Opening Pandora in Singapore: Dissapointment City
I got this message while trying to log onto Pandora.com, my favorite streaming radio:
Dear Pandora Visitor,
We are deeply, deeply sorry to say that due to licensing constraints, we can no longer allow access to Pandora for most listeners located outside of the U.S. We will continue to work diligently to realize the vision of a truly global Pandora, but for the time being we are required to restrict its use. We are very sad to have to do this, but there is no other alternative.
We believe that you are in Singapore (your IP address appears to be [ip removed]). If you believe we have made a mistake, we apologize and ask that you please contact us at pandora-support@pandora.com
Etc. Etc.
We share your disappointment and greatly appreciate your understanding.
Sincerely,
Tim Westergren
Founder
No wonder people are using torrents.
But seriously, Pandora is one of those things which actually expands markets for music licensing companies. I’m sure that there’s a good reason for blocking Pandora from Singapore, one that’s buried under a few tonnes of profit-motivated and lobbied legislation. What seems more hurtful to music companies, and in ways which should seem self-evident - 1) they’re keeping artists’ music from hitting a larger audience (limiting culture, an artist’s popularity and income) 2) But more importantly, they’re pissing people off.
And it’s been such a long-term thing, I just automatically blame groups like the RIAA. I used to buy a lot of music, and when unexplained and seemingly cryptic legislation blocks me from accessing a cool site like pandora, I just feel less beholden to the recording industry, and any artist that supports its inquisitions.
Neils Clark :: Sep.08.2007 :: General ::
Yeah!
I think Ben Hammersley hits the nail on the head with this article. Although it’s more about tv licensing, it’s still relevant to your frustration here.
“Would I pay for downloadable episodes of the Daily Show? Yes. Will anyone take my money from me? No. Why? Because I’m in the wrong country. Well, I tried. I’ll be thinking about how little their broken business model is my problem as I boot up my torrent software, download the show, and watch the whole thing, including the adverts and any in-show sponsorship.”
Although, Comedy Central has cleaned up their act since he wrote the article, his points are still relatively spot on!
Exactly. One of my old profs was working with execs at Sony, and from what he would say - these guys sound like steam-powered locomotives. They’re filled with hot, billowing smoke, won’t slow down for anything and have neither the ability nor desire to change course.
But, like Ben said: it’s not really our problem. Unless we can’t hear some new music on Pandora. Dammit.
I am so much impressed by the work neil is carrying out.
A huge number of parents will be finding ways out with this book and a lot many elders would try to stop people from this gaming factory.
Its not only making people out of practical lives and also getting them into all sorts of things what they do on games , driving a motorbike like on the gaming , or small kids fighting to each other as on the screen.
hats off to you bro…its nice knowing you
Hopefully their would be something coming up like
STOP GAMING : Injurious to health and society
Thanks for the post Amit, it was good to meet you too.
I think that it’s important to realize that games are, in essence, just the extension of other useful media - like television, radio, writing etc. I don’t personally think that they ought to be stopped, but rather understood.
Like other technologies: the telephone, the internet, and so forth, coming soon we’ll all be using them as a medium to communicate. We’ve got a lot to gain from them, and things like addiction - they’re a lot easier to overcome once society starts to better understand what’s happening.
But also, you mention kids acting out scenes that they see in television or gaming. On a theoretical level, you’re right. This can be a serious problem. The holdup is in that very few people are coming up with conclusive ways to prove or disprove the exact effect. There are studies out there, but they haven’t yet used conclusive measures, nor have any two pieces of research used the same measures - making it difficult to substantiate even the work that’s been done.
Thanks again for the post, and good luck in Australia!
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try soundpedia.com!
Yeah, soundpedia did at least load for me in Singapore.