We’ve been able to pay to digitally download sound recordings through legitimate services for over a decade now, and these services have grown pretty rapidly in terms of both scale and profitability. So much so, that iTunes (so far the most successful of the digital distribution platforms) has sold more than 10 billion songs [...]

Last week, Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced the fall 2011 release of the company’s new iCloud service. iCloud, a “Web-based locker” where users can store and access content from any Internet-connected device, will offer a seamless integration of content across select Apple products, including iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, and iTunes. Although iCloud isn’t being pitched [...]

  I am sure most new songwriters and musicians are not sitting around hypothesizing the nature of public performance rights. They would probably be too stoked just to hear their song in a bar to care about getting paid. However, public performance royalties can be a major source of income for those with a career [...]