How much of a failure was the RIAAs campaign of ridiculous lawsuits of file sharers? How does a measly 2% return on a $58 million investment sound? That’s good business right there. According to leaked tax forms from 2006-2008, the RIAA spent a whopping $58,258,394 on legal fees over the course of those three years, reaping $1,362,572 from accused pirates in return. Ouch. But it was all totally worth it, luckily for them, as piracy is now dead and everyone is back to spending $18 for a CD that’s half filler at their local Sam Goody. Oh, wait.

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I’m at the Coachella Oasis (a giant, sprawling, endless rave taking place at the lavish desert manse formerly inhabited by Merv Griffin) setting up a weekend-long webcast with Richard Metzger for Brand X, the alt-culture publication of the Los Angeles Times. From 12-5 today, Saturday, and Sunday, artists performing at Coachella will be dropping by, and I’ll be taking your questions and streaming video live all weekend. Here’s the Ustream link, mostly just ambient party setup Friday. It’s hot and sunny here, with a chance of frolicking models in the pool. Tomorrow at noon [...]

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The OPC guitar amplifier from Orange comes with a built-in computer. It’ll be released in June. As a fully fledged computer it has 4GB DDR2 RAM, 500GB Hard Drive, Intel chips, Windows 7 x64 home premium, 8 x USB2.0 ports, is Wi-Fi enabled and has an integrated GeForce 9300 graphics card with an optional dedicated ATI 5670 512MB card for those who may want to play a few games while they put their guitars down. The first models will include modeling software incorporating computer samples of vintage and current Orange amps and cabinets as well as free branded recording software package. Once [...]

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With a flurry of new releases, we’re already highlighting the best songs of 2010 to date. Many of the new singles feature guest artists, an “et-al” phenomenon that includes Ludacris, Bruno Mars, Beyonce, Lil Wayne, Jay Sean, 3OH!3 and others leading the pack. But let’s not exclude Lady Antebellum and Taylor Swift, whose success from 2008 album releases have carried them over into the new decade. Here are AOL Radio’s Top Pop Songs of 2010 so far — pulled from our listener ratings on our Fresh 40 station. Be sure to check back frequently, as we will be updating [...]

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