They might sound like great song titles, but “21st Century Record
Player,” “Earth Storage” and “Thanks for Listening” aren’t new Neil
Young tunes. They’re trademarks that the rocker recently filed with the
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Rolling Stone has found, and they indicate that Young is developing a high-resolution audio alternative to the MP3 format.
According to the filed documents,
Young applied for six trademarks last June: Ivanhoe, 21st Century
Record Player, Earth Storage, Storage Shed, Thanks for Listening and SQS
(Studio Quality Sound). Included in the filing is a description of the
trademarks: “Online and retail store services featuring music and
artistic performances; high resolution music downloadable from the
internet; high resolutions discs featuring music and video; audio and
video recording storage and playback.” The address on file corresponds
to that of Vapor Records, Young’s label. (Young’s representatives
declined Rolling Stone’s request for comment.)
Young faces about a year of paperwork before the government will register his trademarks.
