Barry Willis

Industry Roundup
News
Barry Willis  |  May 17, 2004  |  0 comments
Sirius keeps climbing: If recent gains are any indication, Sirius Satellite Radio may reach its break-even number of subscribers. On May 11, the New York–based satellite radio service reported that it had achieved a subscribership of 400,000. The brand will get increased exposure this summer as Sirius receivers go on sale at Radio Shack and EchoStar "DISH Network" outlets. Sirius products from Audiovox, Clarion, Jenson, and Kenwood are already available at Wal-Mart stores and after-market car audio installers nationwide. Other manufacturers signing on with Sirius include Alpine, Blaupunkt, Crestron, Delphi, Eclipse, JVC, Niles, Sanyo, and US Electronics, all with products due this year. The 400,000-subscriber mark is an "important milestone for Sirius," according to CEO Joe Clayton, who said the company is on track to reach a target audience of one million subscribers by the end of 2004.
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Sour Notes in the Music Biz
News
Barry Willis  |  May 10, 2004  |  First Published: May 11, 2004  |  0 comments
In one of his old comedy routines, Steve Martin imagines himself hauled into court for bank robbery. He seeks dismissal of the charges on the grounds of forgetfulness. "Your Honor," he pleads, "I forgot that bank robbery was a crime."
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Industry Roundup
News
Barry Willis  |  May 10, 2004  |  0 comments
Nowhere is the inflationary cycle spinning faster than in concert ticket prices. The best tickets for performances by major pop and rock stars this summer will be priced in the low-to-mid hundreds. No, that's not a misprint, and it doesn't include "service charges" and other bogus fees tacked on by ticket agencies. Good seats for Eric Clapton's summer tour will be more than $250 each; similar seating at Simon and Garfunkel's "Old Friends" show at the Hollywood Bowl will go for $700, according to "Parsley, Sage and $350 Seats," a revealing look at skyrocketing ticket prices by Ethan Smith in the May 7 issue of The Wall Street Journal.
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Hearing Loss & Audio Pros
News
Barry Willis  |  May 03, 2004  |  0 comments
Have you ever been to a rock concert and come away mumbling, "Those engineers must be deaf"? After enduring three hours of an all-out sonic assault, you were probably just a tad cranky, but the facts are that those engineers probably were deaf, or well on their way.
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Dolby Joins Hall of Fame
News
Barry Willis  |  May 03, 2004  |  0 comments
It's safe to say that few audio engineers are more famous than Ray Dolby. On May 1, the founder and chairman of Dolby Laboratories was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in Akron, Ohio, joining such luminaries as Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone, and Thomas Edison, inventor of the light bulb and the phonograph.
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Industry Roundup
News
Barry Willis  |  Apr 26, 2004  |  0 comments
"Clean Slate" ends: As of early April, the US music industry no longer offers amnesty to confessed downloaders. Begun in September by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the "Clean Slate" program's intent was to discourage music fans from continuing to gather freebies online by promising exemption from copyright infringement lawsuits if they signed statements that they had removed shared music files from their computers. More than 1100 music fans signed, but Eric Parke of Novato, CA sought an injunction against the program on the grounds that it was a "fraudulent business practice." The RIAA responded by halting the amnesty effort and asked the judge in the case to dismiss Parke's lawsuit. Trade group officials promised to uphold their part of the bargain for those who signed.
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Klipsch vs Resellers
News
Barry Willis  |  Apr 26, 2004  |  0 comments
If you're a retailer harboring visions of including Klipsch Audio Technologies' products among the offerings in a deep-discount website, forget it. Likewise, reconsider if you've been tempted to buy Klipsch products at unbelievable prices from such a site. And if you're a Klipsch dealer with some overstock, don't take the bait if someone with a website offers you cash for a bulk deal, don't even think about it—because Klipsch is one company that takes the gray market seriously.
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Satellite Radio Irks NAB
News
Barry Willis  |  Apr 19, 2004  |  0 comments
Once upon a time, business competitors relied on the quality of their products and services to hang onto their shares of the market. That's the myth, at least. Increasingly, it seems they rely on regulatory and judicial intervention to stay afloat.
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iPod Makes Apple Shine
News
Barry Willis  |  Apr 19, 2004  |  0 comments
The iPod is making sweet music for Apple Computer, Inc.
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CDs Cheaper than Downloads
News
Barry Willis  |  Apr 12, 2004  |  0 comments
An old adage has it that one common type of fool believes that anything new must be better.
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