internet activities," the report said. "Over time, online video has become more deeply integrated into daily life, and has started to move into the spaces that are typically reserved for traditional television viewing." [msnbc.com, 7/29/09 stats]
The Entertainment Merchants Association recently reported that 68% of American households have video gaming systems. The video gaming industry sold about $23 billion worth of merchandise in 2008—19% more than 2007. [industrygamers.com, 7/27/09 stats]
QUOTE: "No, no, no!" —actor Brad Pitt's response to a German interviewer who asked him, "Do you believe in God?" The interviewer followed up with the question, "Is your soul spiritual?' to which Pitt replied, "No, no, no! I'm probably 20 per cent atheist and 80 per cent agnostic. I don't think anyone really knows. You'll either find out or not when you get there, until then there's no point thinking about it." [bild.de, 7/22/09]
QUOTE: "The acknowledgement of time, its effects—on a good day, it's a sweetener. It makes every element of the day come to life a little more than it normally would. Because you realize it's finite—everything around you, the band, the family. In a not very long period of time, someone else will be living in this house, driving these roads. Somebody may go, 'Hey, Bruce Springsteen used to live there.' And in a little bit longer than that, they ain't gonna be saying that anymore. They're just going to be driving by." —Bruce Springsteen, on the brevity of life and legacy [Rolling Stone, 2/5/09]