The <A HREF="http://www.rounder.com/">Rounder Records Group</A>, one of the largest independent record labels in the US, has signed on with <A HREF="http://www.liquidaudio.com/">Liquid Audio</A> for digital music distribution on the Internet. As of April 28, Rounder will offer a substantial portion of its catalog for sale by digital download.
Upstart digital audio format MP3 received some heavy-duty validation with the announcement on Wednesday, April 27 by Thomson Multimedia SA that it has made a 20% investment in <A HREF="http://www.musicmatch.com/">MusicMatch Inc.</A>, a maker of MP3 player and management software. "Jukebox," as the software is known, is used to play, encode, and manage MP3 files. Thomson makes RCA, ProScan, and Thomson brand electronics.
Last week, <A HREF="http://www.cddb.com">CDDB</A> announced a newly designed, more user-friendly website for its large database of audio CD information. The database resource now provides free information on more than 360,000 CDs, which the company describes as the world's largest online CD music database. There are over 40,000 entries in the classical CD database alone, with rock logging three times as many entries at 126,000. The database gains about 500 new entries every day. Users can search by artist, album, or song title, and then cross-reference titles to other artists or discs.
Reuters has reported that <A HREF="http://www.sony.com">Sony Corporation</A> is experiencing a 20% drop in profits this year, brought about by poor showings from audio and video product sales, slow markets, price wars, and a lack of hit records. The report also stated that the electronics sector, which normally generates the bulk of Sony sales, saw operating profits decline by more than half compared to the previous year.
In the latest article to appear in the Archives, Robert Harley comes right out and asks, "How many of you actually read the 'Measurements' sections of <I>Stereophile</I>'s equipment reports and understand what's being measured, and why? I suspect that many readers skip over the technical assessment of the reviewed product and make a dash for the 'Conclusion.' "
Reader Doug Cline just bought a new La-Z-Boy and likes the way it feels, but wonders about its effect on the sound. What do you prefer for listening?
Last Month, music labels, distributors, and retailers met in Las Vegas for the 41st annual <A HREF="http://www.narm.com">National Association of Recording Merchandisers</A> convention to wrestle with several new issues wrought by the digital age. NARM Chairperson Rachelle Friedman set the tone for the event when she stated in the keynote address that "for the music industry, the 21st century and the impact of the Internet have already thrust themselves upon us."
Every week we get an e-mail or two from online readers begging for a state-of-the-art set of searchable weblinks on the <I>Stereophile</I> website. Starting this week, your e-prayers have been answered. The <I>Stereophile</I> website now sports one of the Internet's most comprehensive set of qualified audio and video links---as of last count, they number more than 2500. The database is searchable in a variety of ways, and also groups similar categories.
Toronto-based Lenbrook Group announced earlier this month that it had acquired NAD Electronics from AudioNord International, a Scandinavian organization that has owned the brand for most of this decade. The deal is expected to close next week, on May 3. Lenbrook will take over NAD's worldwide marketing and distributorship, but AudioNord will continue to market the brand in Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, and Scandinavia. Other joint marketing ventures will follow, according to Lenbrook's public relations agent.