Today we released a few small enhancements based on feedback from the Kompoz kommunity. I thank you all for contributing your ideas, and encourage you to please keep them coming. Post your requests in the Wish Lists and Suggestions forum.
Updates included in this release:
Show alerts for unread private messages on every page. This one was suggested by Billy.
Add the forum topic to the subject line of e-mails sent when new forum messages are posted. This one was suggested by many!
Show Creative Commons license icon on project overview pages. This one was suggested by Drew.
Add Getting Started flow chart for new members. This one was suggested (and implemented!) by Ben.
A video for Beast that Swallows Its Young, created by Matt Kresling, which features Kompoz musicians Matt, Lonnie, and Lewie, is now featured on YouTube's home page! Over 110,384 views and 796 comments posted so far. Congratulations Kompozers!
If you have not seen the video yet, here's the YouTube version.
Imeem is providing fans an opportunity to create their own musical theme for the new and highly anticipated television series, 90210, which premieres Tuesday, September 2, 2008 on The CW Network. The winner will have the chance to have his/her version of the song debut during an upcoming episode of 90210.
You have until September 16th to enter the contest at http://www.imeem.com/90210. From September 22, 2008 to September 30, 2008 the public will be invited to listen to the top 10 finalists' entries online and cast their votes. That's not a whole lot of time.
Let's show them what we're capable of at Kompoz! Get busy people!
HERE'S HOW TO ENTER:
1. Go to: http://www.imeem.com/90210 2. Listen to the original BEVERLY HILLS, 90210 theme song and a view the sheet music 3. Start a project here on Kompoz to work with other members 4. When ready, e-mail the final mixdown track to imeem90210contest@gmail.com
I knew it would happen. Someone has created a virtual drumset application for the new Microsoft Surface. This Surface application allows you to rock out to a 6-piece drum kit, and showcases the durability and responsiveness of the hardware.
One of the problems with tablature is that it does a poor job representing rhythm and the duration that each note is played - both of which are essential. To remedy this, most people play a recording of the original song as they examine a tab so they can figure out when to play each note. But this process is frustrating and time consuming.
Songsterr, a new startup that launched earlier this month, is looking to help guitar players skirt this issue by accompanying each song with an audio file that plays alongside it. The site's Flash player will also automatically scroll through each tab, indicating exactly which note is being played.
This site contains about 150 songs at the moment. But as with other Tab sites, Songsterr will likely be shut down eventually by lawsuits from the record industry. Many of the web's most popular tab sites have been waging a losing war with copyright holders for years, as even user-created tabs for songs are considered infringements. Enjoy it while you can.
Until very recently, rock music had been struggling on the charts, with hip-hop and teen pop taking the top spots. Rock was finding it hard to break through with new music -- or sell more of the old. But the ridiculously popular video games "Guitar Hero" and "Rock Band" have prompted kids to discover artists from the '70s and '80s, such as Aerosmith, Twisted Sister, Metallica, Lynyrd Skynyrd and more. Teens are getting into the rock heroes of the '70s and '80s.
When the game featuring Aerosmith ['Guitar Hero: Aerosmith'] came out, there was more than a 40 percent increase in their catalog sales. Even in an uncertain economy, the video games also have increased interest in guitars, according to the nationwide Guitar Center chain. The games' success has helped sell rock music, guitars, and even music lessons.
Players of the video games use a plastic guitar-shaped controller to simulate rocking out. Guitar Hero takes everything that is fun about performing music and throws out all the rest. They have given the flagging record industry a nice kick in the amps!
Guitar Hero is a love letter to rock and roll, and it just might be saving it.
Creative Commons Wins Again! As you know, all of the songs created here on Kompoz are protected by the one of several Creative Commons licenses.
Yesterday, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled that the terms of the Creative Commons licenses are enforceable. This most recent ruling was regarding software -- a company that used free software released under the Creative Commons did not give credit to the developers of the original software, despite the fact that the license required them to do so. This week's ruling means that software developers, musicians, artists, and others who release their work under an "open source" license have a reasonable expectation that the terms of the license will be enforceable.
A Creative Commons license was first tested in court in early 2006, when podcaster Adam Curry sued a Dutch tabloid who published photos without permission from his Flickr page. The photos were licensed under the Creative Commons Non-Commercial license. The Dutch Court's decision is especially noteworthy because it confirms that the conditions of a Creative Commons license automatically apply to the content licensed under it, and bind users of such content even without expressly agreeing to, or having knowledge of, the conditions of the license
I get Google Alerts when Kompoz is covered in the news, on blogs -- just about anywhere on The Interwebs that Google crawls. Today I was notifed that Kompoz is now on PhoneCasting.com, a site that lets you listen to podcasts by calling a phone number. Apparently, if you call +1 (646) 912-7930, you'll hear the latest Kompoz Radio podcast -- all 30-some minutes of it.
I tried it out and sure enough it works. I just don't get the business model. As entertaining as Mike and I are, I can't figure out why you'd would want to dial a long distance number and hold a phone to your ear for 30 minutes, when you could hear the same podcast online for free (and with much better fidelity).
Cool idea, but scratching my head. If you've got minutes to burn on your wireless plan, check it out.
Creative Commons Wins Again! As you know, all of the songs created here on Kompoz are protected by the one of several Creative Commons licenses. 
