GrindEFX

Mashable reports (by way of Boy Genius Report) that the Apple’s upcoming release of iTunes 9 mayinclude several exciting new features, including some kind of Last.fm integration.

Details are unclear, but it is possible that this integration may include support for Last.fm’s Scrobbler, allowing listening data from iTunes users to be added to Last.fm’s ginourmous database. Again, this is only a guess based on a rumor.

While it is currently possible to manually add the Last.fm Scrobbler to iTunes, native inclusion will greatly increase the amount of data available to Last.fm’s recommendation system. Check out “Finding New Fans With Recommendation Systems” for why this is a good thing for independent musicians.

For independent musicians on Last.fm (and if you’re an independent musician who’s not on Last.fm… what are you waiting for?), this development offers a lot of potential. Any iTunes user who listens to your music will soon be reporting data to the Last.fm recommendation network about similar artists and music – leading to more users discovering your music. And there are literally hundreds of millions of iTunes users worldwide.

Not only that, but iTunes is included with the iPhone. Apple has sold over 20 million iPhones since it launched in 2007 (5 million last quarter alone). With three-quarters of iPhones users listening to music on their phones, independent musicians may soon find breaking into the mobile music market just a little bit easier.

According to the Financial Times, TV personality Simon Cowell and British retail billionaire Sir Philip Green are joining forces to launch a new global entertainment company that will produce television content in both the US and UK. The venture will act as a holding company for Cowell’s entertainment programmes, including The X Factor, Britain’s Got Talent and America’s Got Talent, but will also make way for brand new content.

Cowell and Sir Philip declined to comment, but a close source said that it is likely a new deal for American Idol will be struck through the new company. Cowell’s contract with 19 Entertainment, who own the rights to the programme, and Fox Network expires in May 2010. It is rumoured that this new deal will make Simon the highest paid person on TV, surpassing Oprah Winfrey.

Cowell’s contract with record company Sony is also coming to an end next year. Sony will be keen to keep Simon on board due to the success of acts such as Leona Lewis, who was discovered through one of Cowell’s own TV shows; The X Factor.

US Copyright Register Marybeth Peters indicated to Intellectual Property Watch that new legislation concerning “orphan works” is expected to be introduced soon, possibly this week.

The new legislation will likely be modelled after the Shawn Bentley Orphan Works Act of 2008, which last year made it as far as being passed by the Senate, but wasn’t passed by the House by the end of the 110th Congressional term.

An orphan work is simply any copyrighted work where it is either difficult or impossible to contact the owner of the copyright. The problems of orphan works began in the United States after the Copyright Act of 1976 made copyright protection automatic upon fixation. Since then, any type of work that falls within the subject matter of copyright is presumed to be protected. It is easy to see how information about the author can be difficult to find in some cases.

And what are the problems orphan works cause? Pretty much any situation where an organization or individual wishes to make a beneficial use of a copyrighted work but cannot – not because the creator refuses permission, but because the creator can’t even be found to ask permission. Read more…