Music!

I found two USB ported podcasting kits that I am considering, which one is better?

M-Audio Podcast Factory Professional Podcasting Solution found at Amazon

* Everything you need to easily record, edit and publish professional-sounding podcasts
* Includes 24 bit USB Audio interfacefor recording vocals and instruments
* M-Audio microphone engineered for vocal recordings
* Includes recording and RSS 2.0 feed generating software tools
* Desk top stand and mic cables included
Product Description
From the Manufacturer
The Podcast Factory combines all the hardware and software you need to easily record, edit and publish professional-sounding podcasts. Create sophisticated radio-style productions that integrate speech, music, and sound effects. The included software even processes your MP3 files and automates web publishing of RSS 2.0 feeds. Designed with the same M-Audio technology used in recording studios around the world, Podcast Factory gives you both the professional sound quality and creative tools to produce stellar podcasts that keep your listeners coming back for more.

Podcast Factory USB Interface
The Podcast Factory professional audio interface brings your computer both microphone and instrument inputs, plus headphone and stereo outputs—all via a simple USB cable. It can also double as a professional audio interface for most popular music software like Apple GarageBand, Sony Acid, and Magix Music Maker.

Broadcast Microphone Included
Use the included microphone with desktop stand to record broadcast-quality speech for professional-sounding podcasts—instruments too.

Software Included
Podcast Factory includes all the software you need to record and edit your program, add music by dragging and dropping loops, and create and upload MP3 files with RSS feeds.

Bundled Software
Ableton Live Lite 5 delivers much of the functionality of Ableton Live 5—the revolutionary, multi-award winning music production solution that allows you to spontaneously compose, record, remix, improvise and edit your musical ideas in a seamless audio/MIDI environment. Live brings your acoustic, electronic and virtual instruments—as well as your digital audio recordings and MIDI sequences—together in a single interface with unparalleled ease of use.

Full Features

* Professional 24-bit/48kHz audio interface with preamp
* Dynamic broadcast microphone with desk stand
* Microphone input channel with gain control and signal LEDs
* Switchable instrument/line input
* Stereo headphone output
* Stereo output jacks
* Level control for headphones and main outputs
* USB bus-powered for mobile operation
* USB class-compliant (OS X 10.3.5 and higher) for plug-and-play operation
* Includes software for recording and editing, adding music and sound effects, and Web posting with RSS feed
* Includes music loops from a wide variety of genres
* Easy to connect and use
* Hardware compatible with most other music software

OR - This Behringer Podcasting Kit

Behringer Podcaststudio-usb Podcaststudio Usb Bundle found at beach Audio

FEATURES- PodCastStudio USB Bundle
Complete PODCASTUDIO Bundle with USB Interface!
Looking for a new way to express yourself? Ever wanted to be a
famous producer? Then podcasting is the answer and the BEHRINGER
PODCASTUDIO bundle has all you need to make high-quality podcasts
and home recordings.
Go on air straight out of the box with this fantastic PODCASTUDIO
recording package. It comes with a studio-grade USB audio interface
as well as comprehensive DAW and podcasting software. The package
also features a professional 5-input mixer with 2-band “British”
EQ, high-quality headphones and a dynamic broadcast-style
microphone plus cable.
Become part of the global broadcast revolution and let the world
listen to you!
* Everything you need for professional podcasting, music production and
digital home recording.
* Get a full recording studio “out of the box” including USB interface,
mixer, microphone, headphones, professional music software and more.
* High-resolution 2 In / 2 Out USB audio interface with plug-and-play for
Windows XP and Mac OS X operating systems.
* Studio-class 5-input 2-bus mixer with premium mic preamp and 2-band
“British” EQ.
* Dynamic broadcast-style microphone with 2-stage pop filter
* High-performance studio headphones with ultra-wide frequency response
* Table microphone stand, XLR microphone cable and 2 stereo RCA cables
* Powerful DAW software included (Kristal Audio Engine multi-track
sequencer and Audacity audio editor).
* Comprehensive podcasting software (Podifier, Juice, PodNova, Golden Ear)
for PCs and Mac computers.
* Illustrated quick-start guide “How to Podcast”
* High-quality components and exceptionally rugged construction ensure long
life.
www.behringer.com

One Republic has a big hit, “Apologize” but most people and web sites it seems list the artist as Timbaland. In fact requests that I hear often ask for “that slow Timbaland song Apologize”. It’s funny because I think that they may not have gotten the song recognition to make it the popular hit it is today without timbaland putting his name on it, but at the same time, the recognition is really going to Timbaland, and not the band the wrote it. Even yahoo music’s lyrics lists the artist name as Timbaland (which I assume means gracenote and others have it listed this way as well) - I hope they are making money from it at least. I’d choose the money over the fame any day.

In an interview I saw with One Republic, (on VH1 I think) they siad they knew they had a hit, but Timbaland added a little extra production value which made it even better than the original, even though it pretty much is the original song.

From Boing Boing:

RPM 2008 Challenge: record an album in 29 days
Posted by Cory Doctorow, January 27, 2008 12:23 AM | permalink to original post at Boing Boing
The RPM Challenge begins on February 1 — just a few days off — and all over the web, musicians will work to produce an entire album in just one month. This is the music version of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), and inpsires the same passion and creativity. I’ve had numerous writing students who participated in NaNoWriMo and used it as a way to surgically burn away their self-doubt, destructive reliance on “inspiration,” and cherished illusions about the process of writing, acquiring in a mere month the kind of discipline that often takes writers many hard years to arrive at.

The rules of RPM Challenge are simple: write and record 10 songs, or 35 minutes’ worth of material, in the 29 days of February, using anything and anyone you can shanghai into your project. Last year, over 850 records emerged from the competition. The RPM site will connect you with other challengers and let you offer support to one another as you go.

This is the challenge: record an album in 29 days, just because you can.

That’s 10 songs or 35 minutes of original material recorded during the month of February. Go ahead… put it to tape.

Don’t wait for inspiration - taking action puts you in a position to get inspired. You’ll stumble across ideas you would have never come up with otherwise, and maybe only because you were trying to meet a day’s quota of (song)writing. Show up and get something done, and invest in yourself and each other.

Anyone can come up with an excuse to say “no,” so don’t.

Link to RPM Challenge via slashdot

From the Boing Boing Commenters:
There’s two of these in February?! (There’s also February Album Writing Month at http://www.fawm.org, which goes for 14 songs during the course of the month.)

Here are two other projects with time parameters.
On the short side:
Drown Radio’s “Crate Digger Deathmatch”
http://www.drownradio.com/crate-digger-deathmatch
Artist we’re given 12 hours to purchase, sample and create a track.

On the long side:
V/Vm’s 365 Project
http://brainwashed.com/vvm/micro/vvmt365/index.htm
V/Vm created at least one new composition for everyday of a year of 2006.

Starting in 2003, much software has been released for hosting karaoke shows, and playing karaoke songs on a personal computer. Instead of having to carry around hundreds of CD-G’s or laserdiscs, a KJ can ‘rip’ their entire library onto a hard drive, and play the songs and lyrics from that.

Additionally, new software permits singers to sing and listen to one another over the Internet with collaborators/audiences from all around the world.

Various online karaoke websites provide the opportunity for karaoke enthusiasts to participate and share in a worldwide karaoke community. Users can create personal, online karaoke profiles, which store their individual recordings and even allow video syncing. Some examples of free sites are the independent singsnap.com, Yahoo’s bix.com, Electronic Arts’ singshot.com and Fox Interactive’s ksolo.com.

As of right now (2007), companies such as Sound Choice and Stellar Records are taking law actions against computer-run karaoke systems. They say it is against fair use laws and that “fair use” does not apply to commercial use. They also say that format-shifting for any use is also against “fair use” laws.