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The last few weeks have been a roller-coaster ride for CD copy-restriction developer SunnComm. The company was riding high in early September when it was announcedhttp://www.stereophile.com/news/11734/">announced; that BMG and Arista had chosen its MediaMax CD-3 Technology to restrict how discs are used.

Paul Bolin takes a spin with the Vacuum">http://www.stereophile.com//amplificationreviews/938/">Vacuum Tube Logic TL-7.5 Reference line preamplifier, observing, "For some reason, the light has never shone quite as brightly on VTL's front-end electronics, perhaps in part because it's been so long since the company attempted a headline-grabbing, all-out assault on the state of that art."

Only a few short years ago, Napster quickly took root to show the world how Internet-based audio file-trading was where music distribution's future growth might run wild. But the record labels would have none of it and just as swiftly took a legal chainsaw to Napster's trunk, laying it waste and leaving plenty of room for Kazaa and other unsanctioned services to sprout like weeds.

Recording artists may soon have improved health care coverage, should an historic agreement be ratified by members of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRAhttp://www.aftra.org">AFTRA;).

Sirius">http://www.siriusradio.com">Sirius Radio has added an entertainment industry heavyweight to its board of directors.

Whether listeners like it or not, record labels, including major players like BMG and Arista Records, are now">http://www.stereophile.com/news/11734/">now making moves to rein in how their CDs are played and used. Unfettered CDs have been on the shelves for almost two decades, and some industry observers note that changing how they work at this late stage could be a recipe for trouble with consumers.

On 28 July 2003, TAG McLaren Audio issued">http://www.stereophile.com/news/11701/">issued a statement saying that it had ceased the development of new products and was undertaking a full strategic review of its participation in the audio market.