Web Fee Agreement
Webcasters will pay a new royalty rate to the recording industry, as of April 3.
LATEST ADDITIONS
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Added to the Archives This Week
Back in 1996, Martin Colloms reviewed the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//amplificationreviews/809/">Krell KAV-300i integrated amplifier</A>, asking, "Is Krell risking its reputation?" He needn't have worried, as the 300i has gone on to become a popular audiophile classic.
DVD-A Day and Date
The DVD-Audio format's been around for a couple of years, but simultaneous DVD-A and CD releases of new music have been few and far between. Warner Brothers is hoping to improve on that record with the upcoming album from Fleetwood Mac, <I>Say You Will</I>.
New Robert Silverman CD, recorded in concert
"Rarely, if ever, can this densely written sonata have been presented so lucidly with each note precisely in place...the dramatic and lyrical aspects were never slighted or taken for granted."<BR>—Peter G. Davis, writing in the <I>New York Times</I> about Robert Silverman's New York debut in 1978, when he performed the Liszt B-Minor Piano Sonata in Alice Tully Hall.
RIAA Sues Students
The music industry has taken its war against piracy into a new realm.
SACD, the Way Forward?
At the 2003 Consumer Electronics Show in January—see the report in this issue—Sony and Philips held an SACD Event at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas. There were trippy lights. There were the Grand Pooh-Bahs of Sony, Philips, and the record labels. There was loud multichannel Big Brother and the Holding Company. And there was Sony's main SACD man in the US, David Kawakami, supplying the pep talk.
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RIAA Wins Piracy Suit
Alleged unauthorized copying of compact discs will cost Technicolor, Inc. approximately $2.3 million. On March 26, the Southern California disc replicator agreed to settle a <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/11309/">case</A> brought against it last year by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), in which the RIAA charged that workers at one of Technicolor's disc plants had made and distributed batches of illegal copies. The total of the settlement was less than 10% of the amount originally sought by the RIAA.
Music Biz "Streamlining"
Job cutbacks are one inevitable result of sustained sales declines. In late March, the ailing music industry began to shed excess workers in an effort to reach profitability, with <A HREF="http://www.sonymusic.com">Sony Music</A> and <A HREF="http://www.bmg.com">Bertelsmann Music Group</A> announcing significant reductions in their workforces.
Universal Goes Universal
Last year in late October, Universal Music Group finally <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/11476/">announced</A> its first set of SACD titles and the high-rez format's supporters jumped for joy. Then, at the January 2003 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Universal stood on the podium next to Sony and announced several key SACD releases from the Police, Peter Gabriel, and others.
Critical Period for Satellite Radio
The nascent satellite radio industry has entered a critical phase, with both <A HREF="http://www.xmradio.com">XM Radio</A> and <A HREF="http://www.siriusradio.com">Sirius Satellite Radio</A> posting losses for the fourth quarter. Combined, the two companies have yet to sign up a half-million subscribers.