The music industry was much in the news in late May, with file-sharing lawsuits launched, Web royalties deferred, the payola system attacked, and an artists-and-record labels coalition questioning the homogenization of radio.

Back in 1987, J. Gordon Holt & Martin Colloms set their sights on the Audio Research M300 monoblock power amplifier. "After having proven that vacuum tubes could do some sonic things better than transistors, Audio Research is now endeavoring to show that transistors can do most things better than tubes," says JGH, adding that the then-new M300 is a "hybrid amplifier . . . it's half tube, half solid-state."

Russia has a new organization that will promote a legitimate music industry and fight industrial piracy, according to mid-May reports from the International Federation of Phonographic Industries.

French-speaking Canada's premier A/V, home theater, and new technologies publication, Quebec Audio-Video has once again offered its readers an opportunity to attend Home Entertainment 2002 in New York City for free! Franco Moggia, editor of Quebec Audio-Video, says, "After the tragic events of September 11, we had to support our American friends and colleagues by repeating last year's contest."

eBay and Primedia have announced an industry-wide online charity event, which will culminate during the Home Entertainment 2002 Show (HE 2002), May 31–June 2, 2002. The charity event will bring the latest and greatest in home-theater and audio products to enthusiasts around the world, while benefiting The Elf Foundation, a charity created and supported by the consumer electronics industry.

Earlier this year, the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) tried something a little different and ran the 2002 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas during the week, starting on a Tuesday, instead of in its normal slot over the weekend. The hope was that the show would not compete with the normally crowded Las Vegas weekends, and would offer showgoers more flexibility in finding hotel rooms and taxi cabs.

A pair of audiophile-friendly speakers for under $250? That prospect piqued Robert J. Reina into closely examining the PSB Alpha B loudspeaker. Reina notes that designer Paul Barton "is not one to rest on his laurels. Into this third and latest generation of the Alpha, the Alpha B, he has trickled down some of the design and manufacturing innovations of his more expensive Image series."

Napster has been saved from what appeared to be certain death. A last-minute deal struck by German media conglomerate Bertelsmann AG will revive the company, which was reportedly near bankruptcy. It's the end of a long-running soap opera and the beginning of a new era for the company that began the audio file-sharing phenomenon.

Internet audio file-sharing service Kazaa is the music industry's pariah—and it wants artists to get paid for their work.