Quick Hits: France’s digital music plans; NYT podcast recs; the FCC vs. changing technology

Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web:

French culture ministry offers digital music plans: France’s Minister of Culture, Fleur Pellerin, gave a presentation to parliament with a voluntary agreement that could address issues related to the increasingly digital music industry. The deal would cover topics such as economic transparency, fair remuneration, and aiding a transition to digital tools. It would even provide a minimum wage for artists. Billboard has the full details.

NYT gets in on podcasts with recommendations: It’s a big, wide world of podcasts out there. If you need advice on sorting out the wheat from the chaff, the New York Times has some recommendations from Matthew Lieber, co-founder of Gimlet Media, and Panoply’s Nicholas Quah.

Navigating the FCC rules and changing technology: CommLawBlog posted about the issues faced by the FCC in keeping its rules up to date with modern technology. Changing the rules at this type of federal agency is an involved, time-consuming process, but the article suggests how waivers or new interpretations of the rules can help reflect the modern world. It also offers tips for speeding up the approval process. It’s a highly technical piece, but for anyone curious on the federal department’s role and why its actions can feel so sluggish, it’s worth a close look.

Anna Washenko