Tag Archives: iTunes

Mohr or Less

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mohr storiesIf you like to talk, then you should be listening to more podcasts. Or in some cases, creating them yourself. Simply speaking, a podcast is the audio version of a video, much like a radio talk show. What is so wonderful, is that there are millions of podcasts for you to download right from the iTunes store. There is a podcast on virtually every topic. Most of the podcasts are created by experts in their respective fields. Yes, there are hundreds of podcasts that are being produced by people who just like to express their opinions or do interviews. There is no true criteria. If you want to learn about something specific, simply go to iTunes, type in the topic and download the podcast. After it downloads (easier than a video), just click on the link and listen away. You do not have to be a subscriber to iTunes to download a podcast. You can listen to podcasts on your smartphone, tablet, and computer.

I can’t wait for you to discover all of the meaningful and enjoyable podcast topics: health, music, history, current events, pop culture, tech, fashion, food, business, education, publishing, beauty, real estate, gossip and comedy. Speaking of comedy, and the real reason I wrote this blog post, I wanted to spread the word that Jay Mohr, the actor/comedian, has started his own podcast and it is, in my opinion, pretty (imagine Larry David saying that word) funny. You know Morr from “Jerry McGuire,” and “Saturday Night Live.”

He started podcasting because he wanted to have something of quality to do between gigs. He doesn’t like to “golf” or “knit”, part of his humor so he decided to occupy his time with a podcast. His Mohr Stories (his podcasts) include interviews with Charlie Sheen, Jay Leno, and Rufus Wainwright. He must be doing something right because he averages 1 million downloads a month.

He recently did a terrific interview with Jefferson Graham, the technology columnist for USA TODAY and host/producer of the Talking Your Tech and Talking Tech video series. If you click here you can either watch the video of the interview or read the script. Mohr admits he is technically-challenged. His admission will make many people feel good about themselves and it almost sounds stylish to succeed in the digital world when you really know nothing about it. That’s me!

Who Owns Your Online Music and Book Collection When You Die?

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Bruce Willis

While you were having your BBQ’s this weekend, music bloggers around the world were all busy talking about who owns the rights to our online music and book collections once we die. This may seem like a gruesome topic for such a pleasant holiday weekend, but it all started when one International writer reported that Bruce Willis, yes the actor, was going to challenge Apple about the rights to his iTunes account after his death.

Trade reporters wrote that the Die Hard actor has a huge online music collection. This issue recently came to light when he was updating his wills and trusts. He regards his music as one of his most valuable assets. It is not necessarily what the music costs, but the sentimental value of his personal picks. Rumor has that the collection is worth tens of thousands but it might be higher than that.

Being that social media is a place where everyone chimes in, Willis’s current wife, Emma Hemming, tweeted that her husband was not going after Apple. Don’t quote me but I think someone said she and Bruce have no idea how this rumor got started. No one can verify if that was the real Emma Hemming, but that is not what everyone is now concerned about. Americans want to know who actually owns the downloaded music collections from iTunes?

It is not easy getting an answer. All reporter and blogger inquiries into Apple have so far gone unanswered. Twitter can’t even tell if Emma Hemming is Emma Hemming. They have no real way of knowing. Most people I spoke to about this situation over the weekend and from what I have read, said the only way we are really going to get an answer is to have the actor, who plays big screen action roles, lead the way. Apple will more likely pay attention to Willis, than us.

A British newspaper reporter, one of the first to bring up the entire subject, said Willis was concerned that the rights to his music collection would be “passed back to Apple, entitling his children to nothing.” It was also mentioned that the actor wanted it definitely documented that his children hold the legal rights to his music.

Long time music writers noted that when you download a music track from the iTunes store, you are really renting the content under license. Your next question should be, “Does that apply to music and books from Amazon?” The legal community is sure to have a field day with post-mortem music and book rights as more intellectual property is purchased through online stores.