Back in April the New York Times had a story about a new music file-sharing service and today the New York Post picked up on it. Qtrax, a nearly-complete work in progress, will be providing free downloads from all four major record company catalogs come this fall. Your only price of admission is to view some ads first. And what a catalog it is. With the blessing of all four major labels, who will share the ad revenue, Qtrax will have access to between 20 and 30 million copyrighted songs compared to Apple's iTunes which offers 5 million...
Qtrax was started by Allan Klepfisz in Melbourne, Australia as a file-sharing service about 4 and a half years ago but come September or October the service will be available globally. Parent company Brilliant Technologies plans to merge Qtrax with Flooring Zone, a shell company and the file-sharing service can then be traded publicly with Brilliant holding 80% and with 20% available to the public...
With the iPhone about to set the consumer world on its ear on Friday, Apple has never been hotter, brighter or shinier but come this fall they will have a real fight on their music downloading hands when Qtrax launches. For the curious, Qtrax gives you its tease at: www.Qtrax.com ...
10 Timeline Memories:
- 1867] Tough love: Lucien B. Smith patents the 1st barbed wire. And what was going on at that household???
- 1876] Curtains: Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer and the U.S. 7th Cavalry are wiped out by Sioux and Cheyenne Indians at Little Big Horn (MT). And yes, this was known as "Custer's Last Stand"...1993] The last original "Late Night with David Letterman" on NBC-TV airs with guest Tom Hanks. Re-runs follow until September. On August 30th, Letterman takes his show to CBS-TV which he still calls home...
- 1950] Across the 38th parallel: War breaks out on the Korean peninsula as forces from the communist North invade the South...
- 1951] ArthurbuyembythecartonGodfrey: Arthur Godfrey hosts the 1st commercial color telecast, a one-hour special from New York to 4 other cities...
- 1968] Diamond Dust: Bobby Bonds (father of you-know-who) becomes the 1st major leaguer to debut with a grand-slam home run...
- 1970] Beep It!: The FCC makes it illegal for radio stations to put telephone callers on the air without the permission of the person being called. A beep was then installed on the phone for that purpose...
- 1973] Ratted out: White House Counsel John Dean admits that President Nixon took part in the Watergate cover-up...
- 1985] Two and a half men: ABC-TV's "Monday Night Football" announces a new line-up in the booth: Frank Gifford, Joe Namath and O.J. Simpson. The worst play-by-pay team ever...
- 1993] Going to hall: Islander goalie Billy Smith is elected to the NHL Hall of Fame...
- 1997] "Happy Trails": Oceanographer Jacques-Yves Cousteau dies of a heart attack at 87...
Music Memories:
- 1966] #1 on this date: "Paperback Writer" - The Beatles...
- 1967] Live from London: The Beatles sing "All You Need Is Love" on the BBC's "Our World" music special that reaches 350 million viewers globally. The 6-minute segment also featured Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and a host of friends singing backup...
- 1969] Recorded on this date: "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" - The Hollies (Elton John played piano)...
[To ensure accuracy of dates and content, multiple reference sources are used in each timeline]...
Commentary...
"Happy Trails" to founding member of The Tokens, Hank Medress who passed away from lung cancer last Monday, June 18, 2007. The group, born the Linc-Tones because they all attended Brooklyn's Lincoln High School, counted Neil Sedaka as an original member. Neil quickly dropped out when his solo career was successfully launched. Jay Siegel and brothers Mitch and Phil Margo were the other Tokens. Medress went on to produce Tony Orlando and Dawn, The Chiffons and later became a successful record executive. He was 68 at the time of his death. Paul Power notes that the Tokens biggest national hits were: "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" (#1 for 3 weeks), (#15) "Tonight I Fell In Love", (#30) "I Hear Trumpets Blow", and (#36) "Portrait of My Love" and that all four were on different labels: Warwick, RCA, B.T. Puppy and Warner Bros. respectively..."Happy Trails" to 38-year old former major league relief pitcher, Rod "Shooter" Beck who was found Saturday in his suburban Phoenix home. Cause of death might not be known for days, although no foul-play is involved. This death was a shocker...And finally, Martha Stewart grabbed highly-regarded ad executive Wenda Harris Milliard from Yahoo to oversee her publishing, broadcasting and digital media. This was a real steal...
"Happy Birthday...happy birthday":
"E.R.'s" Linda Cardellini (32), Carlos Delgado (35), George Michael (44), Phyllis George (58), Jimmie ("J.J.") Walker (60) (here's a wacky appearance by J.J. a few years back from "Late Night with David Letterman"): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnM45HGwW04&mode=related&search= , Carly Simon (62) (Carly as one-half of The Simon Sisters): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7Wp8qAFoQY , Willis Reed (65), Eddie Floyd (72) "Knock on Wood": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3rpmdxsF7o , June Lockhart (82) and Sidney Lumet (83)...
Timeline Countdown: 9 days until July 4th and 15 days until the All-Star Game...
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