Consumer Cyclicals

The Summer Movie Rises: Twenty Films to Watch Out For

"Battleship": Soak up the Beautiful Bombast

A First Listen to The Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends, Feat. Ke$ha, Erykah Badu, Bon Iver and More

I loved, loved the Flaming Lips' Embryonic, and find The Soft Bulletin to be a pretty magical cornucopia. Pretty big fan of 1995's Clouds Taste Metallic as well. Yet I've never considered for even a second if the Lips could be one of my Favorite Bands. They might've struck gold three-ish times, but ... More >>

Five Promising Record Store Day Releases From Bay Area Artists

The list of limited edition releases being ushered out for Record Store Day 2012 considerably dwarfs those of previous years. This coming Saturday, April 21, independent music retailers will be the sole purveyors of a variety of goods arranged with (hopefully) meticulous preparation, and curatorial ... More >>

No More Cheap Gas at Safeway?

The price at the pump could get even pricier -- but only at your local Safeway store. An Alameda County judge has "hinted" that he will block Safeway stores from offering cheaper gasoline to their Club Card members and loyal shoppers across the Bay Area. And you can thank the surrounding fuel statio ... More >>

SF Weekly Letters

The price at the pump could get even pricier -- but only at your local Safeway store. An Alameda County judge has "hinted" that he will block Safeway stores from offering cheaper gasoline to their Club Card members and loyal shoppers across the Bay Area. And you can thank the surrounding fuel statio ... More >>

Politically Driven

The price at the pump could get even pricier -- but only at your local Safeway store. An Alameda County judge has "hinted" that he will block Safeway stores from offering cheaper gasoline to their Club Card members and loyal shoppers across the Bay Area. And you can thank the surrounding fuel statio ... More >>

Copyright Owners Continue to Tilt at Windmills

​Given the intensity of the debates over digital piracy, you'd almost think that if one side or the other were to "win," the question would be decided: If critics of copyright holders were victorious, piracy would run rampant and the media industry would be brought to its knees; if the copyright o ... More >>

The Cup Runneth Over: S.F.'s America's Cup Decision Looms

​Given the intensity of the debates over digital piracy, you'd almost think that if one side or the other were to "win," the question would be decided: If critics of copyright holders were victorious, piracy would run rampant and the media industry would be brought to its knees; if the copyright o ... More >>

Image Is Everything

​Given the intensity of the debates over digital piracy, you'd almost think that if one side or the other were to "win," the question would be decided: If critics of copyright holders were victorious, piracy would run rampant and the media industry would be brought to its knees; if the copyright o ... More >>

Meet Linda Chorney, the Unknown Singer-Songwriter Who Got a Grammy Nomination

By J. POET The Grammy Awards usually generate an tidal wave of press releases aimed at congratulating the usual superstars for their achievements. This year, there was a refreshing bit of controversy when singer-songwriter Linda Chorney was nominated for Best Americana Album for her Emotional Jukeb ... More >>

Sorry, Twitter, if You're in the Media Business, You're a Media Company

​Given how Silicon Valley moguls flee from the term "media company," you'd almost think it was as bad as "child-porn merchant." But whether they like it or not, companies like Google, Facebook, and Twitter are media companies. They don't have precisely the same business models as News Corp., Disne ... More >>

49ers Season Tickets Will Require $30K Fee

​The NFL is a hell of a business. Niners fans, paying an exorbitant amount for season tickets, will now be required to plink down tens of thousands of dollars in order to have the privilege of paying even more for tickets in the 49ers yet-to-be-constructed stadium.Fans sitting in the "club level" ... More >>

Hacker Group Anonymous Takes Up Arms in SOPA Battle

​The "hacktivist" network known as Anonymous has stepped into the fray in the battle among legacy media companies, Internet firms, and politicians over the federal Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA).The controversial proposed legislation would make it more difficult for websites to display pirated cont ... More >>

MySpace Says It's Bringing TV to the Web -- But It Isn't

​Specific Media, now the owners of MySpace, took Justin Timberlake on stage with them Monday night at the Consumer Electronic Show, and with a lot of fanfare, they announced ... essentially nothing. The purported big news is that MySpace is revolutionizing television by bringing it to the Web an ... More >>

Image Expo 2012: Berkeley Publisher to Spotlight Creator-Owned Comics at February Event

With WonderCon temporarily relocating to Anaheim in 2012 due to the Moscone remodel, Bay Area comics creators, publishers, and fans despaired of going without a major con in the region during the coming year. But Image Comics has come to the rescue. The Berkeley-based publisher of The Walking Dead, ... More >>

Groove Merchant: Show Preview

With WonderCon temporarily relocating to Anaheim in 2012 due to the Moscone remodel, Bay Area comics creators, publishers, and fans despaired of going without a major con in the region during the coming year. But Image Comics has come to the rescue. The Berkeley-based publisher of The Walking Dead, ... More >>

The RIAA Responds Lamely to Claims of Piracy Advocates

​TorrentFreak, a news site that basically supports illicit downloading, last week used a half-assed ISP-lookup service to conclude that employees of both the Recording Industry Association of America and the Department of Homeland Security had downloaded illicit copies of various copyrighted works ... More >>

The Recording Industry Makes Itself Look Stupid Yet Again While Battling Piracy

​Over at Dan Mitchell's Digital Tremors column on our news blog, the Snitch, there's an interesting debate brewing over the recording industry's response to some piracy advocates' claims that its employees downloaded music and other files illegally. Mitchell's take is that while disputing thes ... More >>

Commercial-Free Future

​Over at Dan Mitchell's Digital Tremors column on our news blog, the Snitch, there's an interesting debate brewing over the recording industry's response to some piracy advocates' claims that its employees downloaded music and other files illegally. Mitchell's take is that while disputing thes ... More >>

The Lighter Side of India's Deities

​Over at Dan Mitchell's Digital Tremors column on our news blog, the Snitch, there's an interesting debate brewing over the recording industry's response to some piracy advocates' claims that its employees downloaded music and other files illegally. Mitchell's take is that while disputing thes ... More >>

Phil Anschutz to Sell the San Francisco Examiner

Does this mean they will stop endorsing Tea Party Republicans?​Clarity Media Group announced today that it will sell the San Francisco Examiner -- the city's daily free tabloid. Phil Anschutz, the evangelical media mogul, announced that his Denver-based company has agreed to sell the Ex to Black P ... More >>

What Exactly Is a Tech Company?

​Fast Company has published what might be the best, clearest look at the how the contours of the tech landscape are shaping themselves, and how that landscape has come to be dominated by four companies. I was alerted to the article via a tweet by Chronicle tech reporter Casey Newton who characte ... More >>

Google Thumbs Nose at Antitrust Regulators

​You can't say Google doesn't have balls. Despite increasingly heavy antitrust scrutiny by the federal government, the Internet behemoth is charging ahead with a deal that brings all kinds of potential for cornering a market. It will pay $12.5 billion for Motorola Mobility, a leading maker of hand ... More >>

South Bay Store Manager Accused of Filming Female Shoppers in Dressing Room

passing time at work ​In May, SF Weekly told readers about Nicholas Springer, the 26-year-old "pervert" who was busted filming up women's skirts and dresses at a downtown farmer's market in Marin. Now, we are going to tell you about another alleged peeping tom in the South Bay. David Meyer, a 29-y ... More >>

The Cool Kids: Cool with Recording for Mountain Dew

passing time at work ​In May, SF Weekly told readers about Nicholas Springer, the 26-year-old "pervert" who was busted filming up women's skirts and dresses at a downtown farmer's market in Marin. Now, we are going to tell you about another alleged peeping tom in the South Bay. David Meyer, a 29-y ... More >>

San Francisco’s Blue Period

passing time at work ​In May, SF Weekly told readers about Nicholas Springer, the 26-year-old "pervert" who was busted filming up women's skirts and dresses at a downtown farmer's market in Marin. Now, we are going to tell you about another alleged peeping tom in the South Bay. David Meyer, a 29-y ... More >>

Online Publishers Not Happy About Being Cut Off Over Amazon.com Sales Tax Scrap

For many online publishers, Amazon has closed up shop.​Thousands of Californians learned yesterday that Amazon would no longer be paying them to participate in Amazon's affiliate marketing program. The reason? The proposed state budget includes a measure that would force Amazon to pay sales tax on ... More >>

Amazon to Cut Out California Associates over Sales Tax Dispute

Nice little business you've got going there. It would be a shame if anything happened to it​Internet retail giant Amazon.com informed California-based Web sites, which make money via referring buyers, that they'll soon be cut out if the state forces the Amazon to pay sales tax, as proposed in the ... More >>

Posting Copyrighted Music to YouTube Might Soon Earn You Jail Time

​You might want to think twice before posting that video of your cat "dancing" to a Lady Gaga song. Not just because nobody wants to see it, but because it might earn you a few years in the Federal pen. Yesterday the Senate Judiciary Committee recommended a bill for the Senate that would ma ... More >>

Pandora Goes Public for $3 Billion. Happy Face?

Ninety million users, zero profits.​First, a word of congratulations to Pandora, the Oakland-based Internet radio service whose initial public stock offering today resulted in a nearly $235 million windfall to its investors. The company is now valued at $3 billion. You can buy its stock on the New ... More >>

Unpacking Pandora's 'Risk Factors'

​Every time a company offers stock to the public, it must submit a form called an S-1 to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The form must provide a prospectus, which includes financial information as well as the risks potential investors would face in buying shares. Because lawyers and accoun ... More >>

June's Literary Events

​Every time a company offers stock to the public, it must submit a form called an S-1 to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The form must provide a prospectus, which includes financial information as well as the risks potential investors would face in buying shares. Because lawyers and accoun ... More >>

Record Store Day Is Christmas for Music Retailers

​Every time a company offers stock to the public, it must submit a form called an S-1 to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The form must provide a prospectus, which includes financial information as well as the risks potential investors would face in buying shares. Because lawyers and accoun ... More >>

Claim: Limewire's Shutdown Reduced Music Piracy by 7 Percent

​The nationally-recognized market research nerds NPD Group just released their latest poll, which suggests the shutdown of the file-sharing application Limewire this past October reduced peer-to-peer-based music piracy in the U.S. by a significant 7 percent. Wait, that many of you were still ... More >>

The Recording Academy Vows To Change the Grammys' Boring Ways

The Recording Academy​Remember when Steve Stoute took out that full-page ad in the New York Times after the Grammys a couple of weeks ago? Well the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences was listening, as it's issued a public statement, co-signed by Stoute, promising to change its bo ... More >>

Pomplamoose Calls the Tune

No record deal? No CDs? No problem. How Pomplamoose is modifying the music industry.

Levi's Suing Dolce & Gabbana For Copying Pocket Stitching

Copy this at your own risk. ​Levi's is suing another fashion label for trademark infringement alleging it copied the Levi's double- arch stitching design and ribbon tab on the back pocket. The San Francisco-based jeans company filed a lawsuit in federal court in San Francisco Wednesday against Ita ... More >>

Welcome to the Music Industry, 2011: Records Don't Sell, Touring Can Make Bank, and Major Labels Are (Mostly) Useless

​For whatever reason, today seems to be the day that the music industry reminds us that it's still in total upheaval. Soundscan tells us that relatively few people actually bought music in 2010, unless they were fans of Eminem and Katy Perry. Dave Matthews spent the last 10 years collecting $500 ... More >>

A Postcard from the Future

Or, how 2011 was the year everything changed in music.

Michael Jackson, Zombie

The dark art of posthumous releases

SF MusicTech: Has Over-Tweeting Killed the Mystery Around Musicians?

​​The only discernable displays of emotion at yesterday's S.F. MusicTech Summit -- the seventh such gathering of musicians, techies, and industry types -- came during the artist panel at the end of the day. Moderator Tamara Conniff (founder of The Comet and former editor-in-chief of Billboa ... More >>

Radical Shopping

​​The only discernable displays of emotion at yesterday's S.F. MusicTech Summit -- the seventh such gathering of musicians, techies, and industry types -- came during the artist panel at the end of the day. Moderator Tamara Conniff (founder of The Comet and former editor-in-chief of Billboa ... More >>

KPFA Axes Its Morning Show, Drama Ensues

Time for more controversey at KPFA...​Any Berkeley journalist comes to dread two assignments: the school board and KPFA. It's difficult to cover any of the myriad twists and turns of KPFA and Pacifica Radio's salvos at one another without tumbling down the rabbit hole and tracing everything back t ... More >>

Stopping piracy: How ultracheap downloads could save the music industry

Time for more controversey at KPFA...​Any Berkeley journalist comes to dread two assignments: the school board and KPFA. It's difficult to cover any of the myriad twists and turns of KPFA and Pacifica Radio's salvos at one another without tumbling down the rabbit hole and tracing everything back t ... More >>

Dueling Dubs

Time for more controversey at KPFA...​Any Berkeley journalist comes to dread two assignments: the school board and KPFA. It's difficult to cover any of the myriad twists and turns of KPFA and Pacifica Radio's salvos at one another without tumbling down the rabbit hole and tracing everything back t ... More >>

Ninja Tune celebrates 20 years of influential electronica

Time for more controversey at KPFA...​Any Berkeley journalist comes to dread two assignments: the school board and KPFA. It's difficult to cover any of the myriad twists and turns of KPFA and Pacifica Radio's salvos at one another without tumbling down the rabbit hole and tracing everything back t ... More >>

Fenton's Creamery is Hosting an UP Party

Pixar​One of the most endearing aspects of Pixar's incredibly charming digital 3D flick UP is how Oakland ice cream institution Fenton's Creamery (4226 Piedmont at Entrada, Oakland) is one of the chief draws back to land for the balloon-flying main characters, a place of great sentimental importan ... More >>

Whipped and Gagged

Is government spending obscene? Well, it paid to train S&M filmmakers.

Jackpot

How four tiny Indian tribes, with help from powerful gambling interests, are trying to transform the Bay Area into a slot machine Mecca