Accessibility links
Laura Sydell
Stories By

Laura Sydell

Wednesday

EMI Publishing Dumps ASCAP
Courtesy of EMI Publishing

The Record

EMI Publishing Dumps ASCAP

The publishing arm of the major record label EMI has decided that it will negotiate its own fees for digital performances of songs instead of relying on ASCAP, a company that has long tracked performances of songs and that collects fees for labels and songwriters.

EMI Publishing Dumps ASCAP

Listen · 5:50
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/137504092/137509353" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Tuesday

Saturday

Gertrude Stein Through Artists' Eyes

Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas, Aix-les-Bains, France, circa 1927 Yale Collection of American Literature/Contemporary Jewish Museum hide caption

toggle caption
Yale Collection of American Literature/Contemporary Jewish Museum

The Picture Show

Gertrude Stein Through Artists' Eyes

Gertrude Stein, doyenne of American letters, is the center of two exhibitions in San Francisco.

Gertrude Stein Through Artists' Eyes

Listen · 5:56
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/137111329/137123223" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Tuesday

Business

Apple's Steve Jobs Unveils iCloud Music Service

Steve Jobs came back from medical leave to announce Apple's much anticipated cloud music service called iCloud. It will allow users to access music they've purchased on almost any device. Apple also will offer cloud services for contacts, calendar and mail for free.

Apple's Steve Jobs Unveils iCloud Music Service

Listen · 3:46
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/137020363/137023770" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Saturday

Music Industry's Blessing Lifts Hopes For iCloud

On Monday, Apple will be the third big company to introduce a service that will let you access your music from a so-called cloud. Google and Amazon already have music services that make use of the cloud, but there's a difference. Daniel Barry/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Daniel Barry/Getty Images

Music News

Music Industry's Blessing Lifts Hopes For iCloud

Apple is introducing a new music service on Monday. It's called iCloud, and all indications are that, for the first time, the major record labels and music publishers have gotten behind a service that will let you access your entire iTunes collection from almost any Internet-connected device.

Music Industry's Blessing Lifts Hopes For iCloud

Listen · 5:11
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/136949130/136949093" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Monday

Osama Bin Laden Killed

Number Of Bin Laden Domain Names Soars

Osama bin Laden's death is having many ripple effects — but none more pronounced than the land rush on the Internet to secure desirable domain names, such as osamakilled.com. Within hours of bin Laden's death, roughly 2,000 new bin Laden URL addresses had been registered.

Number Of Bin Laden Domain Names Soars

Listen · 2:25
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/136149449/136149445" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Sunday

Chinese Dissident's Art Travels Though He Can't

Ai Weiwei's Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads makes its outdoor debut in New York on May 2. Ding Musa/AW Asia hide caption

toggle caption
Ding Musa/AW Asia

Fine Art

Chinese Dissident's Art Travels Though He Can't

On Monday, an outdoor art installation by Chinese artist-activist Ai Weiwei will open in New York, but the whereabouts of their creator remain unknown. Ai was taken into custody by Chinese authorities on April 3.

Chinese Dissident's Art Travels Though He Can't

Listen · 6:15
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/135812530/135891660" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Saturday

Art And Consequence: A Talk With China's Controversial Ai Weiwei

Ai Weiwei, one of China's most controversial artists, looks on during the 'So Sorry' exhibition opening at 'Haus der Kunst' on October 11, 2009 in Munich. Miguel Villagran/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Miguel Villagran/Getty Images

The Two-Way

Art And Consequence: A Talk With China's Controversial Ai Weiwei

The artist behind Beijing's Olympic Stadium is now in government custody and artists all over the world are planning protests in support of his release. NPR's Laura Sydell spoke with the controversial artist in 2008. Even then, he was pushing boundaries.

Monday

How To Save The World, One Video Game At A Time

Game industry analysts say the number of hours spent playing video games is increasing by about 8 percent each year. iStockphoto.com hide caption

toggle caption
iStockphoto.com

Technology

How To Save The World, One Video Game At A Time

Every week, people across the globe spend 3 billion hours playing video games, but that isn't enough for Jane McGonigal. She says video games can help solve some of the world's biggest problems — and we really should be playing more.

How To Save The World, One Video Game At A Time

Listen
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/135248010/135306806" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Tuesday

Sunday

Technology

The Implications Of The New Netflix Streaming Deal

Netflix recently announced a deal to run an original TV series House of Cards on its Internet streaming service. That you don't have to leave your couch to rent a movie has made cable networks and Hollywood studios nervous. NPR's Laura Sydell tells host Liane Hansen what the deal means.

The Implications Of The New Netflix Streaming Deal

Listen · 3:59
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/134899228/134899340" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Wednesday

Business

Google Hits A Snag In Digitizing World's Books

Google has been scanning millions of books from libraries around the world. Some are called orphan works because it's hard to find the author but the books are still covered by copyright laws. Google and the Author's Guild reached an agreement on orphan works but a judge has nixed the deal.

Google Hits A Snag In Digitizing World's Books

Listen · 1:25
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/134781916/134784750" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Monday

SXSW Wrap Up: For Bands, Was Austin Worth The Trip?

The crowd at a Bright Eyes show at Auditorium Shores at SXSW 2011. Katie Hayes Luke for NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Katie Hayes Luke for NPR

The Record

SXSW Wrap Up: For Bands, Was Austin Worth The Trip?

It's expensive to get to and hard to stand out once you're there, but SXSW offers exposure that's hard to resist.

SXSW Wrap Up: For Bands, Was Austin Worth The Trip?

Listen · 3:58
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/134713310/134726256" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Friday

An Inventive Work Finds Harmony In B Flat

InBflat.net features 20 YouTube videos of people playing instruments in the key of B flat. inbflat.net hide caption

toggle caption
inbflat.net

Music

An Inventive Work Finds Harmony In B Flat

Composer and musician Darren Solomon has created an interactive musical work designed for anyone to play. It's called "In B Flat," and it uses instruments ranging from a piano to a Nintendo DS. It was inspired by classical music experiments of the 1960s.

An Inventive Work Finds Harmony In B Flat

Listen · 4:29
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/134436766/134484942" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Online Music Services Compete For Small Pool Of Investment Capital

Companies offer services as varied as song streaming, concert ticket sales and music downloads using business models ranging from subscription to free-if-you-watch-an-ad. Courtesy of Pandora, Songkick, Rdio, Rhapsody, eMusic and Spotify hide caption

toggle caption
Courtesy of Pandora, Songkick, Rdio, Rhapsody, eMusic and Spotify

The Record

Online Music Services Compete For Small Pool Of Investment Capital

The road to profitability isn't so much strewn with abandoned cars as it is with idling vehicles.

Online Music Services Compete For Small Pool Of Investment Capital

Listen · 3:41
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/134401398/134448311" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript