andPOP » online

Video Game Sales Hit Four-Year Low

Christian Allaire — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 19:00:02 +0000

Posted on andPOP:

The video game industry hit a four-year low in May, reports The Hollywood Reporter.

Video game sales apparently hit its lowest monthly U.S. profit since October 2006, totalling $743.1 million. That number may seem high, but it’s nothing compared to the $866.8 million of last year.

“A light slate of new releases is at the heart of this month’s performance,” said NPD analyst Anita Frazier. “As a result of a lighter release slate, promotional activity at retail and in circulars was reduced as well, which undoubtedly affected not only planned but impulse purchases.”

Frazier says it is unfair to base all results on figures, though, as an increasing amount of video game sales derive from online or downloadable exclusive content purchases.

This year’s top selling game was ‘L.A. Noire,’ a murder-mystery action game set in old L.A.

I agree with the analyst. Much of today’s market comes from the online world, so we have to factor in the sales from that. I don’t think video games are going anywhere anytime soon.

MySongToYou – The Next American Idol?

RM Franks — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 15:29:03 +0000

Posted on andPOP:

We had a Friday night ritual in my house when I was growing up. After dinner, my older brother, my dad and I would gather around the TV to watch Bob Saget painfully narrate America’s Funniest Home Videos.

While a version of the show still runs miraculously, the tradition of watching with my family every Friday evaporated like a puddle. We no longer needed Danny Tanner’s wholesome humor to watch stupid, random, funny videos. We could now just go to YouTube, and make comments on our own.

A few weeks ago the 10th season of American Idol debuted to record TV audiences, with record audition numbers, and record, record-breaking records. People go ga-ga for American Idol. But, in the same vein, shouldn’t there be a medium to listen to people of all sorts sing their hearts out without constant interruption from Ryan Seacrest’s blonde highlights and skinny tie? Without the womanly shriek of approval from Steven Tyler and hearing whether or not Randy Jackson is “really diggin it, dog”?

Can’t we just listen at our own leisure, on a site made for singers, like we now do with YouTube, and make our own judgements and comments for everyone to read?

In fact, we can, thanks to a marvelous new website known as MySongToYou (www.mysongtoyou.com)

MySongToYou is an extremely catchy site that allows users to record their own vocals over professional-quality instrumentals and beats, then re-up the track to the site for the entire world to hear. In essence, imagine YouTube with audio files instead of video, where the music comes from the site.

“The purpose of the site is really to put people in the seat of the recording artist from the comfort of their own home,” says Shane Pollack, the site’s creator. “It’s meant to be both a community of users and a tool for crafting your own songs.”

Here’s how it works: Pretend you really want to sing, whether for your own personal interests, or even to ‘send’ a song to somebody, but you don’t happen to be a musician or have access to background music (and you’re sick of bothering your pot-dealing cousin to play a few chords on his Mexican acoustic while you hover over him with a voice recorder.)

Log on to MySongToYou, you pick one of the top-quality beats or instrumentals the website has provided, and lay your track down over that. Simple as pie.

Once the sample is downloaded, you simply record your voice over it, and upload it back to the website. Comments, criticisms, and LOL’s are sure to follow, and the real fun begins.

The samples themselves come from dozens of professional DJ’s, musicians, and other artists MySongToYou has partnered up. The site features a variety of familiar genres, all original and studio-quality.

Like YouTube, Pollack envisions millions of songs on the site with countless comments from countless users.

It’s catching on, too. RnB sensation Brandy discovered the site with her daughter and she herself deemed it “the next YouTube.” Pollack is also currently working on getting MySongToYou into the curriculum of grade-school music programs in the United States.

The feedback has been outstanding, and by taking one visit to the site, one can see why its so attractive:

First, it’s agonizingly easy. Creating a professional-caliber piece of music is in reach of every vocalist who enters the site, because the music they sing over is already top-quality.

Second, MySongToYou is extremely versatile towards different styles of music. The instrumentals range from hip-hop to rock, from classical to RnB, and even “special occasion music”. Happy birthday to me.

But to understand the true motivation behind MySongToYou, is to understand a bit about Pollack himself.

“People’s inspiration to sing or rap nowadays comes from the beat,” he proposes. “When you hear a good beat, it sets things off, you want to do more with it.”

And that’s a big part of the reason for the site, to get people motivated.

Pharrell Williams was associated with a similar website, www.ujam.com, “but the main difference is that UJam instructs users to sing acapella, and software then creates music behind the voice, based on what was sang,” says Pollack.

At MySongToYou, “you hear the beat first and get motivated, which is a key to the whole thing.”

He fondly recalls late nights with buddies when they would “freestyle” over beats at a party. This is the creative energy MySongToYou is attempting to tap into.

Pollack, now 30, is a writer, musician, rapper, and entrepreneur living in Los Angeles.

His career in music took a relevant boost when hip-hop legend Doug E. Fresh took Pollack under his wing in NYC and fine tuned his sound as a rapper. He travelled Europe doing shows under the stage name “Mad Philosopher” in trendy destinations like St. Tropez and Cannes and performed several shows in North America as well, until he stopped performing in 2008.

Pollack’s resume also includes television pilots for HBO, several short film productions, and perhaps most notable, a wholesale baseball card business he and his brother ran when Shane was 13.

“We were two little kids running a massive baseball card gig. We lived in New York City and would always drive up to Montreal and get Expo autographs, and we made lots of money too.”

Fifteen years later, Pollack and his big bro (one of the business minds behind the site) put that same passion into the idea for MySongToYou, and the idea was initially put onto paper in October of ’08.

Today, it has nearly 2,000 facebook fans, a number that increases everyday. While the site is still extremely young, its growth has been mature beyond its years.

“What we have right now is a shell for the future,” Pollack says. “Eventually it’ll be much much more.”

That includes the site’s plan to eventually market their product as a gift item that could potentially team up with something like Build-A-Bear or greeting card companies.

Imagine getting a stuffed teddy that sings a song made personally for you. Move over De Beers.

The idea of singing in your shower for the entire world to hear might scare some, but in this new age of online networking and exhibitionism, it’s already been a huge hit with many, and sure to be for many more.

MySongToYou’s software is simple, its music is catchy, and the idea is fresh.

And just like American Idol, many uploads are effin hilarious.

andPOP Radio Teams Up With CougarLife.com

andPOP Staff — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 05:02:53 +0000

Posted on andPOP:

The guys at andPOP Radio are certainly casanovas, but occasionally they even need help. This is true especially when it comes to picking up older women – Jordan, Chris and Dan just don’t have that magic touch. This was demonstrated on a recent outing where all three tried to pick up mature ladies. Have a look at the results, and thank goodness for CougarLife.com!

Go Daddy Sued for Pictures Used in Online Michael Jackson Casino

andPOP Staff — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 13:23:15 +0000

Posted on andPOP:

So this is probably exploitation of a man’s death at its finest! A lawsuit has erupted over the use of some Michael Jackson photos at MichaelJacksonCasino.com.

Howard Mann is the gentleman who claims to own the photos used at MichaelJacksonCasino.com, but never authorized their use. However Mann can’t find the identity of the person running the site, so now he is suing GoDaddy.com to reveal the identity. GoDaddy was used to register the domain.

Mann is suing for $100 Million from both GoDaddy and the site owner for damages.

A rep for Go Daddy tells TMZ, “While we have not seen the lawsuit, if we are named, Go Daddy plans to vigorously defend itself.” The rep adds, “When customers are involved in a legal dispute, Go Daddy complies with court orders.”

Granted Mann may have a point if he never authorized the use of these photos, however he is just trying to exploit MJ’s death. He is no different than the sleeze who is running MichaelJacksonCasino.com.

Archive Games Releases Three New Indie Games

andPOP Staff — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 00:15:58 +0000

Posted on andPOP:

Archive Entertainment announced on Thursday the release of Archive Games, a digital distribution platform that strives to connect independent video game developers with players. Three new independent studios have partnered with Archive Entertainment: Vultrix, Per Olofsson and 174 Studios.

Overflow, by Vultrix, is a puzzle game in which players must redirect the flow of a dangerous body of water. Gamers can draw bridges and barriers to divert and block the water. Space Pizza, by Per Olofsson, places gamers in the role of a rookie pizza delivery driver that must avoid obstacles under a time limit. Take Down Online, by 174 Studios, is still in development, but will be a combat-orientated NMO where gamers must capture points with teams as they travel by foot, humvee or helicopter.

These games can now be downloaded for free through Archive Games. For more details, visit http://www.ArchiveGames.net/.

LanFest 08 Offers $15,000 Worth Of Prizes

andPOP Staff — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 20:35:37 +0000

Posted on andPOP:

Newegg.ca announced last week that LanFest 08 will be available to online gamers, where they will have a chance to compete for over $15,000 CAD in prizes. The online tournament is currently underway, and features numerous PC and Xbox 360 titles, such as Call of Duty: World at War, NHL 09 from EA Sports, and Guitar Hero. There are a variety of tournaments and ladder competitions available, from one-on-one to five-on-five formats.

Registration for LanFest 08 is open at www.newegg.ca to all Canadians 13 years and older.

Arcade Fire To Release Film Online

Ilan Mester — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 00:19:24 +0000

Posted on andPOP:

Montreal-based band Arcade Fire is set to release a concert film which includes both live and behind the scenes footage. The material is from the band’s European and North American tour.

Arcade Fire announced the project through a new website (Miroir Noir or Black Mirror) which shares the same name of a song on the album “Neon Bible”.

Fans can catch a clip of the film – which is set to release on Monday – on the site, according to a news release. The documentary is 70 minutes long and will be available to download and on DVD in 2009.

The film focusses on the period after the band recorded “Neon Bible”. This includes appearances on “Saturday Night Live” and “Friday Night With Jonathan Ross”.

The documentary was shot by French filmmaker Vincent Moon, who has also worked with REM.

Movielink and Fox to Offer Even More Movies Online

andPOP Staff — Mon, 21 Nov 2005 16:56:03 +0000

Posted on andPOP:

Online movie provider Movielink has come to an agreement with 20th Century Fox to provide content from all of Hollywood?s major film studios on its website.

Thanks to the deal, Movielink, a legal download service, will add 1,200 Fox titles to its film library.

?Broadband connections continue to improve, and the movement to (direct film delivery) to TV continues to become more of a reality,? says Peter Levinsohn, Fox president of worldwide pay television and digital media. ?As with any consumer product, we want to make sure we’re in every distribution outlet.?

Movielink was created several years ago by five Hollywood studios to provide a legal alternative for people who want to watch films on their computers and to combat the threat of illegal downloading and copying.

Movielink has been selling almost 100,000 films a month, and with the growing frequency of high-speed Internet connections and new devices linking the Internet to television, the number of downloads is only expected to increase.

Movielink is a joint venture of studios owned or operated by Viacom Inc., Time Warner Inc., General Electric Co. and Sony Corp.