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Bang & Olufsen America's Retail Bet Appears to have Paid Off

We reported">http://www.stereophile.com/news/10339/">reported last year about the new direction that Bang">http://www.bang-olufsen.com/">Bang & Olufsen America has taken in distributing its products: the company has recently opened a series of branded BOA stores around the US. The strategy seems to have paid off. The company reports increased sales of more than 60% in the first quarter of its current fiscal year, and claims that individual shops reported an average sales increase of 20%.

Warner Music's Ambitious Download Plan

One of the industry's most ambitious digital distribution programs has been announced by Warner">http://www.timewarner.com/corp/about/music/wmg/index.html">Warner Music Group. In November, WMG will make more than 1000 albums and singles available as downloads through several online music retailers, using RealNetworks&#039">http://www.realnetworks.com/">RealNetworks' RealPlayer software. Music fans in the US and Canada are the target audience for the download program, according to a September 11 press release.

Mid-Year Audio Sales Revenues at All-Time High

Last week, the Consumer">http://www.ce.org">Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) released numbers indicating that factory audio sales (as opposed to sales through to consumers) for the first six months of 2000 have surpassed all previous mid-year dollar sales. The CEA adds that the $3.85 billion in sales to dealers put audio sales 12% ahead of the same time last year.

Added to the Archives This Week

Michael Fremer writes, "I've never heard a pair of the Italian Sonus Faber speakers I didn't like. What I've never liked was the US price: too high. And then you have to put them on costly stands." In his review of the floorstanding Sonus">http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/269/">Sonus Faber Concerto Grand Piano loudspeaker, Fremer grapples with the price/performance ratio of this $3500/pair speaker and answers the important audiophile question: Enough magic for the money?

The DIY Chronicles, Part Four

Editor's Note: This is Part Four of a six-part series from reader Hervé Delétraz of Switzerland, who is chronicling the development of his DIY (do-it-yourself) audio amplifier. Part One is herehttp://www.stereophile.com/news/10825/">here;, Part Two is herehttp://www.stereophile.com/news/10832/">here;, and Part Three is here.http://www.stereophile.com/news/10839/">here.;

Chesky Covers All the Bases with Planned Music Releases

With new audio formats such as SACD and DVD-Audio hitting the market, audiophiles will soon have more choices than ever for playing back music. But along with all of these options comes the hard part: choosing which path to take and hoping not to be dead-ended, as Beta video owners were years back. For consumers, the promised universal audio players (expected to play DVD-Video, DVD-Audio, CD, and SACD) will reduce the risk significantly.

Wadia's Assets Sold; Kinergetics Research Folds

Venture capital group Shared Ventures is now the legal owner of the assets of Wadia">http://www.wadia.com/">Wadia Digital Corporation. Wadia's majority shareholder, Shared Ventures, acquired the company's name, intellectual property, and physical inventory at a public auction in Minneapolis on September 12. The law firm of Siegel, Brill, Greupner, Duffy, and Foster, P/A, of Minneapolis, managed the auction. Originally scheduled for late August, the auction was postponed for two weeks after a flurry of interest following the publication of an official notice in the Minneapolis">http://www.startribune.com/">Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

Study Predicts $42.8 Billion Music Market by 2005

The global market for music could reach $42.8 billion within five years—more than $7.5 billion higher than the present level, according to a recent study by PriceWaterhouseCoopershttp://www.pwcglobal.com/">PriceWaterhouseCoopers; and Wilkofsky">http://www.wilkofskygruen.com/">Wilkofsky Gruen Associates. In the about-to-be-released study, The Global Entertainment & Media Outlook: 2000–2004, the firms make their prediction based on buying patterns and other economic factors in several regions of the world.

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