Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web:
Steve Albini on music and the Internet: More than two decades after his essay “The Problem With Music” critiqued how the web was damaging the music industry, Steve Albini appears to have changed his tune. He gave the keynote address at the Face the Music conference in Australian and made the bold statement that the Internet has solved those problems the industry had back in 1993. “I’m both satisfied and optimistic about the state of the music scene,” he said. “And I welcome the social and technological changes that have influenced it.” The Guardian has the full transcript of his (rather saucy) speech.
Samsung launches Milk Video in U.S.: Following on the heels of its Milk Music streaming service for the owners of Galaxy mobile devices, Samsung has introduced Milk Video. The service is intended to rival YouTube, with a social media component and curated lists of videos. It will also have content partnerships with Red Bull, Vice, and Funny or Die.
Shazam as hit-tracker: The Atlantic profiled Shazam and how its music identification service can actually give insights into artists and tracks that will soon become top hits. For instance, queries from Shazam tracked the growing popularity of singer-songwriter Lorde’s first single, “Royals.” It’s a data-driven approach that agents and labels have been starting to adopt in their business decisions.