Project Unicorn

There are literally dozens of well known covers to Bill Wither's "Ain't no Sunshine."  Everyone from Sting to the Ramones-even Kris Allen from this year's season of American Idol-have  taken a stab at this classic, but Natives of the New Dawn might be one of my all time favorite versions.

"When She Goes Away" is a funky, soulful, rock and roll version of the song...that's seriously dynamic.  Gotta love a great voice on top of a fantastic beat.  Check it out:

Meredith Treinen New Music Mondays ain't no sunshing, natives of the new dawn, when she's gone

I promised that I'd switch it up this Monday, so here it is.  I love The Beautiful Girls, and "Dela"-a track from their Controlled Substance release Ziggurats-is just what I needed this morning.  I hope you guys enjoy it too.

Meredith Treinen New Music Mondays controlled substance, dela, the beautiful girls, ziggurats

As you know, we have a special place in our hearts for independent creators of all kinds here at Project Unicorn, which is why we love this.

The Independent Television Festival, also known as ITVFest, is a festival for independently produced, original and innovative television pilots and webseries.  It began in 2006 with a mission to change the game.  The festival explores the creativity behind independent production and gives indie directors, writers, and producers a viable vehicle to showcase their visions for the small screen.  you can see some of their success stories here...it's a pretty impressive list.

Unicorn Media, the very same company that powers Project Unicorn, just announced this morning that ITVFest has signed on to use their UMedia Player Services Platform to showcase this year's entries.  From one indie lover to another...welcome to the family!

This year's ITVFest is being held  July 6th-August 8th.  It should be a great show.  If you're in the LA area, I encourage you to check it out.  You can find ticket and schedule info over here.

Meredith Treinen Musings itvfest, Unicorn Media

I've written about Wallis Bird before, but well, I love her, so I'm bringing you another one of hers from the They Shoot Music series, "Blossoms in the Street."

She seriously rocks. Happy Monday.

Meredith Treinen New Music Mondays blossoms in the street, they shoot music, wallis bird

x-posted here

A few weeks ago in a keynote speech at Streaming Media East, Akamai Technologies Inc. CEO Paul Sagan argued that online video has reached a "tipping point."

Well I hate to say it, (scratch that, if you know anything about me you know that I actually love to say it) but here it is: I told you so.

I'm not claiming that I predicted the now-inevitable rise of online content viewership, but I've certainly been waiting for people to stop giving me "you've got to be kidding me" reactions when they find out I don't own a television. That's right. I don't own a television. (Oh, and a note to any friends or family that may be reading this: please stop trying to gift me old televisions sitting in your garage. No really. I'm good.)

I won't get into how I found myself sans a tv, but I have certainly found that I just don't need one...and I'm not alone. Plenty of twenty-something's are foregoing their cable bills in favor of consuming content online. (And let's be honest, my shoe addiction certainly appreciates that I've got one less bill to pay.)

Don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating that you all throw out your televisions...yet, but improvements in video quality are leading audiences to consume more and more content online. Every major network offers programming online, and many cable networks are following suite. Except for one of my favorites...ahem, Bravo!, ahem. (Might I mention that Bravo! is a perfect point in case, as even my love for Tom Colicchio cannot overpower my aversion to the cable bill. They lost me as a viewer because they don't offer their content online, but I digress.) ...and I'm not even getting into the rise of companies like Revision3 who, with the tag line "Internet Television any way you want it" is literally changing the way people are viewing content.

Sagan noted, "We as an industry have to make it really simple to connect the Internet to the wide-screen TV. As that happens, people are going to choose to get their video over the Internet."

Bingo.

While it might not ever be a good time for us to throw out our big screens, I think I can safely say that cable television might just be on its way out.

With more and more viewers asking, "Why do I need cable television?" MSOs are justifiably getting scared. HD video (which really drives revenue in the online video department) is on the rise and on its way to becoming the norm. While I have no problem watching The Daily Show on my 13-inch monitor, for most, the quality-factor is a big one, and Sagan is exactly right when he argues that it's our job to make it really simple for people to watch online content via their televisions. While it's certainly going to make many in the industry uncomfortable, it has also become clear that adapting to the changing consumer and new technology is important. (And it's great to see the CEO of a major technology company advocating this change.)

So bring it on skeptics. I'll take my quick internet connection with a growing shoe collection any day.

Meredith Treinen Musings