Hasta La Gadget!

The Recording Industry Association of America has a new enemy. The organization, which has a long history of reacting, pre-acting, and overacting to the threat of piracy, has some stern words for ICANN’s (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers–the organization that controls top-level domains) new .Music TLD proposal.

The RIAA is worried that such a domain might become a breeding ground for music piracy. The organization wrote a letter to ICANN, in hopes that it would help “ensure best practices are developed” around the proposed domain.

“We strongly urge you to take these concerns seriously,” wrote RIAA lawyer Victoria Sheckler. “We prefer a practical solution to these issues, and hope to avoid the need to escalate the issue further.” Sheckler and co. don’t really detail what “escalation” might entail, but it will no doubt involve a whole lot of letter writing.

The RIAA’s complaints largely revolve around the organization’s inability to monitor and “take action” against potential piracy. “By sharply curtailing the transparency requirement, ICANN has effectively blocked out ability to use this information to assess when or how to comment on the fitness of the applicant or the sufficiency of safeguards against malicious conduct, leaving us, and the rest of the public in the dark.”

I know it’s legalese, but man, there’s something creepy about the phrase “the fitness of the applicant,” isn’t there?

Late last week, we reported a rumor that European streaming music service Spotify may be headed to the US in the near future. The post was titled, simply enough, “Spotify May be Headed to US Soon.” The rumor was based on a report that the service was close to inking a deal with Sony Music, including the quote from an anonymous music executive stating, “Spotify is launching in the US, for sure.”

That report has since been shot down by another anonymous source. “It’s not happening anytime soon, they may be close to getting deals done, but the labels are still not confident about their business model,” someone told Reuters. According to the same person, Spotify’s arrival on our shores is, “unlikely to be this quarter.”

Spotify’s business model is largely centered around free, ad-supported music, offering listeners free album streaming, in an attempt to get them to sign up for the premium service. It’s a model that, while successful in Europe, will take a lot of convincing in order to bring US music execs on board.

Spotify has made plenty of waves in its native Europe, but can the streaming music service possible live up to the hype of an American tech press that has deemed it the savior of the music industry? We may well soon find out. It seems that the Swedish music may soon be arriving on our shores.

According to a new report, the site its about to strike a deal with Sony Music–a move that marks its immanent move to the States. “Spotify is launching in the US, for sure,” someone identified only as a “music executive” told The New York Post. “They’ve got the deals now.”

Spotify responded, “Negotiations are progressing well, but [we have] nothing to confirm at this stage.”

The service offers free ad-supported service and a premium model that offers improved features like an increased bit rate. Spotify recently struck a deal with Shazam in Europe, offering access to the service’s library of content.

It seems like CES should have cleared out all the great gadget announcements for months, and yet the gadgets keep coming. Check out the Amphibx Fit, a new addition to H2O Audio’s line of sweatproof, waterproof sports accessories. This armband protects your music player with a wearable soft case that works just as well in the water as on land.

The Amphibx Fix takes the waterproof functionality already in the Amphibx line and combines it with a lighter, easer-to-load streamlined shape. You can access all controls through the case, and even work the camera. The Velcro armband offers a stable fit while working out. The armband also includes a StableFit buoy, which ensures the whole rig will float, even with a player inside it. The armband is available now for $59.99.