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xHiFi Ready to Launch

In some ways, entrepreneurs resemble the folks who fix your roof: When they see a hole somewhere, their job is to find a way to fill it. Long-time high-end audio veterans Mel and Howard Schilling and Doug Goldberg say they have spotted a hole in the audio market and are getting ready to launch a new company to fill it.

Industry News Roundup

Wiz stores sold: Cablevision Systems has made good on its promise to exit the consumer electronics retail business. On March 6, the Bethpage, NY–based cable giant announced the sale of its 17 remaining Nobody Beats The Wiz stores to GBO Electronics Acquisition LLC in a stock transaction, effective immediately. GBO will assume The Wiz's assets and debt, according to a Cablevision statement.

Sirius Gets a Boost

Combine the challenge of establishing a start-up with the launch of an entirely new consumer electronics market and you've got the recipe for a highly volatile and explosive brew. But news of a successful $1.2 billion re-capitalization announced last week indicates that three-year old digital radio pioneer Siriushttp://www.sirius.com">Sirius; will likely remain intact—at least for now.

Audio Networking Advances

One of the most significant trends in audio, witnessed at the recent Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, is the emergence of the music server market. Pioneer, Panasonic, Marantz, Meridian, Onkyo, Rotel, Philips, Linn, and others have emphasized audio products that can be networked with each other and the Internet, and are able to share content throughout a home. Pioneer even suggests that networks will not necessarily involve a PC, but instead consist of dedicated music-server-like components.

Cutting Off the Studio Pirates

It has become commonplace these days for a hot album to hit the streets days—if not weeks or even months—before its official release, inspiring all manner of stupid promo tricks on the part of record labels. Pearl Jam's recent Riot Act was distributed to the press in portable CD players with the lids glued shut and last week saw the White Stripes record label create 500 promo vinyl LPs of the group's impending Elephant release in place of the traditional advance CDs in an effort to stymie the digital pirate's plans.

Bonus DVDs Fight Piracy?

The music industry's reaction to a prolonged sales slump has been a desperate effort to create legislative and technological deterrents to force consumers to stop downloading MP3s and copying CDs.

Digital Rights Summit

It's tough to know which CDs, SACDs, and DVD-Audio discs have been restricted through watermarks or other "copy protection" techniques. This has created a thriving underground community, with websites such as Fat">http://www.fatchucks.com">Fat Chuck's devoted to sussing out the corrupted audio products and posting notification to consumers.

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