The first offerings will include singles currently on the charts, plus some Internet-only cuts from groups like Barenaked Ladies, Collective Soul, Mana, Manhattan Transfer, Matchbox Twenty, and…
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One of the industry's most ambitious digital distribution programs has been announced by Warner Music Group. In November, WMG will make more than 1000 albums and singles available as downloads through several online music retailers, using 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.
There is an overwhelming amount of pop music available on the Internet, but where does the serious music fan go in search of jazz, classical, or opera?
London-based GMN Arts Network hopes to provide the answer. The music website has announced four new services that may fill some empty niches on the Net. The services—"Classical Premium," "Live Collection," "Showcase," and "Artists Directory"—will expand the 2½-year-old company's offerings and potentially create additional revenue streams, according to a September 6 announcement.
The new services include "GMN Classical Premium," a…
Rumors have been confirmed that high-end audio journal Fi Magazine, which just entered its fourth year of publication, closed its doors last Friday, February 26. In a conversation with Stereophile publisher emeritus Larry Archibald, former Fi editor Jonathan Valin commented that "It was really a shame. I never worked so long and so hard on anything, and it didn't have to end the way it did---but I don't want to go into it. The money was there to keep it going." John Atkinson had been told at CES by a Fi spokesperson that a new source of investment had been found, but we can only assume…
Last week, the 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.
According to the statistics, separate home components are up 16% in the year to date, to $727 million, with a 23% increase in June alone. Within this category, home CD equipment (particularly CD-R) has grown to 32%, while receivers (led by Dolby…
Recently, Sound Advice, Inc., a specialty retailer of high-end consumer electronics, announced plans to open five to six stores in Florida over the next 18 months. The company expects that two to three of the stores will be in operation by the end of this calendar year, with the balance to be opened in 1999. Sound Advice is also exploring other ideas, such as smaller-format specialty stores in upscale malls and other high-end retail locations that feature high-quality brand names.
The company said that the new store locations were selected following extensive market research to identify…
In a tersely worded press release, Carver Corporation announced that on Wednesday, May 12, 1999 it filed a voluntary petition under Chapter 11 in United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Washington. The cause of the filing was "an accumulation of unpaid debt and resulting legal actions filed by creditors. These actions created the prospect of an inequitable distribution of payment to creditors and prevented the Company from being able to operate as a functioning business entity. In October of 1998, the Company ran out of working capital and laid off the remainder of its…
We've all heard about "Internet time"---that fraction of the "normal" time interval for a similar activity to occur on the Internet. As if to put an exclamation point on the concept of Internet time, the National Association of Recording Merchandisers (NARM) plans to make audio history March 10 at the 1999 NARM Convention coming up in Las Vegas.
A demonstration at the seminar "Digital Delivery, Show Us the Money" will feature legendary singer-songwriter Willie Nelson performing a song live, which will then be mixed, encoded, and published for sale on the Internet via a network of retailers…
Sorting through the rooms of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), we'll often discover interesting companies only to find that they are not yet represented in the US. Such has been the case with Cyrus Electronics, which has always intrigued us with its compact products and modern design sensibility in the tradition of a Linn or Meridian.
US consumers will finally get to see Cyrus' products in person as they debut in the US for the first time at The Home Entertainment Show at the Hilton in New York this week. Newly appointed Dallas-based distributor The Sound Organisation will use the show…
When it comes to power, VTL's Luke Manley is definitely in the "more is better" camp. But when Lonnie Brownell sat down to listen to the VTL ST-85 tube power amplifier, he elected to start with a single amp and go for more power later. Lonnie writes: "How's about I go with just one amplifier for a while? After all, that's what most people would buy, at least at first. Then I can drop in another one and see what that does." But in the end, was one enough? Brownell tells all.
Next up, Stereophile's Philosopher-in-Residence, George Reisch, laments the disappearance of turntables in his…
We've heard the sad tales from the record labels and distributors about their ever-weakening music sales, but there are other players in the market who are also feeling the pinch: retailers.
In an effort to understand what is going on and to seek out solutions, the National Association of Recording Merchandisers (NARM) organized the first-ever Music Retailing Summit in Chicago last month. NARM's Pamela Horovitz explains, "We organized this summit with two goals in mind: First, to give distributors and suppliers a better understanding of the retail point of view on the issues of the day and…