iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Just realised I'm about to hit 20 years on Youtube and boy does that feel strange

Youtube thumbnail for a "One Man Ukulele Orchestra" posted 19 years ago

Jakob Burrows @awesomepedia.org · 19/09/2026

Hey, if you're a @reelhistory.bsky.social listener, we've just put a poll on our Patreon where you can choose which film/show we're going to cover next! Vote now if you're a member: www.patreon.com/reelhistoryp...

a poll where all the options are currently at 0

the options are:

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure
Blackadder
The Da Vinci Code
The Great
The Last Kingdom
Saving Private Ryan

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Jakob Burrows @awesomepedia.org · 17/09/2026

Published my video about the history of knights (and A KNIGHT'S TALE) 2 years ago today! To celebrate, I updated it with a new, more youtubey thumbnail and title – check it out if you haven't already. ⚔️🛡️ #knight #history #100yearswar

youtube.com

Explaining A KNIGHT'S TALE for 100 minutes

YouTube video by Jakob Burrows

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Reposted by Jakob Burrows

Reel History Podcast @reelhistory.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Our bonus episode on The Odyssey is now up on Patreon! www.patreon.com/reelhistoryp... If you haven't heard our main episode sorting fiction from fiction in Nolan's the Odyssey, you can now find it on our public feed: showswhatyouknow.com/the-odyssey-...

patreon.com

Footnotes & Fancies: The Odyssey | Reel History

Here is our bonus episode on The Odyssey, just for you dear patrons! We dive into topics we didn't have time for on the main feed, such as "

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Reposted by Jakob Burrows

Reel History Podcast @reelhistory.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Our episode on the real history behind #TheOdyssey is up now for our patrons! Will be available on our regular feed soon – and when it is, the Patrons get a bonus episode covering additional bits and pieces we couldn't fit into the main show. #ChristopherNolan #HistoryPodcast #History

patreon.com

Early Access: The Odyssey | Reel History

Hello Patron Pals! Here is episode on Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey, available for you early. We also have Footnotes & Fancies Patreon bon

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Jakob Burrows @awesomepedia.org · 06/08/2026

Another week, another thumbnail attempt! Check out my latest video if you haven't already: youtu.be/yjDHZXCMdKs Any help sharing it is much appreciated! #filmphotography #photography 📷

youtu.be

Why is Film Photography Back?

YouTube video by Jakob Burrows

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Jakob Burrows @awesomepedia.org · 25/07/2026

Views have flatlined for my latest video and I'm resorting to desperate measures DON'T LOOK AT ME I FEEL DIRTY www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqNf...

Screenshot of youtube thumbnail showing a dusty wedding photo, wiht the title "I found this under my floorboards – and it changed my life"

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Jakob Burrows @awesomepedia.org · 25/07/2026

Like many others, I fell deep into the #NirvannaTheBandTheShow rabbit hole after their movie came out, but it remains a difficult show to explain – this new trailer for the release on Hulu/Disney+ actually does a good job!

youtube.com

Nirvanna the Band the Show | Trailer | Hulu

YouTube video by Hulu

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Jakob Burrows @awesomepedia.org · 18/07/2026

The Uprising looks great but let's all take a moment and ponder the fact that Andrew Garfield is playing Wat "It's Called a Lance... Hello??" Tyler youtu.be/ZVkrhHebz1Q

static.klipy.com

A Knight's Tale: It's Called a Lance, Hello!

Alt: A Knight's Tale: It's Called a Lance, Hello!

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Jakob Burrows @awesomepedia.org · 17/07/2026

I'm pissed off all the time and I highly recommend it.

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Jakob Burrows @awesomepedia.org · 08/07/2026

In cool and fun news, views have already flatlined for this doc I spent months making. I'll try cooking up some different thumbnails but – in the meantime – if you like it, please share it. 🙏 #documentary #filmmaking #filmphotography #photography

youtube.com

Why is Film Photography Back?

YouTube video by Jakob Burrows

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Jakob Burrows @awesomepedia.org · 30/06/2026

Oh, and don’t forget that Jack Dorsey also founded the platform we’re on right now This is not a safe space. Disintermediate! Destroy the oligarchy! Show solidarity with working class artists! Pirate music owned by billionaires! That is all.

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Jakob Burrows @awesomepedia.org · 30/06/2026

If this was of interest, recommended reading includes: @bcmerchant.bsky.social's newsletter @404media.co reporting just in general @doctorow.pluralistic.net is always good for one @blindboyboatclub.bsky.social's “I almost interviewed Cillian Murphy on this podcast” re: private equity buying music

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Jakob Burrows @awesomepedia.org · 30/06/2026

I have a documentary coming out later this year about Spotify. Subscribe to my Youtube (www.youtube.com/awesomepedia) and follow the RSS feed on my website (awesomepedia.org) so you don’t miss it. You'll be shocked to hear that I take a critical stance.

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Jakob Burrows @awesomepedia.org · 30/06/2026

I just knew some folks might read the #Tidal headline as "win" for musicians, not as a piece of propaganda in the ongoing war against the working class, so needed to add my two cents (or 0.0000002 cents, in streaming money).

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Jakob Burrows @awesomepedia.org · 30/06/2026

Spitting out text/images/audio is a distraction from what AI tools really are – a tool for wealth transfer. That's why we’ve seen such absurd investment in it; the only possible return is the promise that this tech will siphon an EVEN GREATER portion of wealth from the working class.

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Jakob Burrows @awesomepedia.org · 30/06/2026

The numbers may seem high (300M for Kiss, 250M for Bowie, 550M for Springsteen, ~300M for Bob Dylan) but this has become a sound investment (no pun intended) due to the streaming sector's ability to concentrate wealth at the top while squeezing everyone at the bottom. And now they have AI to help.

nytimes.com

Opinion | Same Old Song: Private Equity Is Destroying Our Music Ecosystem (Published 2024)

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Jakob Burrows @awesomepedia.org · 30/06/2026

Meanwhile, record labels and private equity funds have been quietly buying the back catalogues of the world's most popular artists, all for hundreds of millions of dollars. They're not buying temporary rights – they are buying to own. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recogni...

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Jakob Burrows @awesomepedia.org · 30/06/2026

Tidal’s ownership is clearly pro-AI and, indeed, demonetising AI-generated audio without suppressing its spread is a pro-AI move, since the consequence is a wealth transfer towards the top – which is the whole point of AI under capitalism!!

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Jakob Burrows @awesomepedia.org · 30/06/2026

Tidal is now owned by Block, which is controlled by Jack Dorsey of Twitter fame, who thinks that AI is the greatest invention (read: scam) since crypto. In February he laid off 40% of his workers, citing AI as the reason. The company’s stock went up 24%.

theguardian.com

What was really behind Jack Dorsey laying off nearly half of Block’s staff?

CEO cited AI advances in cutting 4,000 workers, but a weak crypto market and declining stock price may also be at play

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Jakob Burrows @awesomepedia.org · 30/06/2026

Moving forward, I predict that Tidal will exclusively push two types of music: 1) AI-generated audio, for which they don’t need to pay royalties at all. 2) Music owned by the multi-millionares and billionaires who have a stake in the business. And while we're on that subject... who owns Tidal?

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Jakob Burrows @awesomepedia.org · 30/06/2026

This is the same reason that Spotify added podcasts – time spent listening to podcasts/audiobooks means less money paid to artists and more of your subscription fee kept by the platform.

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Jakob Burrows @awesomepedia.org · 30/06/2026

Tidal has a long history of wage theft – and demonetising AI audio WITHOUT disallowing or suppressing it is more of the same. It will incentivise the business to push MORE AI audio since they don't have to pay for it, unlike real music. And thus, more of your subscription fee is kept by Tidal.

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Jakob Burrows @awesomepedia.org · 30/06/2026

We only know this because a Norwegian newspaper obtained a hard drive of internal data and handed it over to digital forensics experts at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology for analysis. News report: www.dn.no/staticprojec... Digital Forensics Report: www.dn.no/staticprojec...

Digital Forensics Report NTNU
Executive summary
Dagens Næringsliv (DN) approached the Norwegian University of Science and Technology
(NTNU) to investigate whether some data manipulation had occurred in various log files in
its possession. DN advised they are in the process of investigating what it suspected to be
the fraudulent manipulation of data in the database of a music streaming service and sought
cross-validation on this hypothesis.
The NTNU was asked to investigate whether there was in fact manipulation of the data,
and if so, the scope, methodology, and location of this manipulation. DN suspected there
had been manipulation of data due to a spike of user records within specific time periods, but
did not provide any further details as to why they determined the data to be manipulated
and the methods by which it occurred.
Using advanced statistical analysis of the data provided by DN, NTNU determined that
there had in fact been a manipulation of the data at particular times due to the large presence
of similar duplicate records occurring for a large percentage of the userbase that was active
at any given time. In reviewing the data, in isolation from any other records or logs, it was
not possible to determine the exact means of manipulation; however, the absence of records
with unreadable data suggested it was not an external Structured Query Language Injection
(SQLi) vector based attacked, but rather manipulation from within the streaming service
itself. Due to the targeted nature and extent of the manipulation, it is very unlikely that
this manipulation was solely the result of a code based bug or other system anomaly.
The following analysis shows in detail why this conclusion is the most likely conclusion
and further, the nature and extent it is suspected that the manipulation has affected the
accuracy of the data.

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Jakob Burrows @awesomepedia.org · 30/06/2026

Under Jay-Z’s ownership, Tidal artificially inflated the streams of self-proclaimed nazi Kanye West. “Life of Pablo” was supposedly streamed 250 million times in its first 10 days, which would mean that every subscriber played the album 8 times every day. Beyoncé's Lemonade got a similar treatment.

static.klipy.com

Beyonce and Jay Z Wedding Cake Moment

Alt: Beyonce and Jay Z Wedding Cake Moment

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Jakob Burrows @awesomepedia.org · 30/06/2026

AI scammers will continue flooding the platform with millions of songs in hopes of one or two "hits". This content will clog the tubes and leave real artists with little chance of being heard. With subscription fees remaining the same and AI music pushed to listeners, where does the money go??

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Jakob Burrows @awesomepedia.org · 30/06/2026

Tidal vows to demonetise AI-generated audio but they do NOT vow to ban it – a thing that is fully possible. Bandcamp has done it. And this next point is key: Tidal does NOT vow to suppress AI-generated audio in their algorithm. What will be the result?

reddit.com

From the BandCamp community on Reddit

Explore this post and more from the BandCamp community

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Jakob Burrows @awesomepedia.org · 30/06/2026

Scams are built on scale; email a million people, and one or two will buy that you’re a disenfranchised royal desperately in need of some random person’s ability to transfer large sums of money. The AI content scam is no different; generate a million songs and the algorithm will pick up one or two.

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Jakob Burrows @awesomepedia.org · 30/06/2026

Tidal vows not to pay royalties for AI-generated audio! (@404media.co) But is this good news for artists or just another tactic in the war on independent musicians? Spoilers: It's the bad one. Hope you're ready for a rabbit hole thread!

404media.co

Tidal Says It Won’t Pay Royalties for AI-Generated Music

Spotify competitor Tidal built a reputation by collaborating with musicians and focusing on audio quality. How will it handle the era of AI-generated slop?

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Jakob Burrows @awesomepedia.org · 11/06/2026

I believe this is Grundle Dunlop from Oct 2 2019, just listened to it yesterday.

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Jakob Burrows @awesomepedia.org · 18/05/2026

paint me like one of your french pingos

auction website listing for a penguin-shaped camera emblazoned with the name PINGO

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Jakob Burrows @awesomepedia.org · 17/05/2026

My next video is about film photography (it should be out soon by the way!) and it's taking every fibre of my being to not somehow include this song 📷

youtube.com

David Mitchell's Joker Song: What A Picture | Last One Laughing UK Season 2

YouTube video by Amazon Prime Video UK & IE

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Jakob Burrows @awesomepedia.org · 21/04/2026

Had a lovely time out shooting in the woods of #Wicklow this past weekend! Exploring the 1% original tree cover that still remains here in Ireland.

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Jakob Burrows @awesomepedia.org · 16/04/2026

Hey! I host this podcast! It's about history and films and you would like it!

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Jakob Burrows @awesomepedia.org · 04/04/2026

what do we blame, an obsession with high dynamic range or a lack of vision or both?

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Jakob Burrows @awesomepedia.org · 03/03/2026

awesomepedia.org (and youtube.com/@awesomepedia) It'll be part of a series on "How to enjoy the internet again" which also tries to sell Gen Z on starting blogs and websites instead of just accounts on platforms. I really think it'll only become more important as everything is overrun with gen AI.

awesomepedia.org

Awesomepedia

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Jakob Burrows @awesomepedia.org · 03/03/2026

Yoo currently writing a big pro-RSS propaganda piece video about how everyone should be using it in this age of exploitative algorithms.

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Reposted by Jakob Burrows

Joseph Fink, we're going to win @planetoffinks.bsky.social · 02/03/2026

One of the root causes of How We Ended Up Here is people inheriting ideas and institutions that are pretty new actually, and treating them as the given state of the cosmos rather than a temporary situation that they must build upon and improve

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Jakob Burrows @awesomepedia.org · 12/02/2026

“I no longer want to hear anybody make the comparison between generative AI in music and any of the other disruptive technologies in music. Because the fascists […] have selected their tool of wealth extraction and political coercion, and it isn’t MIDI. You feel me?” - @adamneely.bsky.social

youtube.com

Suno, AI Music, and the Bad Future

YouTube video by Adam Neely

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Jakob Burrows @awesomepedia.org · 09/02/2026

The people who say there is no ethical consumption under capitalism clearly never pirates Adobe products.

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Jakob Burrows @awesomepedia.org · 05/02/2026

An easy spot to visit for a bit of history is the General Post Office in the centre of Dublin, it still has bullet holes from the 1916 rising – and a museum dedicated to said rising in the basement! National Museum and National Gallery are also strong recs.

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Jakob Burrows @awesomepedia.org · 05/02/2026

Lots of great suggestions already so I'll just add Newgrange, a neolithic site older than the pyramids of Giza – you even get to go inside into the tiny chamber that lights up with sunlight through a long passage just once a year on the winter solstace! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newgrange

en.wikipedia.org

Newgrange - Wikipedia

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Jakob Burrows @awesomepedia.org · 05/02/2026

Allow me to be the first, of no doubt many, to make the mandatory reply that Ireland's population sadly still hasn't recovered from the genocide perpetrated by the English in the 1800s. On the upside that means there's lots of pretty Breath of the Wild style ruins everywhere! 🇮🇪

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