Nike paid $250,000 to Capitol/EMI for the rights to use "Revolution"
in an ad campaign:
"1987. Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr file a $15
million legal action against Nike in a New York court. They claim that
use of the song, "Revolution" by the sports shoe company is commercial
exploitation and debases the song. Nike has paid Capitol/EMI $250,000
for use of the song but lawyer Leonard Marks says the trio have seen
none of the money."
Rockmine Music Almanac
http://www.rockmine.music.co.uk/Almanac/August/August.htm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here is your essay about videocassette formats. This is exactly 500
words (excluding the title.)
VCR Wars
In 1975, Sony launched the Betamax, a videocassette recording and
playback system aimed at the mass market. The introduction of the
home-use VCR caused a media sensation, and created the greatest
expectations for Sony since the introduction of the Trinitron
television line.
In September 1976, JVC announced its VHS-format videocassette recorder
(VCR,) which went head-to-head with Betamax (VHS stands for "Video
Home System.") Thus began the great VCR format battle. The JVC product
was capable of recording for two hours; Betamax could record only one
hour.
Although Sony's Beta format and JVC's VHS format were similar in
design, the cassette sizes were different, and the formats were not
compatible. The existence of two competing formats in the home-use VCR
market led to a bitter fight for market share. In the end, the Beta
format was supported by electronics manufacturers Aiwa, NEC, Pioneer,
Radio Shack, Sanyo, Toshiba, and Zenith (and, of course, by Sony.)
Akai, Hitachi, Matsushita, Mitsubishi, and Sharp endorsed JVC's VHS
format. The battle lines were drawn.
Sony and JVC continued to duke it out in the marketplace throughout
the 1980s. Improvements to both formats were made; as soon as a new
feature was introduced by Sony, a similar feature was rapidly added by
JVC, and vice versa. When Sony introduced a Betamax system of high
fidelity stereo reproduction that eclipsed the previous linear audio,
JVC soon followed with a similar high-quality stereo. Sony's new
playback and recording speeds Beta II and Beta III extended maximum
recording time up to 5 hours. JVC scored a major coup by making it
possible to tape in extended-play mode for 6 hours, which later became
8 hours (with the development of longer tapes.)
Although many experts and video buffs believed Beta to be the superior
system, VHS became the system of choice for most home taping
enthusiasts; the difference between a 5-hour maximum and an 8-hour
maximum was particularly meaningful in the days when blank
videocassettes cost $10 to $15 each.
As features expanded, prices plummeted, and soon the videocassette
recorder became an essential part of the entertainment lifestyle of
many households. A huge demand for prerecorded tapes of movies,
musical events, and sports gave birth to the videocassette rental
industry, which exploded in the mid-1980s. Most larger tape rental
outlets carried both Beta tapes and VHS tapes; however, since there
were more and more VHS owners and relatively fewer Betamax owners, the
number of Beta titles offered for rent or for sale dwindled. When VHS
became the dominant format for distributing movies, that effectively
doomed Betamax. Sony itself began to manufacture VHS-format VCRs.
During the 1990s, prerecorded Beta tapes became scarce; blank Beta
tapes, while available, were considered specialty items and were not
easy to find. Ironically, the reign of VHS has been brief. VHS is now
in decline because of the popularity of digital media; DVDs have left
videocassettes in the dust.
Sony has announced that it will stop manufacturing Betamax machines at
the end of 2002. And thus ends an era.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thank you for an interesting project. I enjoyed writing the essay,
partly because I own a piece of history: in the corner of my office
sits my first videocassette recorder, a 1979 JVC Vidstar, the first
machine capable of recording six hours on one cassette. It doesn't
look like a killer, but sure as shooting, JVC's extended-play speed
was the death of Beta.
My keyword strategy for the "Revolution" question: "beatles,"
"revolution," nike," and "paid."
To gather information for the VCR question, I used various
combinations such as "vhs versus betamax," "betamax history," "history
of videocassette recorders," and "sony betamax."
I hope this meets your needs. If I can provide further assistance,
please request clarification before rating my answer.
Best regards,
pinkfreud |
