Last week the online music service Spotify announced that it would be granting developers access to its music library by way of an app framework. In theory, now anyone can create an app that uses all of the songs that Spotify currently offers. For perhaps the first time in the history of digital music developers can focus on actually developing new digital music business models, not on surviving negotiations with every single record label.  In its way, this might be one of the biggest things to happen to the music industry since the introduction of iTunes.

On today's podcast, we discuss disruptions - or nondisruptions - in the music (here, here, here, and here) and pay-TV industries (here and here).  We also chat with Zak Homuth of Upverter about creating tools to design open source hardware, just what open source hardware means, and the Sleep-n-Tweet.

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On today's podcast, we discuss Jay-Z and Kanye's successful battle against album leaks, avoiding the Apple app store rules with rich web apps, cable and satellite drifting towards luxury-only, and Walmart having to keep its DRM servers on even after it closes its online music store.  We also talk with Cody Sumter and Jason Boggess of Minecraft.Print(), the script that bridges the worlds of 3D printing and Minecraft.

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Introduced in May and sponsored by Senator Amy Klobuchar, bill S. 978 has been the talk of the tech blogs lately. The bill seeks to change the rules regarding criminal copyright enforcement, adjusting which types of infringement constitute a felony with significant jail time. Reactions to the bill have displayed a good deal of alarm. We’re here to sort fact from fiction as best as we can: no, you probably won’t go to jail for watching True Blood on a bootleg website. But yes, this bill does have some prickly bits, and there’s definitely stuff here that warrants some concern.

(Update [7/7/2011]: The description of Jackson Browne's suit against former presidential candidate John McCain, and the court's holding, were initially inaccurate. Sen. McCain's campaign did not produce the ad [it was produced by a GOP group based in Ohio] and the court declined to rule on its fair use status. The post below has been updated accordingly.)

If you think the recent set-to between Tom Petty and GOP presidential hopeful Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) sounds familiar, you’re not alone. The scuffle over Bachmann’s use of “American Girl” is hardly the first time a politician has come under fire for using a song without the artist’s permission. Backlash from angry artists has left candidates from 1996 Republican presidential nominee then-Sen.  Bob Dole (Sam & Dave’s “I’m a Soul Man” in 1996) to then-Sen. Barack Obama (again Sam & Dave, this time with “Hold On, I’m Comin’” in 2008) singing the blues. 

On today's podcast we update the status of the proposed AT&T/T-Mobile merger, walk through the intricacies of politicians licensing music for their campaigns, talk about IP protection surrounding attempts to 3D print a cube from the movie Super 8, and mark the death and life of social networks.  We also discuss the decision of civil society organizations to pull out of international open internet discussions at OECD and consider the ramifications of this week's Supreme Court ruling on minors' access to violent video games.

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In today's jam-packed podcast, we discuss the AT&T/T-Mobile merger opposition filings, a new Tennessee law that makes it illegal to share your password, Lady Gaga and the future of digital music sales, Timothy B. Lee's application of Doctored Reviews' principles, and YouTube's announcement that it is embracing Creative Commons licensing and remixing.

You can download the audio directly by clicking here (MP3) or stream it using the player below:

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