Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web.
Bob Lefsetz discovers podcasts: In “The Podcast Revolution,” columnist Bob Lefsetz turns his Lefsetz Letter toward podcasts to evangelize the irony of their success: “Why is it when major media is cropping its stories down to nothing, believing that’s the only way to achieve virality, because America is dumb and has a short attention span, that podcasts are gaining traction and are generating the word of mouth traditional outlets crave?” He discusses the intimacy, storytelling, deep content, and humanity of podcasts — and also recommends several series.
T-Bone talks streaming and tech: Most musicians have opinions about the impact of streaming, but behind-the-scenes pros have also been affected by the changes in technology. T-Bone Burnett – a producer who has worked with names including B.B. King, Robert Plant, Alison Krauss, Elvis Costello, and Elton John – spoke to Billboard about tech’s role in music today. “Streaming is the future,” he said. “We need a new field of what I would call transaction rights, so when a (stream) takes place, a small payment goes to the actual creators, rather than into a black box and divided according to what keeps another entity running.”