Andrew Orlowski

Collected Journalism

  • ‘Hoax’ stuns classical music world

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    Andrew Orlowski

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    Gramophone magazine has unearthed what one sound recording expert describes as “the biggest attempt at recording theft ever.” Thanks to the internet, the formerly obscure British classical pianist Joyce Hatto had become a critical favorite shortly before her death last year. In 2005, the Boston Globe described her as “the greatest living pianist that almost…

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  • Unlimited mobile music for £1.99 a week

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    Andrew Orlowski

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    In what may prove to be the most far-reaching digital music launch since iTunes, Omnifone today took the wraps off its MusicStation service. The service gives mobile phone users access to the big four labels’ music catalogs on-demand for £1.99 (€2.99) a week, using a player that runs on mid-range feature phones and GPRS or…

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  • Google – this internet won’t scale

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    Andrew Orlowski

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    Google’s TV chief has admitted the internet is crap for TV. Speaking to the Cable Europe Congress in Amsterdam, Vincent Dureau told attendees: “The web infrastructure, and even Google’s [infrastructure]…doesn’t scale. It’s not going to offer the quality of service that consumers expect.” Dureau, is head of TV technology at the ad giant. He candidly…

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  • On the Web 2.0 bubble

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    Andrew Orlowski

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    To London, where the web utopianism has a name (“Web 2.0”) and is a rage amongst marketing and media people. I reiterated a point I had raised two years earlier: &ldquo”Let’s acknowledge what the Web has been successful at: as a presentation layer. But the Web 2.0 kids desperately want to write system apps on…

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  • Wikipedia defends reality against Stephen Colbert

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    Andrew Orlowski

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    TV wit Stephen Colbert has had more fun at the expense of Wikipedia with another deeply ironic prank. Last year Colbert satirized the project’s dependence on the consensus theory of truth – which for Wikipedians is a feature, not a bug. The project’s guideline “WP:V” states, “The threshold for inclusion in Wikipedia is verifiability, not…

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  • An interview with Keith Harris

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    Andrew Orlowski

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    Keith Harris was general manager of Motown, has managed Stevie Wonder for 30 years, is currently director of performer affairs at collecting society the PPL and chairman of the MusicTank network at the University of Westminster. Were you disappointed there wasn’t more public support for extending copyright on sound recordings? When the issue was raised,…

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