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A long-running dispute between the music industry and small webcasters may have come to an amicable conclusion. Over the weekend of October 5-6, representatives from both sides agreed on a system of royalties to be paid to record labels and artists based on a percentage of webcaster revenue or expenses, rather than on a per song basis. Last summer, Librarian of Congress James Billington decreed that all webcasters should pay a royalty rate of 0.07¢ per song per 1000 listeners. Many small webcasters, including many college radio stations, chose to go offline rather than face fees they couldn't afford.

Amplifier of the year? We'll have to wait until the votes are tallied in the December issue, but Paul Bolin reviews the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//amplificationreviews/683/">Halcro dm58 monoblock power amplifier</A> and reveals what the fuss is all about. As Bolin notes, "the sheer audacity of Halcro's claims generated much curiosity and interest."

For years, we've seen attempts to disguise <A HREF="http://www.audiocircuit.com/9041-esl-circuit/Commercial/Audio4-AU4/9041… as paintings</A>. A pair of announcements last week highlights the ongoing drive within the consumer electronics industry to find new ways to hide speakers within other objects.

Beginning early next year, digital satellite radio startups may have some competition from terrestrial broadcasters, thanks to an October 10 decision by the <A HREF="http://www.fcc.gov">Federal Communications Commission</A> (FCC).

Sales of recorded music declined by 9.2% on a monetary basis and 11% on a unit basis worldwide during the first half of 2002, according to recently released figures from the <A HREF="http://www.ifpi.org">International Federation of the Phonographic Industry</A> (IFPI). The drop is a continuation of a long slump that began in the mid-1990s, blamed by many music industry executives on the widespread use of CD burners and the popularity of downloading tunes on the Internet. Others acknowledge that increasing competition for consumers' time and money&mdash;especially films on DVD&mdash;is eating into music industry profits.

When it was suggested that I call in on speaker manufacturer RBH Sound during a planned <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//asweseeit/470/">trip to Utah</A> in the fall of 2001, my response was "Who is RBH?" To my embarrassment, the speaker company had not popped up on my radar screen since it was formed in Los Angeles in 1976. However, I had certainly heard some of the speakers they had manufactured for other companies, most notably the McIntosh models of the early 1980s, with their line arrays of dome tweeters.

<B>DAVE ALVIN & THE GUILTY MEN: <I>Out in California</I></B><BR> Hightone HCD8144 (CD). 2002. Dave Alvin, prod.; Mark Linnett, prod., eng. AAD? TT: 76:00<BR> Performance <B>****&#189;</B><BR> Sonics <B>****</B>