Andy Kessler

WSJ: The Music Industry Needs Hackers, Not Lawyers

I’m sure this has happened to you: Running out of summer, I just had to listen to “Summertime Blues,” by The Who. I couldn’t find it in two record stores even at $16.96, so I went online. Buymusic.com wouldn’t let me download to my iPod, and Apple iTunes required a $2,000 Mac. So I, er, lifted it, via KaZaA, and was playing air guitar within 28 seconds.

WSJ: Behind the Feathers at NBC

Oops, NBC was supposed to be long gone from the General Electric portfolio. Broadcast TV is no longer a cakewalk: GE must now do a deal with Vivendi for Universal Studios to find a safe harbor for the Peacock network. On Aug. 1, NBC Chairman Robert Wright called 2003 “the best year we’ve ever had.” But if you look behind the feathers, you’ll find a troubled NBC that has no choice but to do this deal.

The American Spectator: Monty Python M&A

Software is a bizarre business and so are the people in it. Bill Gates may be King of the Geeks, but Larry Ellison, founder, chairman and CEO of Oracle Corporation, is King Arthur searching for the Holy Grail­the Monty Python version.