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    • This record is perhaps U2's finest hour, yet it has been forgotten as a strange by-product of the ZooTV tour's overload, and is generally regarded by most fans as a poor effort. It is this sentiment t
  • Cocked & Loaded

    • 8 out of 10
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    • It's hard to believe it's been more than a decade since Ministry founder and front man Al Jourgensen's side project Revolting Cocks released any new material. 2006 brings us Cocked and Loaded

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  • Mystics Anonymous

    • 8 out of 10
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    • Mystics Anonymous is the brainchild project of Jeff Steblea, a fantastic songwriter and good friend of mine, as well. In fact, I even played the drums on all but one of the tracks on this album. Jef

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News

France, Germany Join Norway’s iTunes Battle

Norway's fight to get Apple to open the digital rights management in songs purchased from the iTunes Store has two new players now that German and French consumer groups have voiced support, too, according to Forbes. The group of countries working to get Apple to open the iTunes Store to competing music players already included Sweden and Denmark.

Norway's Consumer Ombudsman, Bjoern Erik Thon, commented "This is important because Germany and France are European giants. Germany, in particular, is a big market for digital music."

The Scandinavian consumer agencies contend that Apple is violating local laws with the terms and conditions for buying songs and other content at the iTunes Store since downloaded tracks are encoded only for the iPod. Norway, Sweden, and Denmark gave Apple until August 1, 2006 to reply to the complaints.

In a public statement, Apple spokesman Tom Neumayr commented "Apple is aware of the concerns we've heard from several agencies in Europe and we're looking forward to resolving these issues as quickly as possible. Apple hopes that European governments will encourage a competitive environment that lets innovation thrive, protects intellectual property and allows consumers to decide which products are successful."

While European countries are considering how to force Apple to open its DRM to competitors, the music industry is reconsidering its stance on copy protection. At the Midem music trade fare in Cannes, France, word surfaced that at least one of the four big recording labels is considering releasing songs in an unrestricted MP3 format in the coming months, and that the other labels are also toying with the idea.

Such a move would mark a major shift for the music industry, which has historically been a strong proponent of copy protection. The change would also put Apple and other legitimate music download services in a position where they would likely have to change their terms and conditions for purchased songs. In the end, it may be the recording industry and not governments that changes music copy protection policies.

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