Spotify Is Eating the Entire Music Business

 

As indie music platforms like Bandcamp deteriorate, artists must cater to a single, powerful streaming platform.

Source: Spotify Is Eating the Entire Music Business

Discogs’ vibrant vinyl community is shattering – The Verge

I’m a big fan of Discogs.  I use it primarily to keep track of my music collection.  Hopefully this article and the work they are doing there can turn the organization around.

How Discogs built — and broke — a community of diehard music fans and sellers.

Source: Discogs’ vibrant vinyl community is shattering – The Verge

Rindge Leaphart

‘Amazon doesn’t care about books’: how Barnes & Noble bounced back | Barnes & Noble | The Guardian

If Amazon doesn’t care, I sure do! Welcome back Barnes & Noble.

Barnes & Noble is the US’s largest remaining book chain but, under James Daunt, each of the 600 stores is meant to run like an independent bookstore

Source: ‘Amazon doesn’t care about books’: how Barnes & Noble bounced back | Barnes & Noble | The Guardian

America Is Back in the Factory Business – WSJ

Record spending on manufacturing construction heralds a made-in-the-U.S. rebound, stoked by green-energy incentives and concerns about foreign supply chains.

Source: America Is Back in the Factory Business – WSJ

U.S. factory production highest in 14 years, even as interest rates rise : NPR

While I am under no illusion that manufacturing in the United States will ever return to previous levels, it is good to see articles like the one below.  There will always be a place for domestic manufacturing companies that are both nimble and innovative.

Factories have added 467,000 jobs in the last 12 months, as production jumped to its highest level since 2008. But manufacturing remains a much smaller slice of the U.S. economy than it used to be.

Source: U.S. factory production highest in 14 years, even as interest rates rise : NPR

Rindge Leaphart

Boston Dynamics Atlas and Spot robots can now dance better than you can – The Verge

If you have a couple of minutes and enjoy good music, the video is worth watching.  The technology used with these robots is quite impressive.  I enjoy technology as much as the next person, but the capabilities of these robots are a wee bit concerning.  Maybe Lucas was onto something.  I would love to see these robots deployed in en masse in real life situations…like fighting forest fires.  Until then, I guess we will have to settle for backflips, the mashed potato, and the twist.

Welcoming in our new dancing robot overlords

Source: Boston Dynamics Atlas and Spot robots can now dance better than you can – The Verge

Rindge Leaphart

The ‘Wall’ That Keeps Flesh-Eating Worms Out of America – The Atlantic

Admittedly, a long read, but a very interesting subject of how the U.S. and Panama work together to protect livestock.  Enjoy.

Rindge Leaphart

 

Inside the U.S. and Panama’s long-running collaboration to rid an entire continent of a deadly disease.

Source: The ‘Wall’ That Keeps Flesh-Eating Worms Out of America – The Atlantic

13 Essential Google My Business Optimizations for 2020 – Business 2 Community

For those of you interested in this level of detail, the linked article has great advice for business owners (especially smaller ones) looking to optimize their Google My Business listing(s).

Regards,

Rindge Leaphart

Any business today needs targeted visibility on Google. Most businesses know that this requires optimizing their website and Google Ads,…

Source: 13 Essential Google My Business Optimizations for 2020 – Business 2 Community

Inside Toyota’s Takaoka #2 Line: The Most Flexible Line In The World – The Drive

Lessons from the last downturn lead the world’s foremost auto manufacturer to reinvent the production line.

Source: Inside Toyota’s Takaoka #2 Line: The Most Flexible Line In The World – The Drive

Next Generation Professional

Devex, USAID & DAI look ahead to the next 10 years and help gauge the skills you will need to thrive in a new era for global development.

Source: Next Generation Professional