In the age before recordings, music was a service business. Composers wrote for their patrons, and musicians performed for money. In the days since Edison's inventions, music has become a commodity business in which record companies stockpile large inventories and attempt to move them into the market of music lovers through a dense network of distributors and retailers. For established artists, the service aspect of music---playing for pay---now exists primarily to support the commodity business. For developing artists, public performance is a form of self-promotion to aid the search for a recording contract.

Internet audio continues to expand. Last week, at the first WebNoize conference, held in Los Angeles, <A HREF="http://www.jamtv.com/">JamTV/Rolling Stone Network</A> and <A HREF="http://www.real.com/">RealNetworks, Inc.</A> announced the debut of <A HREF="http://www.rsradio.com/">Rolling Stone Radio</A>, a new Internet audio service offering music in several genres. Rock star David Bowie announced that he would serve as a disc jockey for the new venture. <A HREF="http://www.amazon.com">Amazon.com</A&gt; has also signed on to participate as a music retailer.

<I>This series of articles was initially written (in slightly different form), as a paper presented at the 103rd Audio Engineering Society Convention, New York, September 1997. The preprint, "Loudspeakers: What Measurements Can Tell Us&mdash;And What They Can't Tell Us!," AES Preprint 4608, is available from the AES, 60 East 42nd Street, Room 2520, New York, NY 10165-0075. The </I><A HREF="http://www.aes.org">AES internet site</A>, <I>offers a secure transaction page for credit-card orders.</I>

<I>This series of articles was initially written (in slightly different form), as a paper presented at the 103rd Audio Engineering Society Convention, New York, September 1997. The preprint, "Loudspeakers: What Measurements Can Tell Us&mdash;And What They Can't Tell Us!," AES Preprint 4608, is available from the AES, 60 East 42nd Street, Room 2520, New York, NY 10165-0075. The </I><A HREF="http://www.aes.org">AES internet site</A>, <I>offers a secure transaction page for credit-card orders.</I>

<I>This series of articles was initially written (in slightly different form), as a paper presented at the 103rd Audio Engineering Society Convention, New York, September 1997. The preprint, "Loudspeakers: What Measurements Can Tell Us&mdash;And What They Can't Tell Us!," AES Preprint 4608, is available from the AES, 60 East 42nd Street, Room 2520, New York, NY 10165-0075. The </I><A HREF="http://www.aes.org">AES internet site</A>, <I>offers a secure transaction page for credit-card orders.</I>

<I>This series of articles was initially written (in slightly different form), as a paper presented at the 103rd Audio Engineering Society Convention, New York, September 1997. The preprint, "Loudspeakers: What Measurements Can Tell Us&mdash;And What They Can't Tell Us!," AES Preprint 4608, is available from the AES, 60 East 42nd Street, Room 2520, New York, NY 10165-0075. The </I><A HREF="http://www.aes.org">AES internet site</A>, <I>offers a secure transaction page for credit-card orders.</I>

<B>VARIOUS ARTISTS: <I>Los Super Seven</I></B><BR> Radv/RCA Nashville 67689-2 (CD). 1998. Dan Goodman, exec. prod.; Steve Berlin, prod.; Dave McNair, eng.; Fred Rennert, Steve Gamberoni, asst. engs. AAD? TT: 41:36<BR> Performance <B>****?</B><BR> Sonics <B>****</B>