News

B&W Group North America (Equity) has announced that Doug Henderson will assume the position of vice president of sales and marketing as of April 30. Henderson has been a principal of Audtek Associates for more than 20 years. "I'm excited about this move," Henderson told Stereophile. "At Audtek, we specialized in brand building, and we accomplished a lot with some very good companies. With B&W Group, I have the opportunity to use those skills with some of the finest equipment available today—and I have a great independent sales force to work with. It's an unrivaled opportunity."

"Slava" has died. The great Russian cellist, known as much for his defiance of the Soviet oligarchy as for the more than 170 compositions dedicated to him, had been hospitalized in Paris at the end of January, but chose to fly to Moscow shortly thereafter to spend his last months in his beloved homeland. He is survived, not only by his two daughters and his wife and frequent collaborator, the soprano Galina Vishnevskaya, but also by the huge number of recordings that attest to his eloquence.

Harman International Industries, Inc has agreed to be acquired by Goldman Sachs Capital Partners (GSCP) and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) for a price of $120 per share (a total near $8 billion). The share price represents what Bloomberg.com characterized as a 17% premium over its price one day earlier. The company's stock had been increasing in value, having risen by about 2.6% since the beginning of 2007, but beginning April 18, the stock began to surge, "indicating some investors anticipated the buyout," according to Bloomberg. John Rogers, a Citigroup analyst, had predicted in February that Harman was choice for acquisition, estimating that private equity buyers could pay a premium of 20% over its share price and still see annual returns of 20%.

The Internet audio forum Head-Fihttp://www.head-fi.org/forums">Head-Fi; is one of the few places on the Web where you can hang out with truly passionate audiophiles and not come away despairing at the state of current public discourse. So it shouldn't come as a surprise that Head-Fi's regional and national meets have that same sense of relaxed solidarity. But what always strikes me at these events, such as the national Head-Fest 2007 get-together in San Jose on April 21 and 22, is just how darned sociable Head-Fiers are, considering they are celebrating an activity that is so intensely solitary.

On April 16, the US Copyright Review Board (CRB) denied an appeal of its decision to restructure the royalty fees for Internet radio. As we reportedhttp://stereophile.com/news/031907internet/">reported;, independent Internet broadcasters and the NPR called it a "stunning, damaging decision," predicting that it would price small operators and public broadcasting, which do not receive widespread commercial underwriting, out of business.

If I were to tell you that four months into 2007, I already had a nomination for the year's best-sounding record, you might think me daring. If I told you that it features bandoneon—a chromatic accordion—and cello, you'd probably think me barking mad.

The website www.appleinsider.com revealed on April">http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/07/04/12/apple_inc_scores_trademar… 12 that it had discovered filings with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) showing that record label Apple Corps had granted computer manufacturer Apple, Inc. far more than the right to use the word "Apple" in conjunction with music in February's trademark settlement.