by SHANE SINNOTT

Whoa. So despite all evidence pointing to the coming death of CD sales, Lil Wayne comes through by selling over 423,000 copies of Tha Carter III on the first day of its release. Jesus Christ! The official Soundscan numbers won’t be out for a few more days but I can guarantee you there’s a shitload of professional industry pulse-keepers who are praying for one million. This despite many leaks posted by folks like me long in advance of the official release date. Does this mean anything, in terms of CD sales’ grand descent into oblivion? No. But I hereby give credit where it’s due—I have absolutely no idea what you’re doing to move all these units, Lil Wayne, but kudos. (Perhaps the spectacle of having a professional lip-gloss applier during concerts helps?)

Here’s a link to “Let the Beat Build,” off the new record—one sale ain’t gonna hurt him: tinyurl.com/657gjn.

A nice application I came across recently is Simplify Media (www.simplifymedia.com). It’s a small download that you install on your home PC that allows you to access your iTunes or Winamp library from any other remote computer connected to the Internet. So if you’re tired of listening to crap at work or school or what have you, you install this little bad boy on your laptop or work computer and you can listen to your entire iTunes library from wherever. It allows you to create groups and have up to 30 “friends” sharing libraries, with up to five people listening off a single PC. Best of all, it’s completely free.

And now, briefly, a catch-up on bill C-61, the new copyright bill introduced last week by Jim Prentice. First off, it is not currently in effect—it’s just been tabled, dig? Second: everyone who’s not an idiot hates it. Quick to come down against the bill was Canadian Music Creators Coalition, which issued a press release with Brendan Canning (of Broken Social Scene) saying, “Musicians don’t need lawsuits.” You can read the full release here: tinyurl.com/3e8s3k. Also against: the Canadian Library Association, the Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences and the Canadian Federation of Students. More next week.