Quick Hits: Tim Cook talks Beats buy; 500 years of music sharing; Argentina’s ‘Netflix tax;’ CD Baby sales are up

Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web:

Tim Cook talks Beats with Charlie Rose: Apple has been in the spotlight lately for its promotion of U2’s new album, but CEO Tim Cook talked about more than the most recent news in an interview with Charlie Rose. Cook opened up about the process of acquiring Beats and why he was so excited about the purchase despite the boggling price tag. He shared an anecdote about listening to Beats Music and being impressed by how its curation impacted his mood. [Hypebot]

Infographic illustrates long history of music sharing: Sharing music isn’t some modern phenomenon. Pigeons & Planes created an infographic tracing how people have shared songs over the past 500 years. [Consequence of Sound]

Local Argentinian tax on foreign online subscription services: The provincial government of Buenos Aires announced that it will levy a 3% gross income tax on foreign companies that offer online subscription services. Fans of the so-called ‘Netflix tax’ said it would equalize the playing field for local businesses, while critics called it an unfair, politically-motivated attack. Spotify has said it will not increase its fees in Argentina, but the move could throw future efforts in that nation into question if the government is unfriendly to outside business. [Quartz]

Physical music sales up at CD Baby: Although album sales have been on the decline for some time, there may be a silver lining for the indie music world. CD Baby reported that its sales of physical units increased 12% between 2012 and 2013. So far, the company’s 2014 physical sales are also up 10% on the previous year. [Digital Music News]

Anna Washenko